The 3 Places You Should Be Cleaning At Home Every Single Week

Some places are just magnets for dirt and dust at home. It pays to know where those pain points are, so you can take a few extra minutes to wipe them down more frequently. We reached out to Melissa Maker, the green cleaning expert behind the book Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day and cleaning company Clean My Space for her take on the three nonnegotiable places you should be cleaning every.single.week.

How many times has a little food spill mysteriously appeared in your fridge? Maker says it's important to deal with them right away since they only accumulate over time. Just dampen a reusable cleaning towel (because paper towels are wasteful!) with a blend of half a teaspoon of dish soap and two cups of water, or add some baking powder for more stubborn stains.

"Think about what goes on on that countertop and sink! It's a magnet for dirt," warns Maker. Once a week, she recommends removing all your beauty and personal care items from the counters and giving them a wipe-down with a microfiber cloth (she swears by these for picking up dust, dirt, and bacteria without leaving streaks behind) and that all-purpose cleaning solution you used on your fridge. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oils to your mixture to make it smell better and boost its antimicrobial power. Once you wipe down the counter, be sure to get your sink and mirror too.

From there, Maker recommends decluttering all the items on your counter. "I'll always make sure I don't have extra things on there that I don't need," she says. Everything you do decide to keep out should be wiped down. "Over time, your bottle of face wash is going to get grimy. Instead of letting it get there, give it a one-second wipe down and put it back. It just looks and feels so much better."