Cleaning tips!!

Time for some cleaning tips from yours truly! Many of these are things I do myself, as well as good ideas I've read or heard along the way, and a few I've picked up from my mother. (Have I mentioned I'm somewhat germophobic?)
Kitchen

• Use a fresh dishrag each time you wash the dishes. If you're worried about creating too much dirty laundry, don't--ultimately, dishrags are small and will not take up much space in your washer or dryer.
• Use HOT water when you wash dishes--pretty much as hot as you can stand to put your hands in.
• When hand-washing dishes, start with the least-dirty dishes and work your way to the dirtiest. That way, you won't be depositing food germs on every dish you wash.
• Try to avoid using sponges or dishwands at all. If you must, run them through the dishwasher frequently, or microwave your sponge for 30 seconds to zap the germs. If you really like the convenience of a dishwand, try the brush variety with nylon bristles (nylon doesn't hold onto germs), but still run it through the dishwasher occasionally to clean out the gunk.
• When you're done washing the dishes, use the dishrag to wipe down the counters and stovetop. This is not a "thorough" cleaning and certainly will not replace a good scrubbing with a germ-killing cleaning product, but is great for in-between cleanings to keep things looking good. (And since you're using a fresh dishrag each time you wash the dishes, you don't have to worry about germs from your counters getting on your dishes the next time you wash a sinkful)
• Don't leave wet dishrags wadded up in the sink--this is a breeding ground for germs, mold, and bacteria. If possible, lay them flat to air dry (if they are not going immediately into the washing machine). If you don't have an area to do this, then spread them as flat as possible over the kitchen faucet to air dry.
• Rinse your dishrags of food particles and food stains as much as possible before leaving them out to dry. This will make them come out of the laundry looking much cleaner! 
• Your kitchen sink can get pretty funky, especially if you have a disposal. You may also want to wipe down the sink after each time you wash dishes, as well as run hot water down the disposal. There are products out there for cleaning disposals (I suggest Disposer Care), but an article on WomansDay suggests sprinkling some baking soda, white vinegar, and half a lemon or orange into the disposal, let them sit for 10 to 20 minutes and then let the disposal run.
• The kitchen trash can also be a breeding ground for germs and nasty smells. A great way to combat that is to spray down the trash can with Lysol each time you change the trash bag. Also, don't forget to spray and wipe the underside of the trashcan lid!
• Keep a canister of Lysol/Clorox wipes under your kitchen sink. Since they are easily accessible, you will be more likely to use them for quick clean-ups of germy messes like raw chicken on the counter.

Bathroom

•  Again, keep a canister of wipes under the sink. If you hate the idea of using expensive wipes on a daily basis, keep some inexpensive baby wipes handy to wipe down the sink of hair and toothpaste after you get ready in the morning or at night.
• Rinse down your shower after each use. This will help keep soap scum and globs of shampoo from collecting on the shower walls, becoming difficult to clean later. That same Womans Day article suggests using a squeegee to wipe down the walls to prevent mold and soap scum from building up. They also suggest using body wash instead of bar soap, as it will more easily rinse down the drain and not re-harden to form soap scum. (Plus, it feels better on your skin!)
• Keep a small broom/dustpan or dustbuster handy for quick clean-ups of hair on the floor and vanity.
• Change out your hand towel frequently! I cannot stress this enough. Every few days is probably a good rule of thumb. Also, make sure it is spread out on the towel bar so that it can fully dry between uses--wet or even damp towels are more likely to keep germs alive.

Laundry

• Wash all towels, dishrags, washcloths, and bed sheets in HOT water. They're made to withstand hot temperatures. If you live in an apartment and can't control how hot your water gets, I suggest boiling a pot of water to add to the wash cycle.
• Add your laundry detergent to the wash basin first, while the water is running. Use the detergent cup to spread the water over the detergent and make it sudsy. Then, add in your dirty laundry. This way, all of the soap doesn't end up on only one article of clothing in the washer, not only preventing the other articles from getting clean but also leaving a nice deposit of detergent on that one article of clothing. (ever noticed how your clothes have glowing blotches under a blacklight? That's laundry detergent!)
• Always wash clothes in the warmest water the fabric can tolerate. Many tags say "cold water only," but a lot of times things like cotton t-shirts can be washed in warm water with no harm done. Also, many underoos say "cold water only" but I wash mine in warm water and have never had a problem. (Personally, I like the idea of my skivvies being as clean as possible!)
• Tide makes a Coldwater detergent that is great for those truly delicate items that can only be washed in cold. The claim is that their formula gets clothes cleaner in cold water than a regular detergent would in warm water. If this is true, it would save money on energy!

That's all for now!