With TikTok being saved (temporarily) from a nationwide ban, it's worth checking out all the ways it can be a helpful resource, not just a time-sucker. TikTok is especially beneficial when it comes to getting cleaning ideas, since you can follow CleanTok influencers and see reviews of cleaning products that actually work. The app is also full of cleaning techniques, although a lot of those are questionable at best. Here are a few that are actually useful.
Clean in circles
I found this approach last fall during some routine scrolling and was immediately impressed with the straightforward, simple steps it laid out to effectively clean any space in a home. It originated with a video from Cindell Kimbrough, a former professional cleaner who prioritizes efficiency.
Essentially, after a round of decluttering in a given location (like a messy kid's room), you pick a corner and start cleaning in a circle, moving around the room and taking care of big-ticket tasks like making the bed. Repeat the circle with smaller steps, like dusting. Finish up with your floors, mopping and vacuuming. By moving in a circle, you stay on task and focused, plus ensure you hit every part of the room.
Angry cleaning
Another quality cleaning method that took over the app a few months ago is "angry cleaning," which involves harnessing negative emotions into major cleaning power, usually with tasks that require some elbow grease, like scrubbing or vacuuming. Not only can this distract you from whatever is annoying you, but it can fuel your tidying efforts to be extra powerful. The positive result at the end—a cleaner space—can further elevate your mood after you work through your negativity. Overall, it's a great hack that has a lot of benefits and produces solid before-and-afters, which are the bread and butter of TikTok videos.
Laundry stripping
Laundry stripping is popular on TikTok because it creates visual proof that your clothes are being cleaned. It's not always necessary, of course, to "strip" your dirty clothes of soil before washing them, but if you're not washing them correctly or they are super messed up, it can be a great first step to getting them extra clean. You pre-soak your laundry for a few hours in the tub, using borax and baking soda. You'll see the water get grosser and grosser over time, especially if you periodically agitate them with your hands.
Sweep smarter
This is my favorite TikTok cleaning hack ever and I have used it faithfully since discovering it a few years ago: Next time you sweep, dampen the edges of a paper towel and set it on the ground. Sweep your debris over the paper towel, which will catch dirt, dust, hair, and whatever else so much easier than a dustpan. Then, just toss out the towel. Dustpans have ridges where they meet the floor that can make it frustrating to corral all your dirt, but the paper towel hack works perfectly.
The 5x5 method
I'm also a fan of this viral technique that prioritizes quick cleaning to feel less overwhelmed. I've seen it promoted on TikTok a lot, where users say it helps them keep a tidy home without getting overburdened. You'll need a timer, which you'll set in five-minute increments, and a list of five zones in your home that need some attention. You'll work on each zone for five minutes before moving to the next one, so it's best to choose small areas that can be handled in that short amount of time. After 25 minutes, you'll have five cleaner spots. Try doing it to, say, a desk: devote five minutes to one drawer, five minutes to another, five minutes to the surface, and so on.
The Core 4 method
Finally, learning the Core 4 approach through TikTok was really helpful for me in terms of not only cleaning, but maintaining my home. Organizer Kayleen Kelly came up with this decluttering method, which not only teaches you how to get rid of things, but how to organize what you decide to keep. You move through the rooms of your home with four stages in mind: Clear out, categorize, cut out, and contain. Remove everything in one room (or, even better, one section of one room, like a closet), put it in a pile, categorize it, cut out what you don't need, and contain the rest. This approach has gone massively viral on the video-sharing platform because it works and is easy to get the hang of. Watch the video that started it all:
