According to a 2013 survey, people spend an average of 2.3 hours PER DAY on household activities!

While you could save 730 hours (or 30 days) per year by hiring a professional cleaning service, some things you still just have to clean yourself. We’ve put together this list of quick cleaning tips and hacks to help you save time cleaning some of the pesky areas around your home.

Clean Out Your Shower Heads

Your water pressure in your shower suffering from hard water build-up? Fill a plastic bag with 50/50 white vinegar and water. Tie the bag around the shower head to immerse it; use a twist tie to secure it. Let the shower head soak this way for about an hour and then wipe it clean.

You can also remove hard water deposits on your faucets and other plumbing fixtures by soaking a clean rag in vinegar and draping it over the fixture for about 30 minutes. Remove the rag and scrub the faucet with a non-scratch sponge. Repeat as necessary until your faucet looks good as new.

Freshen Your Garbage Disposal

Put some cut lemons down your drain and instantly freshen up your garbage disposal. Not a fan of lemons? Just about any citrus fruit works great.

Disinfect Your Household Sponges

Sponges, especially those used daily in the kitchen sink, can be a repository for all sorts of bacteria. Did you know you can disinfect your household sponges in the microwave? Just zap your sponges for 90 seconds and they will be 99% bacteria free. (Stand by the microwave though- so no fires start)

Cleaning Your Tennis Shoes

A toothbrush and toothpaste will clean all the white parts of your tennis shoes. To clean the fabric, place your tennis shoes on a rack in your washer (if your washer has such a setting), or hand wash them in a sink with a bit of liquid detergent. We recommend you allow your shoes to dry in the sun as a dryer may shrink them or otherwise affect the fabric and inside soles of the shoes.

Cleaning the Glass on Your Fireplace

Clean the glass on your fireplace by dipping a wet paper towel in the ashes and then wipe your glass with it. Gently rinse with a clean paper towel.

Remove Mold and Mildew From Front-Load Washing Machines

1. CLEAN GASKET with rag or towel and hot soapy water

2. CLEAN DISPENSERS by removing and scrubbing them

3. RUN WASHER on hottest setting cycle

4. Remove Permanent Marker From a Wall

We all know it’s inevitable that the ink will end up on an unintended surface. Cover the permanent markings with alcohol-based hand sanitizer (PRO-TIP: Test first on the surface in a small, unseen area to make sure the hand sanitizer doesn’t otherwise affect your surface). Make sure the liquid is covering all parts of the marker. Allow it to sit for 30 seconds; then wipe with a paper towel. Repeat as needed until it’s gone.

Save Time Making Beds (my favorite tip)

You likely know that your car has a little arrow near the fuel gauge indicating which side the tank is on. Did you know most sheets have pretty much the same thing? Most of us don’t which is why no matter which corner you start with, you almost always realize you put the long end of a fitted sheet on the short end of the mattress! Never fumble around with the wrong corners again.

HINT: Tags on then bottom of your sheet always go on the bottom of your bed. With king sheets, the tags are on the bottom left. With queen sheets, they’re on the bottom right. It’s also helpful to mark the inside seams with a fabric marker to denote right or left corners. Oh, but go ahead and remove those mattress tags that do say “DO NOT REMOVE”. We’ll never tell. Or you can do what my mom did, and write "bottom" with a marker on the bottom of the sheet. She was so funny!