These Miniature Cleaning Products Are Perfect for Small Apartments

Even if you live in a tiny studio apartment or a dorm, you still have to keep it clean. Storing cleaning supplies when you’re limited on space and storage is a burden, but there are small versions of these tools that will help you tidy up your little home while still holding on to some of that precious room in the cupboards and closets. You don’t need to be told to pick up a space-saving stick vacuum, but some other items on this list aren’t quite as common-sense.

Small cleaning supplies for the kitchen

• Travel-sized Lysol disinfecting wipes: Lysol disinfectant wipes are a go-to that people love so much they usually buy them in bulk—but that’s not going to work for you. Instead, grab a three-pack of 15-count wipes ($6.49) designed for messes on the go. The packs will last longer than you think given that the space you’re cleaning is small, and they’ll easily stack or slide in wherever you have space for them.
• Travel-sized Lysol spray: While you’re at it, pick up a four-pack of travel-sized Lysol To Go disinfectant spray ($11.99) for the same reasons.
• A mini mop: For floors, try a mini self-squeezing mop designed to be portable ($9.99). A normal-sized mop, even a sleek Swiffer, takes up too much closet space, but this can be stowed right under your sink. If you really want a full-sized mop and are searching for an option that doesn’t take up much space, this one from JOYMOOP ($49.99) comes with a wringer that has a much smaller footprint than is typical.
• A small broom and dustpan: We’re not saying it won’t be annoying to sweep the floor with this itty-bitty broom, but we’re saying it won’t take up a lot of storage space and will certainly come in handy for small-scale messes. The Mr. Siga broom and dustpan ($12.99) even comes with a handle so you can hang it on the back of a cabinet door.

Small cleaning supplies for the bathroom

• Scrubbing Bubbles wipes: Similar to the Lysol wipes above, your best bet for bathroom cleaning that won’t take up a ton of space is this packet of Scrubbing Bubbles antibacterial bathroom wipes ($4.55), which you can stash behind the toilet or in a cabinet.
• A tiny squeegee: Your mirrors and shower doors need to be squeegeed, but some of the tools on the market are much too large for your purposes. Not this one from Gomake ($7.99), though: Reviewers call it “super compact” and “easy to store.”
• OXO Good Grips Compact toilet brush: Even toilet brushes can be bulky, so try the OXO Good Grips compact version ($17.98) if the space next to your toilet is really tight.

Other ideas for cleaning small spaces

If you live in a city with a sustainable refill station, call to ask if they’ll fill travel-sized containers. These stores offer cleaning products (and even things like shampoos and conditioners) that you can pump into your own containers. The idea here is to eliminate single-use plastic waste, but for you, it could also be a real benefit in terms of space-saving. Grab this set of four travel-sized bottles for $4.99.

Finally, if you live in a dorm or apartment building, see if any of your neighbors want to share custody of some basic cleaning supplies. One of you can hold onto the big bottle of bleach, another can store the vacuum, and so on—but you can coordinate so you all have access to them.

Small-space cleaning, in review

Did you get all that? Here’s a list of everything we just went over: