5 Cleaning Tips We Learned From Barbara Costello, "Brunch With Babs"

Note: This article is an original, publication-ready piece based on real housekeeping advice associated with Barbara Costello, better known online as "Brunch With Babs."

Some people make cleaning feel like punishment with better lighting. Barbara Costello makes it feel like your favorite grandmother walked into the room, handed you a spray bottle, and said, "Honey, we are not living with mysterious crumbs anymore." Known to millions as Brunch With Babs, Costello has built a warm, practical corner of the internet around cooking, hosting, homemaking, and the kind of cleaning advice that does not require a chemistry degree or a second mortgage.

What makes Barbara Costello cleaning tips so appealing is not just that they work. It is that they feel doable. Her approach is organized but not fussy, frugal but not joyless, and realistic enough for homes where laundry multiplies overnight and someone always leaves one spoon in the sink after the dishwasher starts. Instead of chasing a spotless fantasy, Babs teaches simple routines that make everyday housekeeping easier.

Below are five of the best cleaning tips we learned from Barbara Costello, plus practical ways to use them in a real American home with real schedules, real kids, real pets, and real mystery sticky spots.

1. Start Spring Cleaning With the Closet

Babs treats spring cleaning as a reset, not a weekend-long endurance sport. One of her smartest ideas is to begin with the closet. That may sound oddly specific, but it makes sense. Closets are where seasonal clutter hides, where winter sweaters go to hibernate, and where clothes you have not worn since the previous administration continue taking up valuable hanger real estate.

The Brunch With Babs method is refreshingly simple: remove everything, clean the empty space, then put back only what belongs there for the season ahead. Dust the shelves, vacuum the floor, wipe the baseboards, and make the closet feel like a clean little boutique instead of a textile storage cave.

Why This Tip Works

Closet-first cleaning creates instant momentum. When you switch out winter clothing for spring and summer pieces, you are forced to make decisions. Do you actually wear that coat? Does that blouse need mending? Are those pants still waiting for a magical lifestyle in which you attend yacht brunches every Thursday? If not, donate, repair, store, or let go.

This method also makes the rest of the house easier to clean. Once off-season items are packed away and donation bags are out the door, bedrooms feel lighter. Less clutter means less dust, less decision fatigue, and fewer mornings spent saying, "I have nothing to wear" while staring into a closet that clearly disagrees.

How to Do It at Home

Pick one closet, not all of them. Remove everything from the floor and shelves. Wipe surfaces from top to bottom. Sort clothes into keep, store, mend, donate, and toss piles. Be honest, but not dramatic. You are cleaning a closet, not judging your entire personality.

For best results, add labels to storage bins and keep a small donation bag nearby. When something no longer fits your season, style, or life, you do not need a committee meeting. Into the bag it goes.

2. Clean the Filters Everyone Forgets

One of the most useful Brunch With Babs cleaning tips is also one of the least glamorous: clean your filters. Washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, vacuums, furnace systems, and range hoods all have filters or filter-like parts that collect lint, grease, dust, food debris, and other household confetti nobody invited.

Filters are easy to ignore because they are usually hidden. Unfortunately, "out of sight, out of mind" can turn into "why does my appliance smell like a wet sock in a swamp?" A clogged filter can reduce performance, trap odors, and make machines work harder than they should.

Where to Look First

Start with the dishwasher filter. It often sits at the bottom of the dishwasher and can be removed for rinsing. If dishes come out cloudy, gritty, or still wearing last night’s pasta sauce like a badge of honor, the filter may need attention.

Next, check the washing machine filter. Many front-load washers have a small access panel near the bottom. Place a towel and shallow pan nearby before opening it because surprise water is not the kind of surprise anyone enjoys.

Do not forget the range hood filter above the stove. Grease builds up quietly, especially if you cook often. For metal filters, a soak in hot water with degreasing dish soap and baking soda can loosen grime. Some metal filters may also be dishwasher-safe, but always check the manual first.

Make Filter Cleaning a Habit

The easiest system is to add filter checks to your calendar. Once a month, check the dishwasher and range hood. Every few months, inspect the washing machine, vacuum, and refrigerator filters. For furnace or HVAC filters, follow the manufacturer’s guidance and change them as needed.

This is not glamorous work, but it is powerful. Cleaning filters is like giving your appliances a spa day, minus cucumber water and soft robes.

