Now that you’ve assembled your basic cleaning kit, you may find yourself wanting to explore some more advanced options to make your life easier. Here are some practical, useful and sometimes, fun suggestions to help you do that.
This is a continuation of a previous article. We recommend you first read: Your Handy Dandy Guide of Essential Cleaning Supplies for Your New Home before continuing.
Expanding Your Arsenal of Cleaning Supplies:
1. Gloves – כפפות While not necessarily the most environmentally friendly option, I do recommend keeping a pair of reusable gloves or box of decent quality disposable gloves around for the ickier cleaning tasks. I personally prefer the Easytouch Nitrile gloves but they can be hard to find.
2. Paper towels – מגבות נייר – Again, not the most eco-friendly of options. I rarely use them for cleaning purpose. The main reason I keep them around is for frying food. For cleaning, I prefer microfiber cloths.
3. Paper/ Ziplock bags – שקיות אוכל /שקיות אוכל מנייר – Again, not the most eco-friendly option but a convenient option and useful to have around. I like using the paper bags for bringing snacks with me to class or work.
4. Counter squeegees – מגב חלון DON’T fight me on this. Spend the 6 Shekel and buy one. They are a game changer. I bought these for my mother on my first trip back to America and she returned them! On my next trip, Pesach of the same year, I refused to help in the kitchen unless we bought new ones. Guess what? She liked them so much; she turned them over to year-round use. I have a lot of stories like this and have no idea how my family had been keeping their counters dry before investing in some counter squeegees. It makes keeping your counters clean a much simpler task.
5. Dish Drying Rack – (type ייבש כלים when searching online. There might be a variation on the name but they are all the same idea). I am not a huge fan of keeping things on the kitchen counter. I find things can easily go from convenient to looking messy. I personally do not own a drying rack and prefer a drying towel. Many do not find this to be a convenient solution and it is a personal preference. For those looking for space saving options, I highly suggest one that is collapsible for easy storage. A big plus in Israel: many kitchens have a built-in drying rack cabinet that can be used to store a set of dishes.
6. Baby Bottle Brush Cleaner for Water Bottles – Okay, again, this goes under our list of great household hacks. I have no idea how I cleaned my water bottles before them. To be completely honest, I probably had a dishwasher to put them in at the end of the day.
7. Shabbat Sponges – These are very easy to find in Israel and great if you want to do dishes on shabbat but would prefer not to use a scrub brush. They’re designed to avoid the issue of wringing out water on shabbat. Many even have hashgachic certification on the packaging.
8. Magic Erasers – Great for cleaning scuffs off walls. I don’t really use these for regular cleaning. Scuffs on walls are bound to happen. Especially when in the middle of moving. If the scuff here and there is detracting from your piece of mind, these are a great solution.
9. Vacuum Cleaner – שואב אבק If you suffer from dust allergies, you should strongly consider investing in a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. Decisions like these can be extremely overwhelming. I suggest writing out a list of features that are important to you. For example, would you like a canister vacuum or a stick vacuum? Corded or wireless? What accessories are important to you? Bagged or bagless.
10. Mop spray stick – Probably one of my favorites and most used items on this list. They are awesome for spot cleaning during the week. I can’t recommend them for regular, high intensity cleaning. A squeegee mop is a better option when a more intense scrubbing is involved, as the spray mops do tend to suffer wear and tear over time. Many of them come with multiple, washable pads. Making them much more eco-friendly than Swiffer mops. We keep ours in the kitchen for the occasional spills. It’s a lifesaver and lets us keep the apartment floors clean without having to pull the squeegee stick.
11. Window Squeegees – מגב חלונות כפולים These are one of those gimmicky products that are actually handy. They have a magnet, microfiber cloth and squeegee on both sides. Glass panels are a popular style of porch barrier in Israel. They are great for cleaning high-floor windows. Make sure to get one with a string attached.
12. Categorized Microfiber Cloths (for fun) – Definitely not an essential but a fun gift for someone. They come in a pack of about five-seven and have recently showed up in more and more stores. Each cloth comes with an indicator tag for its suggested use. And each is a different textured material. For example, the one suggested for windows is smoother and the one for dusting fluffier.
Basic Maintenance Items to Keep Around:
1. Plunger – For obvious reasons, it’s better to have a plunger available for easy access when the need arises. What’s that saying? If you have it, you won’t need it. While we all hope well never need it, every household should have one to help avoid, ahem, an unfortunate messy situation.
2. Drain-o – While there are natural drain cleaning methods, I make it a good practice to get a bottle of drain cleaner when I move into a new apartment. You have no way of knowing if the last tenant regularly cleaned the drains or had drain catches to avoid hair buildups. Some drain cleaner in the sinks and shower drains could save you some frustration.
3. WD40 - Don't wait for that super annoying squeaking sound to start before picking up some of this. Keep this is your kit of basic maintenance items. Your soul will thank me from sparing your brain from further annoyance. Especially if you struggle from issues with sensory overload.
General Care:
1. Shoe Polish – Not a bad idea to keep around if you have leather Shabbat shoes or a leather bag.
2. Silver Polish – if you only have a silver Kidush cup, you don’t need a big bottle. Don’t polish the inside of you cup. Most Kidush cups have a coating on the inside that appears gold in color to prevent a metallic taste when you drink out of it. Polishing the inside will remove this coating.
3. Sewing Kit – Depending on your needs, you probably don’t need much more than a small sewing kit with a few needles, white thread and black thread. It’s good to have something around to fix small holes in clothing when the need arises. If you’ve never sewn before don’t worry. You’re not alone. There are many videos online to walk you through it.
4. Stain Remover – Spilled something on your favorite shirt? Good thing you read an article that suggested you keep some stain remover around! I personally use vanish brand and I’m happy with it. It is, a personal preference and you might want to try some different brands or ask friends and family what they use. I spray it on a stain and then carefully rub the fabric together to help the fabric absorb the stain remover. Take extra care not to get the liquid on your hands and wash your hands right after use. Someone also taught me that I should wash the garment as soon as possible to avoid letting the stain settle in. Which makes sense and she knew it probably wasn’t something I had given much thought.
5. Clothes Drying Rack- Even if you’re planning to buy a dryer, you may want to purchase a drying rack. Many people in Israel don’t have dryers since it’s dry and hot here most of the year.
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