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Jun 03, 2023

19 Things That'll Help Prevent Mess From Taking Over Your Home

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

Fight back against the mess.

BuzzFeed Contributor

Promising review: "Bought a new refrigerator and I missed my deli drawer. I purchased this as a way to store deli cold meat. I’m so glad I bought it" —wendy

Get one from Amazon for $19.99 (available in two size packs)

The set comes with a 2-inch flat brush, a 4-inch flat brush, and a round brush. The drill isn't included, but you can grab a basic Black and Decker one ($29.99 on Amazon) that'll do the trick.

These Drill Brush attachments work great for baseboards, gutters, counters, and more hard-to-clean surfaces at home.

Each drill brush attachment is designed for different cleaning needs: the white is a soft bristle that's best for wheels, carpet, upholstery, glass, and leather; the yellow is a medium bristle, best for bathroom, bathtub, shower, tile, and porcelain; the green is a medium bristle, best for cabinets, countertops, linoleum, stoves, and the kitchen; the blue is a medium bristle, best for boats, pools, canoe/kayaks, hot tubs, and plastics; the red is a stiff bristle, best for outdoors, siding, brick, garage, and gutter; and the black is a hard bristle, best for grills, loose paint, furnaces, ovens, and industrial use.

Drill Brush is a small business based in New York State that sells cleaning brushes that attach to drills. It was established in 2007 by a former electrician who suffered from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and needed a way to clean without causing him harm.

Promising review: "I thought my hard water stains would never come off my shower doors, but I bought this awesome brush set, and it's amazing! I’ve tried all the hacks — drier sheets, clean erasers, lemon, vinegar — nothing works like this brush! I used Zep shower cleaner with it! In the picture, the side on the right is the part of the door I cleaned, and I still have to clean the left side." —Traci D.

Get it from Amazon for $18.95+ (available in six colors and stiffness levels).

Promising review: "Super easy to put together and slide under my sink cabinet. We put cleaning materials on top and garbage bags in the drawer. Drawer slides in and out very easily, which is super nice. Thrilled with the extra space it has given us!" —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $25.97 (available in two colors).

Promising review: "I was delighted to find that this sturdy little storage box not only snaps together in seconds, but also fits perfectly into my new gardening supplies-and-tools organization system. Every year our garden supplies ended up in haphazard piles on shelves or even on the floor, so this year I’m determined to get everything into some semblance of order once and for all. This storage box with the front access doors provided the very best solution to my problem. This is a wonderful storage box, and if you don’t already have a shelving unit then consider getting more than one: they are designed to stack on top of each other, and the front doors allow for accessing the contents without having to lift the boxes off each other. Five stars!" —Chris

Get it from Amazon for $103.99+ (available in two colors and packs of one or three).

Promising review: "I bought this for under the sink storage where I keep a lot of cutting boards. They were continually falling over and I couldn't find the exact one I wanted. This added much needed storage by attaching to the cabinet door." —S. Isselhardt

Get it from Amazon for $16.97+ (available in two sizes)

Promising review: "This trundle bed is so comfy on a lazy Sunday afternoon! I love this couch and it is amazingly comfy and easy to pull out." —Anonymous

Get it from Wayfair for $1,200 (originally $2,123.82).

Promising review: "I was redoing my closet and wished I had another row between the two bars of clothing. Saw this and it worked perfectly. It was so easy to put together and I loved how I could adjust it to where I needed it." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $16.97.

Promising review: "Our new house was short on storage space and this really helps. It goes right between the refrigerator and the counter where the stovetop is located. I keep canned goods and other food items that will need the stovetop. It holds plenty of cans and with smaller cans, I can stack them two high. It pulls out easily." —Kathy G. Guevara

Get it from Amazon for $36.99.

It also works on a wide variety of surfaces like granite, steel, fiberglass, marble, chrome, stone, metal, porcelain, brass, aluminum, stainless-steel, and hard vinyl.

Promising review: "Amazing product! This is the absolute first time I have written a review for Amazon and I shop A LOT! I have been looking for something to get the hard water spots off my shower door and this did the trick! I've used it on all my bathroom fixtures and they are sparkling. It makes me want to keep cleaning; it works that well. It's a plus that there are no fumes and it's safe to use without gloves! Product actually smells really good, like toothpaste. I've already told my family about it! Will definite buy again." —loveshoes!

Get it from Amazon for $17.99.

You get a caddy with a wand and six disposable sponges. Simply attach the disposable sponge to the wand, scrub around the whole toilet bowl, and pop the sponge in the trash (you never have to touch it!). You can also get more sponges when you're done with the included ones.

Promising review: "So, we have a toilet that belongs to the cats. We don't use it, we don't look at it, we like to pretend it does not exist. Even with semi-regular flushing, cat waste is pretty nasty stuff and built up quickly in the bowl. One of these wands cleaned it up in a single session! Before-and-after pic attached (above)." —Whitney

Get it from Amazon for $11.98.

Promising review: "This reusable Swiffer pad is the most legit amazon purchase I’ve made in a hot minute. It cleans my floors SO MUCH better than the disposal pads. Honestly, my floors are way cleaner now that before. The pad is super easy to wash and reuse. I am obsessed! 10/10 would recommend" —Cujo

Get two from Amazon for $12.43.

Promising review: "I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these organizers!! I almost did not purchase them due to the reviews saying that larger than a C-cup would not fit into the bra organizer. At just $15 for four organizers I took my chances and ordered two sets of four. I figured, worst case scenario I would have to cut the dividers out of the bra organizers. I wear a 32DD and the bras fit beautifully in the organizers. I am so glad I took the chance and did not listen to the reviews. I would have missed out on the best cheapest organizers I have ever found. I ordered another set for tank tops and other extras I did not think of before. I will also order my boyfriend the brown ones for his drawers. Great product for a great price!" —Elizabeth L. Blackwell

Get a four-pack from Amazon for $12.87+ (available in seven colors).

Promising review: "Goo Gone is one of those things that I somehow had never heard of until this year (though others have apparently had it in their households for years). When I saw it in this BuzzFeed post, my life was changed forever. I couldn’t believe I had lived for so many years without this stuff. So many presents were ruined by price stickers that wouldn’t peel off properly and so many reusable glass containers thrown away/recycled because I couldn’t get the sticky label off of them.

When I got my hands on a bottle, I immediately put it to test. A couple of days ago, I bought a really cool glass milk saucer from the MoMA store, but the product label left an ugly and sticky residue on it (why do shops allow stickers like this?!). I applied the Goo Gone, washed with soap and water, and voilà — the adhesive came right off, leaving my saucer crystal clear. Then, I cleaned off an old soy sauce container and turned it into a flower vase. And it can do so much more than just removing price stickers; the product description says it’ll work on candle wax, permanent marker, crayon, glue, gum, tape residue, adhesive, paint, tree sap, tar, etc. It’s also surface-safe and can be used on carpet and upholstery, clothing, and any hard surfaces — including glass, laminate, metal, wood, plastic, vinyl, windows, ceramic, granite, flooring, countertops, tile, and wood. And bonus: It smells nice and citrusy!

Since purchasing Goo Gone, I’ve cleaned off several candle tins, a Trader Joe's growler, and a kimchi jar previously marred by sticky labels — they can now be reused as pen holders and food containers! In fact, now I'm constantly looking around my apartment to see what I can Goo Gone (yes, I'm using it as a verb) and reuse. Definitely one of my best household purchases EVER. —Yi Yang, former BuzzFeed Staff

Get it from Amazon for $8.30.

Just wet them and start scrubbin'!

Promising review: "I own a cleaning business and have spent a small fortune on the name brand. I clean everything from condo rentals to long term lease/residential rentals and I have had to clean unimaginable NASTY, I mean 'pics or it didn't happen' kind of nasty and these cut right through it. They work just as well as the name brand, if not better, and they seem to last a little longer!" —Keisha Marie

Get a 20-pack from Amazon for $13.95.

Promising review: "I have two of these and love them. I have one in the closet and as clothes are removed for wearing the hanger goes on this rack. The other is in the washroom so that they are handy for hanging clothes as they come out of the dryer. I exchange the racks when that becomes necessary so that I always have some clothes hangers in my washroom. Highly recommend these because leaving the hangers on the rod in the closet just takes up too much room and is wasted time when gathering them." —Avid Reader in New Mexico

Get it from Amazon for $14.99.

Promising review: "Holy cow this is magic. I have a 230 pound Mastiff. I have purchased any and everything claiming to get dog hair off car carpet. I have used at least three different vacuums and attachments. Lately I have been using a microfiber towel because it had some grip. Then this piece of magic arrived. It gets every single hair no matter how embedded. There were hairs I had a hard time removing with my fingers. The Fur-Zoff pulled them right out. This has cut my hair removal time in half! Thank you for this savior of a tool." —David R.

Get it from Amazon for $10.50.

These work on almost any surface: leather, fabric, furniture, hardwood, pans, metal, WHEREVER. And they'll clean up grease, oil, tar, dirt, ink, lipstick, nail polish, food, and a whole lot more.

Promising review: "These are awesome! The size of the container is large and so was the quantity I received. The wipes are huge and tough, great for scrubbing! I cleaned my whole house with these and they removed stains I haven't been able to get out for a while. I also tried them on my walls and they did not remove the paint. Also, they smell fantastic: no chemical smell whatsoever. These are a great deal on Amazon, and I will be purchasing them again!" —Suze

Get a 90-pack from Amazon for $14.98.

Promising review: "I am in love with my magnetic spice jars! I recently moved to a small apartment and don't have the counter or wall space to store spices or a spice rack, so magnetic jars it was! I love how these have a decorative feel while providing a secure way to store the spices. Unlike other magnetic spice jars I feel that these add an extra flair to displaying your assorted spices" —rae.m.wri

Get a 12-pack of small jars from Amazon for $70 (also available in 24 small jars, 12 large jars, and 24 large jars).

Promising review: "THESE ARE LIFE-CHANGING. They even give you a hand pump to use in case you're taking the bags camping or just don't have a vacuum handy. I tested the pump to see how well it works, and it worked perfectly! Works just as well as a vacuum, just takes a little more effort pumping out the air. Using these bags, I got half my closet back! I used three bags to store ALL THE items in my closet including three large pillows and several thick blankets and comforters. I will most definitely be buying more; these are fantastic!!!" —Knastay

Get a six-pack from Amazon for $34.98 (available in five sizes).

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.