3. Make Your Own Simple Cleaners

Babs is a big believer in simple homemade cleaners, especially the classic combination of vinegar, water, and other basic household ingredients. Her philosophy is practical: many everyday messes do not need an army of expensive bottles. Sometimes, a simple DIY cleaning solution is enough to handle counters, glass, light grime, and general freshening.

A basic all-purpose cleaner can include distilled water, white vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. For a more pleasant scent, many people infuse vinegar with citrus peels before diluting it. The result smells brighter than plain vinegar and gives you a very satisfying reason to save orange peels instead of throwing them away immediately like tiny compost cowards.

A Babs-Inspired All-Purpose Cleaning Routine

Use a clean spray bottle. Combine distilled water, white vinegar, and a small amount of rubbing alcohol. Shake gently before use. Spray on appropriate non-stone surfaces, then wipe with a microfiber cloth.

For glass and windows, a streak-free approach works best when you use distilled water, vinegar, and rubbing alcohol. Clean on a cloudy day or in the evening so the solution does not dry too quickly. Wipe from top to bottom using a microfiber cloth, coffee filter, old T-shirt, or newspaper.

Surfaces to Avoid

Vinegar is useful, but it is not magic juice for every surface. Avoid using vinegar on natural stone such as marble or granite, and be careful with electronics, unsealed grout, waxed wood, and delicate finishes. When in doubt, test in a hidden spot or use a cleaner recommended by the manufacturer.

Baking soda is another Babs-style staple because it offers gentle scrubbing power. It can help with sinks, tubs, and stubborn residue. However, not every job should become a baking soda experiment. Heavy oven grime, for example, may require a dedicated oven cleaner or a manufacturer-approved method.

4. Keep the Bathroom Tools Where You Actually Use Them

Here is a small tip with big behavioral power: keep the toilet brush near the toilet. It sounds almost too obvious, which is exactly why it works. Babs understands that convenience drives consistency. If a cleaning tool is hidden in a closet three rooms away, you are much less likely to use it for a quick touch-up.

Bathrooms get messy fast. Toothpaste dots appear on mirrors. Soap scum gathers like it has a lease. Toilets need regular attention. Instead of waiting for a dramatic deep-cleaning day, keep useful tools within reach so small messes do not become full productions.

Make Function Look Good

If the idea of a visible toilet brush makes your design-loving heart twitch, choose one with a simple holder that fits your bathroom style. Bamboo, ceramic, stainless steel, or marble-look holders can make a practical tool feel less like an afterthought.

Apply the same logic to other bathroom basics. Keep microfiber cloths under the sink. Store a daily shower spray nearby. Put a small caddy in the vanity with glass cleaner, disinfecting wipes, gloves, and a sponge. You are not cluttering the room; you are reducing friction.

The Two-Minute Bathroom Reset

Try this mini routine: wipe the counter, swish the toilet, straighten towels, and spray the shower after use. It takes about two minutes, which is shorter than scrolling through cleaning videos while pretending that counts as cleaning. The more often you do tiny resets, the less often the bathroom reaches horror-movie status.

5. Treat Cleaning Like a Family Project

One of the most practical lessons from Barbara Costello is that cleaning should not be one person’s invisible job. A clean home works best when everyone contributes. Babs recommends family meetings, chore charts, and shared systems so the household feels like a team instead of one exhausted person chasing everyone else with a laundry basket.

This is especially helpful for families with kids. Children are more capable than many adults assume, especially when tasks are clear, age-appropriate, and repeated often enough to become routine. No, a five-year-old will not fold fitted sheets like a luxury hotel employee. Honestly, many adults cannot either. But kids can sort socks, put toys away, carry laundry, wipe tables, and return items to their rooms.

The Laundry Loop Idea

A simple laundry loop teaches responsibility without turning laundry into a battlefield. Kids place dirty clothes in their basket, bring the basket to the laundry area, and return clean clothes to their rooms after washing. The key is closing the loop. Laundry is not finished when it is clean. It is finished when it is put away.

For older children and adults, assign zones. One person handles the garage. Another takes the bathrooms. Someone else empties the dishwasher. Rotate jobs weekly if that keeps things fair, or assign permanent jobs if your household prefers routine.

