How the Strategist Spring-Cleans

Two Strategist writers — Kitty Guo and senior home writer Lauren Ro — love this Branch Basics concentrate, which they dilute into all-purpose kitchen and bathroom cleaners. “I feel so virtuous when I refill my spray bottles,” Guo says.

Strategist junior writer Bella Druckman uses this Mrs. Meyer’s spray on “pretty much every surface except wood.”

Ro is also a fan of refillable hand soap from Clean Cult, which is made without parabens, pthalates, sodium lauryl sulfates, or petroleum-based ingredients.

For hot-yoga outfits and synthetic athletic clothes with funky smells you can’t get out in the wash, Strategist senior editor and resident laundry expert Crystal Martin recommends this soak. “Workout clothes are plastic and they hold the stink,” she says, but presoaking with Lumē “gets rid of it reliably. It 100 percent works.”

Wood floors need special care, and I’m a fan of this cleaner I first learned about in our article on the best natural cleaning products.

“These are a must for bathrooms,” says New York features editor Julia Edelstein. “Clorox wipes do not kill the germs in norovirus, but hydrogen peroxide does.”

When I need to deep-clean shower tile, I use Bon Ami, a mild abrasive that gets out grime and helps to whiten grout.

I’ve had this bottle of bleach tablets for four years and still haven’t run out — just drop a tab into a spray bottle or bucket of water and let it dissolve like an Alka-Seltzer. It’s so much easier to store than a giant container of bleach.

Nothing cleans like vinegar, but a lot of people don’t like the smell. Strategist writer Kat Gillespie found this premixed jug, which contains just three ingredients: vinegar, distilled water, and lemon extract to mask the salad-dressing scent.

Melissa Maker of the YouTube channel Clean My Space recommends this ecofriendly enzyme cleaner to remove stains on carpets and upholstery.

First reviewed by former Strategist writer Rachael Griffiths, this Japanese cleaning tool is like an electric toothbrush for your tile. I use it on any irregular surface that needs a scrub, like shower tile and stovetops; the pointed tip is great for appliance gaskets that collect grime.

These are the heavy-duty spray bottles grilling nerds use, so you know they’re good. I have two — one for bleach and one for all-purpose spray — and they’ve outlasted my cheap dollar-store spray bottles.

This electric mop is “the thing I recommend to people I actually know,” says cleaning expert Jolie Kerr. It’s cordless and easy to use: It does “most of the manual labor of pushing and pulling a mop for you.”

Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio uses this kit once or twice a year to clean lint out of dryer ducts, which reduces the risk of fires and increases dryer efficiency. “Important and useful if you have a dryer,” she says. (The kit attaches to a drill and a vacuum, so you’ll need both to operate it.)

Trolio uses the Bissell Little Green (one of our favorite carpet cleaners) for pet stains — and also used it as an improvised tool to dry out a carpet after a basement flood.

In Trolio’s multi-vacuum household, the Shark Powerdetect is known as “the good vacuum.” It has high-tech sensors that automatically adjust to the floor type, and Trolio especially loves a small light on the vacuum’s handheld crevice tool.

Senior writer Michael Zhao, the Strategist’s resident vacuum tester, is mostly using a Miele canister vacuum this spring. “Be sure to check if the bag needs replacing,” he says — a full bag limits the vacuum’s suction.

“I’ve been really enjoying using my handheld Wandvac for cleaning up coffee grinds and cooking messes,” Zhao says. (It’s also great for onion and garlic skins.) It sits in its charging cradle on the countertop so it’s always close at hand.

Hands down the most useful tool for keeping my closets, cabinets, spice racks, and tool storage organized. Black-and-white label tape comes standard, but you can also buy pastel pink.

I used these organizers to turn my bedding heap into a sheet library. (They can stack, which is helpful for small but tall closets.)

Lightfoot also recommends this under-the-sink organizer, which has adjustable caddies and pull-out shelves that can be arranged to avoid pipes.

Take it from Susan Orlean: “Anything appealing to a moth goes into a garment bag.” After much searching, she found these half-length ones, which are the perfect size to save her sweaters from moth damage.

Orlean also uses these Container Store boxes to store and display her shoes — she tucks a printout of each pair as a reminder of what’s inside.

If you’re stowing away winter clothes and bedding, these vacuum storage bags are a great way to save space (and keep out moths and other pests).