Cut Your Spring Cleaning Time In Half With These Simple Replacements

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Learning how to spring clean your home offers several benefits. Beyond the obvious perks of having a clean house, you may find that you simply feel better. Reducing mess and clutter can lead to a calmer and more peaceful mind. However, the problem is getting to that point that you've completed all the tasks on your tidying to-do list. And, if you're like many, that to-do list only keeps growing by the day as you remember other things you want to accomplish — everything from wiping down the ceilings to giving the floors a deep cleaning.

While there are many time-consuming cleaning tasks on your to-do list that are non-negotiables (like sweeping the winter debris off your deck so you can use it in the warmer weather), there may be a few opportunities to cut your cleaning time — and your stress — in half by making a small investment in your sanity. You simply may be better off replacing certain items than taking the time to clean them. Below, you'll find a list of some simple replacements to consider purchasing instead of investing your time and energy into cleaning what you have. The items recommended below are either available for a relatively low cost or are something that experts recommend replacing frequently for health or safety reasons. So, read ahead to see what items you can check off of that long to-do list by purchasing something new instead of tirelessly washing, scrubbing, or scouring them.

Plastic food storage containers are relatively inexpensive and can make our lives a lot easier, but after a few too many tomato sauce dishes, they're likely to become discolored. Trying to remove those stains with some baking soda may be one of the many items filling up your spring cleaning to-do list. However, spending your time with a scrub brush meticulously cleaning a dozen plastic food containers sounds like a very tedious and time-consuming task when you can simply replace them with a new set.

There's one additional health-related reason you might really want to prioritize this replacement. Those stains are more than just unsightly. They can indicate that bacteria are trapped within the plastic, especially when they come along with an odor. These bacteria could potentially be transferred to the other foods you put in the container, cross-contaminating them. Ideally, you should choose glass alternatives over plastic. Glass won't release microplastics when exposed to heat and friction. You also won't need to worry about it staining or holding on to bacteria. As a starting point, consider replacing at least some of your stained set with these Rubbermaid Brilliance Glass Food Storage Containers. The set includes nine glass storage vessels, each with a snap-on lid.

Are your kitchen cabinet liners — especially those in the pantry — looking stained and sticky? Is one of your planned spring cleaning tasks taking the time to scrub off a year's worth of residue and dust? If so, it might be time to consider a quicker option: replacing them. That way, you won't have to spend hours meticulously wiping down each shelf and drawer, using elbow grease to remove any mystery blotches.

If you've had the covers for a while and they've seen better days, let them go in favor of something fresh and clean. Updating them will also give you the chance to add some visual appeal to your kitchen by choosing a color or pattern that matches your style. For example, these Gorilla Grip PowerGRIP Cabinet Liners are available in 14 different colors and patterns to help you express yourself. 

If you're looking for an even easier option, try washable drawer liners, which can be tossed in the washing machine regularly. The Drymate drawer liners are soft and absorbent, with a rubber backing, but can also be washed along with your normal laundry.

If those yellow stains on your pillows have started bothering you enough that you added cleaning them to your spring to-do list, you may be dreading the amount of work that you'll need to do. These stubborn stains are not easy to remove, requiring a lengthy process of soaking the pillow with bleach, trying a baking soda paste and blotting with vinegar, or using one of the many other hacks you can find online.

But, do you want to know a secret? Even with all of your efforts, you still may not be able to fully remove the stain. And when you learn what is causing them, you might be even more keen on purchasing a replacement. Yellow stains develop on pillows when they absorb moisture from sweat, drool, dirt, and many other things that contain bacteria. 

Experts generally recommend getting a new pillow at least every two years, so if yours is yellowing, it's probably time to replace it anyway instead of taking the time to try to clean it. For a more sustainable choice, try a type of pillow that is more resistant to collecting bacteria, like a memory foam or hypoallergenic pillow. An example of one is  the Ankwos cooling memory foam pillow. Before you toss out your old one, you can find a way to repurpose old pillows in the home or garden. For example, you could turn it into a draft stopper or a kneeler for working in the garden.