Why the Team Approach Matters

Shared cleaning systems prevent resentment. They also teach life skills. A child who learns how to clean a sink, sort laundry, and wipe a counter grows into an adult who does not consider a vacuum cleaner an ancient artifact.

Keep meetings short and positive. Discuss what needs doing, assign tasks, and celebrate progress. Add music if needed. A portable speaker can turn a cleaning session from punishment into a mildly chaotic dance party with dusting.

Extra Cleaning Lessons Inspired by Babs

Beyond the five main tips, the Brunch With Babs approach carries a larger message: homemaking is not about perfection. It is about making your home easier to live in. That mindset changes everything.

Instead of waiting until the house is a disaster, build small routines. Wipe the stove after dinner. Empty the dishwasher before breakfast. Put donation items in a bin as soon as you notice them. Keep a cleaning caddy stocked with gloves, cloths, spray bottles, trash bags, and a sponge. When supplies are ready, cleaning feels less like climbing a mountain in flip-flops.

Another useful idea is the five-bin decluttering system: trash, recycle, donate, relocate, and resell. This method keeps decision-making simple. Every object has a destination. That pile of random cords, expired coupons, toy pieces, and one lonely battery no longer gets to sit on the dining table for six weeks claiming diplomatic immunity.

Real-Life Experience: Testing the Brunch With Babs Cleaning Mindset

The best thing about cleaning advice from Barbara Costello is that it feels built for real homes, not showroom houses where nobody eats toast. When I tried applying a Babs-style cleaning routine, the biggest change was not that the house suddenly looked perfect. It was that the work felt less overwhelming.

I started with the closet because that seemed like the easiest win. At first, pulling everything out felt like a terrible mistake. The bed disappeared under sweaters, shoes, tote bags, and several items that could only be described as "aspirational clothing." But once the closet was empty, wiping the shelves and vacuuming the floor took only a few minutes. The hard part was deciding what deserved to go back in.

The surprise was how emotional clutter can be. A jacket is not just a jacket when you remember where you wore it. A shirt is not just a shirt when you bought it for a version of yourself who apparently planned to attend many rooftop events. Babs’ practical style helps here because it removes the drama. If you wear it, keep it. If it needs repair, repair it. If it serves someone else better, donate it. Simple rules are a gift.

Next came the filters, and this was humbling. The dishwasher filter looked like it had been storing evidence. After rinsing it and wiping the area around it, the dishwasher smelled fresher and seemed to clean better. The range hood filter was even more convincing. A soak in hot water, dish soap, and baking soda lifted grease that I had been pretending not to see. This was the moment I understood why Babs talks about overlooked maintenance. Some cleaning tasks are not about appearance; they protect the tools that keep your home running.

The homemade cleaner was the most satisfying experiment. A vinegar-based spray is inexpensive, easy to mix, and great for quick wipe-downs on suitable surfaces. It worked well on a kitchen trash can lid, cabinet smudges, and a few mystery marks near a light switch. The smell faded quickly, especially with citrus involved. Still, the biggest lesson was knowing when not to use it. Vinegar does not belong on everything, and a smart cleaner respects the surface.

The bathroom-tool tip changed behavior immediately. Keeping a decent-looking toilet brush beside the toilet made quick cleaning feel automatic. Instead of waiting for bathroom cleaning day, I did small touch-ups. The room stayed fresher with less effort, which is basically the holy grail of housekeeping.

Finally, the family cleaning idea made the biggest long-term difference. A chore chart sounds old-school, but old-school works when the alternative is one person silently rage-cleaning while everyone else asks where the snacks are. Assigning jobs made expectations visible. The house did not become perfect, but the work became shared. That is the real Babs magic: she makes cleaning feel less like a burden and more like a set of habits that support daily life.

Conclusion

Barbara Costello, "Brunch With Babs," has earned her place as the internet’s favorite home mentor because her cleaning wisdom is warm, practical, and refreshingly human. Her best advice is not about buying more products or chasing impossible perfection. It is about starting where you are, using what you have, and creating systems that make home life smoother.

Start with one closet. Clean one forgotten filter. Mix one simple cleaner. Put one tool where you will actually use it. Hold one family meeting. These small actions build a cleaner, calmer home without turning your weekend into a dust-powered survival show.

In the end, the best cleaning tips from Barbara Costello are really life tips in disguise: simplify, share the work, maintain what you own, and never underestimate the power of a good microfiber cloth.