DIY Cleaning Caddy: The Secret Of Thorough Cleaning
A cleaning caddy is a good answer for all your house cleaning and housekeeping needs. Be it your bathroom cleaning, bedroom cleaning, kitchen cleaning or any other part of the house, you need to store and organize all your cleaning supplies in a caddy or tote to make your everyday home life easy.
No matter how expensive your house is, if it’s not clean, it’s not going to look inviting and pretty at all. Sometimes we skip the cleaning, and it seems like a lot of work. I get it, who else wants to clean the entire house, right? It feels like a boring and time-consuming task. Hence, we are going to talk about how we can store all our cleaning supplies in a caddy and organize them neatly to put them away once we are done with regular cleaning tasks.
What Types Of Caddies Are The Best For Cleaning Supplies?
There are several different types of cute cleaning caddies available in the market. They come in different colors, shapes, and materials such as metal, rubber, or plastic, and canvas. Totes can be used as well. I like the ones divided into 3 compartments as they are easy to store different cleaning supplies.
Professional cleaners mostly use large buckets, trolleys, or cleaning caddies that are on wheels to house all their professional cleaning supplies. But, for your regular home cleaning, you don’t need anything like that. Instead, a small portable caddy will work great.
What Cleaning Supplies Should Be In A Cleaning Caddy?
It depends on your cleaning preference. If you are a minimalist then your supply list is going to be very short. However, for regular house cleaning these are the essential cleaning tools and supplies you need after you pick your cleaning bucket.
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- Regular or handheld small mop
- Rubber gloves
- Duster
- Spray bottles of the color of your choice
- Window cleaning wipers
- Blind Cleaners
- Microfiber cleaning towels, or cloth to go green
- Cleaning spray (your choice)
- Furniture polish or cleaner
- Scrubbies
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Antibacterial spray for most frequently used places such as bathroom and kitchen.
- Lint rollers
- Organic cleaning products or with fewer chemicals
Here are some more tips on how to motivate yourself to be organized.

What Kinds Of Cleaning Supplies Are Must Have?
Now here is the must-have additional cleaning supply list every household needs. It doesn’t matter if you live in a house or an apartment, you are definitely going to need them as they are an essential part of the routine cleaning.
Some of them are not going to be stored in your cleaning caddy but they are very important to have to keep up with your interior house cleaning.
- A vacuum (If you can afford this robotic Vacuum, that’s awesome)
- A steam mop with washable pads
- Good squeegees
- Long dusters with sticks to clean your fans and ceilings
- Scrubbing brushes
How Do I organize My Cleaning Supplies?
I am one of those neat-freak people. In fact, my husband thinks that I am obsessed with cleaning and painting. Maybe I am! Oh well, who doesn’t like a clean place, right? It’s always peaceful to sit in a clean environment.
Being Organized Is A Great Habit To Have
Nothing is more powerful than being organized. Hence, I like my stuff organized and since we have a double story house now it’s even more important that we stay more organized. That’s why I put these cute DIY cleaning caddies together. Boy, these tiny little caddies are an amazing helper for me!
Most of our big cleaning supplies are stored in our garage for easy access.
Basic Supply list For Dollar Tree Cleaning Caddy
By simplifying your list and using pretty and well-coordinated supplies you can really make your everyday life easy.
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- 1- A basket (color of your choice) $1
- 2- Two spray bottles $2
- 3- Cleaning gloves $1
- 4- Baking soda
- 5- Scrub buddies $1
- 6- Microfiber cleaning cloths
Most of the supplies I purchased from Dollar Tree are for less than $10 total. Pretty cheap, as I am a bit thrifty. However, I do like to invest in a good vacuum and a steam mop.
Dollar Tree even has baking soda, but I purchased mine from Costco. Of course, this list doesn’t comprise of every single thing I use to clean every part of my home…but it gets the job of cleaning job done.
How Do You Set Up A Cleaning Routine?
Well, if you are anything like me, you not only want to get your cleaning done but also save time. It’s only possible if you are organized and productive. Here is what I prefer to do when it comes to cleaning our house: I keep my simple basic supplies in cleaning caddies wherever I clean quite often. For instance, I have this bathroom cleaning caddy in both bathrooms upstairs. No need to run downstairs to get any supplies to clean while I am working upstairs. The same system is being used downstairs for kitchen cleaning. Our laundry room and kitchen have small cleaning caddies as well to get the job done quickly.
Although there is no harm in adopting this method at all to speed up your cleaning process to save you time, you don’t have to adapt my system, just do what works best for you.
I have assigned days to do different chores around the house because, as a working mother, things can get easily out of control.
Here is my simple cleaning checklist and routine to use for busy moms with toddlers.
How Do You Organize Your Cleaning Supplies Tools?
Large cleaning tools can be hidden away and organized in the garage. That’s what we do using different organizers. You can also neatly tuck away all these tools and cleaning gadgets in a linen closet. Under the sink is another awesome place to organize your everyday-use cleaning items for your home. I hope these tips help you to make your life easier.
- Use a rack to hang all your mops
- Your cleaning caddy will house most of your regular-use items
- Store your vacuums in your linen closet or in the garage
Being organized gives you the freedom to use your time on some fun stuff!

DIY All-Purpose Home Made Cleaner
If you have been around Bushra’s Lifestyle, then you know that I love do-it-yourself techniques, so most of the time I make my own stuff, such as homemade cleaner. I’m so proud of it since I have small children, and it is very effective and doesn’t give any exposure to chemicals.
Simple Ingredients For Homemade Cleaning Products
Here is what I use for my homemade cleaner:
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of vinegar
- A few drops of Dawn Soap
- You can add some essential oil for a nice smell, such as lemon essential oil or lavender oil of your choice. It works like magic. Go for it!
Directions
Seriously, it could not be any easier! Combine everything together and shake well (shake prior to each use). Now you are good to go. Use it on your mirrors and wipe off your kitchen and bathroom countertops. I use it all over the house and it’s the best part of my cleaning caddy. It even gets rid of tough stains. The big thing is that there is no damage to your brain, and you are feeling proud to be helping the environment to stay green.
Don’t use it on granite countertops, though, as vinegar has acidity in it and it can cause etching in natural stone. Use simple water with a few drops of Dawn Soap instead. Hence, I have two spray bottles: one with a vinegar solution and one without.
Glass Spray Bottles Vs Plastic Spray Bottles
Use a glass bottle if you don’t want to use plastic. I use a plastic bottle for us right now because I don’t want my kids to break those bottles, as my little kiddos like to help me when I’m cleaning. But, if you have children who understand better, then use a glass bottle, which is even better as you can’t use essential oils in plastic bottles. They go bad really fast.
Here is a cute kids cleaning play set to teach them housekeeping from an early age.
Add Toilet Cleaner In Your Cleaning Caddy
Use the same homemade cleaner for the toilet as well. Spray it all around the toilet and let it sit for 15 minutes. Since you have the vinegar in the cleaner it will kill germs and get rid of stains. After 15 minutes, sprinkle in some baking soda, as the baking soda is also a magical cleaning powder to use. It acts as a gentle abrasive to help with scrubbing and it also absorbs odors. Scrub the toilet with a toilet brush and flush when done. After that, use a microfiber cloth to clean all around the toilet, such as around the seat, and you are good to go. It only takes 10 minutes of your time.
I hope this helps as much as it is helping our family to stay healthy and be able to clean tremendously. I have to admit, ever since I have made these cleaning caddies my house is more sparkling clean than ever. It’s easier to carry a small cleaning caddy than taking 100 things with you.

Save Money Using Homemade Cleaning Supply Caddy
You not only clean your house quickly by using these homemade cleaners but also save money because, as you know, store-bought cleaners are not cheap. They’re not only very expensive but also full of hazardous chemicals. I am one of those penny-pinching moms who like to save every penny she can. Use a little jar to put extra money into it so you can add those pennies toward your entertainment or fun account.