The bathroom is almost certainly on your spring cleaning list this year. As you're looking around and taking stock of everything that needs to be cleaned in this space, there's one item that's a great candidate for replacement: the shower curtain liner. If it's spotted with mold or mildew, then you know you're going to spend a good amount of time scrubbing it. While you can use hydrogen peroxide to clean mold off of the liner, it may be more trouble than it's worth if it's significantly stained.

Luckily, replacing it is inexpensive. Liners like the Bath Bliss PVC option can be purchased for less than $5. If you'd rather not create waste in the future, try washing it monthly on a cold cycle. You could even prevent future mold and mildew buildup on your shower curtain by trimming a few inches off the bottom. This will help ensure that it doesn't rub against the shower or tub floor, where it's likely to pick up more bacteria and start growing mold again.

While creating your spring cleaning to-do list, you probably went room-to-room looking for tasks that have been neglected throughout the year. While in the kitchen, you might have noticed how stained and scratched up many of your plastic cutting boards are. But before adding them to your list, you might want to consider opting for a new set of these essential kitchen tools instead.

Yes, you may be able to make the stains fade with some baking soda and good old fashioned elbow grease. But, beyond the major investment of your time for a product that isn't all that expensive to replace, there is another reason to consider ditching those old chopping blocks. The USDA recommends immediately replacing any plastic cutting boards that have become very worn, or that have deep grooves. They can harbor bacteria, which can spread to other food items you cut on the board. Consider this Freshware bamboo cutting board set. Bamboo does not harbor bacteria in the same way that plastic does, and it is free from microplastics.

If you are a parent, then one of your goals is likely to learn how to keep your bathroom safe for children. But this doesn't just include putting safety locks on cabinets — it also entails giving their bath toys a deep clean to remove any lingering bacteria. However, you might want to rethink this plan, particularly if the toys have been around for quite some time. They have been shown to hold mold, particularly those that are made of rubber and have a hole through which water can enter. The problem is that water gets in the figurine and isn't able to dry fast enough, allowing mold to grow. So, instead, consider tossing the old toys and purchasing a new set. 

When choosing new toys, be very selective about what you purchase. Avoid any that have openings that will let water in and increase the chances of mold growing, like the Hely Cancy Bath Toys. It is still recommended to clean all bath toys frequently with either diluted bleach or vinegar. You could also consider a dishwasher-safe bath toy, like this set of cute creature bath toys from Ubbi.

Stained towels and linens can put a real damper on your bedroom or bathroom decor. They certainly don't exude that upscale or elegant look that you might be going for. If your sheets and towels have seen better days, you might be planning to dedicate some of your spring cleaning time to removing these stains. And, while you might find success using some hydrogen peroxide to make them white again or to fade splotches, you need to ask yourself if all the time it will likely take is worth it. 

Instead, look for a reasonably-priced towel set, such as the Utopia 8-Piece Premium Towel Set, and an affordable set of sheets, like the CGK Unlimited Luxury Bedding Set. Before you simply toss your old linens in the garbage, keep in mind that there are tons of clever ways to repurpose old bed sheets around the home and garden. You could cut out any non-stained sections and use them to make a quilt, sew part of one into a drawstring bag, or use strips of them as ties in the garden.

If you have an electric stove with coil burners, then it probably has drip pans beneath each of these heating elements. These drip pans keep spills from getting deeper into the stovetop. They serve a very important purpose, but with the high cooking temperatures, any food that splatters on them gets really caked on and is difficult to clean off.

Instead of devoting time from your already jam-packed spring cleaning schedule to try to remove all the burnt-on messes from your pans, you might just want to opt for some new ones. You can pick up a set such as the Cozzivita Stove Burner Drip Pans for under $20. You won't be able to beat the fresh and clean look they deliver to your stove.