How To Go Green While Keeping Your House Clean
Cut paper towels completely and help to make the earth go green again. My family doesn’t use paper towels anymore as we want to live green. It’s been 9 years since I switched to microfiber cloths, and I am loving it. We have color-coded them. Like, in the bathrooms they are blue and turquoise but for the kitchen we use yellow. It sounds a bit crazy, but I also color-coded my gloves and even spray bottles. I use one for all-purpose homemade cleaner and the other one I use for the glass cleaner.
If you have not made the switch to microfiber cleaning cloths now is the perfect time to do so. It’s going to feel weird for the first few weeks and after that, it will be the norm for you. By going green, you are not just going to help yourself but also feel good about it. I am all about going green. Microfiber cloths are part of my cleaning caddies. They just make cleaning so much easier! No streaks for anything. A spotless look.
See, my cleaner even matches with the bottle…lol! I use a mason jar for my baking soda. It’s easy to use: just stick a little spoon inside the jar.
Spring Cleaning For Interior And Exterior Of The House
Now, carry your pretty cleaning caddy and start cleaning all around the house to welcome Spring in your home! I am already getting anxious as the Spring fever and my nesting nature have already excited me enough to jump right in. As I was growing up, seasonal cleaning was, and still is, one of my favorite things to do. I have watched my mother enjoying all the cleaning as well.
Spring Cleaning Round-Up
This post is part of the spring cleaning roundup as I participated with other awesome bloggers to bring you the best resources.
1- For your complete spring cleaning, you do need some additional cleaning supplies and cleaning checklists. Go check Sarah’s post out for this. She has a great list to go over and give your house a deep and thorough cleaning!
2- Michelle at Blessings by me created this Best Bathroom Cleaning Checklist for you. She is a very organized person who knows how to tackle every task in a quick and organized manner.
3- Angie Cruise put together a very detailed must have supply cleaning list for you with several natural products.
Happy Spring and happy cleaning!
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What do you think? Do you still use paper towels, or did you already made a switch to microfiber cloths? Do you believe in going green?
23 thoughts on “A Cool DIY Cleaning Caddy Under $10”
Terrific Idea! I had a cleaning caddy in my other house and want to go back to doing that 🙂 I need to try your cleaner recipe…what a cool idea!
Thanks Sarah!
As always thanks for making everything easy and beautiful! Now, I have to assemble my cleaning caddy. LOL.
Hey, I left you comments on your about page, did you happened to see them. Your comments are disabled for your posts. Thanks dear.
Very cool, especially the recipe for the chemical-free cleaner! I hope your kiddos are feeling better soon!
Thank you much, yes they are doing a lot better. I think it’s the season.
Great idea!! I really need to do this. It would be so much easier than walking back and forth through the house looking for my cleaning supplies.
Hahahah yes, Michelle, it sure cut down the walk.
Wow, Bushra! I love that you make your own homemade cleaner & use microfiber towels only. I need to be more like you!
You have many more other qualities. So no worry. I am just a mom…LOL in your age, I didn’t bother any of that….LOL. Just take advantage of that…Thanks for your love and constant support!
Hahaha I want to be better!
I Too have a caddy but a bucket for all my detergents. I love that green basket though, I have red ones for my potatoes.
It’s time saving thing! I love it.
U hv indeed passed on too good info to us.. 🙂 I keep searching for my detergents everywhere… This terrific idea will help me a lot.. Thanks a ton 🙂
Hahahah
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Thanks for your cleaning caddy idea. I have something similar, but not as organized. I’ve gotta try your tips!
BTW, I totally have become a believer in the power of microfiber cloths. Who knew they work better than the traditional sponges? And they’re antibacterial to boot!
You are so welcome!
This DIY cleaning tips are easy to follow thanks for sharing this one i really learned a lot.
Awe, thank you!
Thanks for sharing this DIY cleaning tips i really learned a lot.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful article, I really like it.