There will come a time in your life where you look around your home and decide you need professional intervention for the mess you've made or accrued over many, many years of ignoring the concept of a "deep clean". Here's how to avoid getting to that point.

We told you to rinse your recyclables. "But what about the wasted water?" you asked. So we asked some scientists. The short answer is, a quick rinse is usually worth it. The long answer is also pretty interesting!

Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist, and author of the New York Times bestselling book, My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. Her flagship column, "Ask a Clean Person", debuted in 2011. Here on Lifehacker, we've launched a new iteration of it, focusing on parenting and all the messes it brings.

Jolie Kerr is a cleaning expert, advice columnist and author of the New York Times bestselling book, My Boyfriend Barfed In My Handbag... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. Her flagship column, "Ask a Clean Person", debuted in 2011. Here on Lifehacker, we've launched a new iteration of it, focusing on parenting and all the messes it brings. 

Kitchen sinks are usually thought of as something that you clean things in, not something that needs cleaning itself, but organisational guru Marla Cilley - also known as the Fly Lady - swears that a sparkling sink is the key to a happier, more organised kitchen.

Even if you are building a brand new computer, odds are you have some old gear around the house you'd like to get as much life out of as possible. From phones to old laptops to old TVs, here are some tips to speed up and clean up your older tech.

Discovering sippy cups filled with old milk is quite gross... so, uh, what's the best way clean your sippy cups/toddler straw cups?

I like company. I don't even mind unexpected, last-minute, "hey, I'm in your neighbourhood" company. In fact, if I am home, I am almost always ready to receive guests, but my kitchen is another story. But even if there is a pile of dishes in the sink and a weird smell hovering in the air, I can get it in decent shape in about 10 minutes. Here's how I do it.

I'm a fan of messy kid-art. My husband is not. However, what lessens his anxiety when he sees our daughter squeezing food colouring into play dough or marbleising paper with shaving cream is the fact that her work is mostly contained on serving trays.

A belated New York Times obituary pays tribute to inventor Frances Gabe, who designed, built, and lived in "the world's only self-cleaning home." Gabe comes across as a delightful and ingenious crank in a home full of "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" contraptions. Her big idea: Turn the average home into a giant dishwasher.

After you do a few loads of laundry, the measuring cap for your detergent can get all gunked up and sticky. If you're tired of that, you can give it a thorough cleaning with your next load of laundry.

Can you leave your recyclables dirty? A little, yes. But don't leave them filthy, a recycling professional tells MEL Magazine. While recycling plants eventually wash all the materials they recycle, a lot of it sits around first. Excess food waste can attract pests and make it more expensive to recycle things. So if you're throwing filthy containers into the recycling bin, you might do more harm than if you just threw them in the trash.

The best way to prevent your workout clothes from stinking is to rinse them out immediately after sweating into them. Since you're taking a shower already, that's easy. But what to do with those sopping wet garments?

The old trope of "cleaning up for the cleaning lady" isn't entirely silly: While you should leave the real cleaning for the person you've hired to clean, you should also tidy up - and maybe even do a few spot-checks. If it's your cleaner's first time in your home, you should also have some instructions prepared. It will make both of you much happier.

Fat makes food taste good, but greasy food has a way of lingering in the air - and on the dishes - long after a meal has ended. If you're sick of finding oil slicks on dishes you could have sworn were clean, you owe it to yourself to fill a spray bottle with vinegar and keep it near your kitchen sink.

I like to wash dishes. It's one of my few responsibilities that doesn't require any mental effort. You might not like washing dishes. You might try soaking them in a bad-faith act of procrastination. Here's an idea: Pick one of your favourite podcasts, and only listen to it when you wash the dishes.

Decluttering old or useless junk might make you feel jubilant and free, but not everyone shares that mindset. Whether it's a ratty old recliner your spouse won't give up, an overabundance of cookware in the kitchen, or a collection of weird posters your roommate hung in your living room, there are ways to compromise when it's time for a thorough spring cleaning.

You wake up in the morning, groggily go to pour some coffee, and that's when the smell hits you. It's robust, wretched, and it's coming from your sink - dirty dishes. The night before you filled some crusty bowls and pans with water under the pretense of cleaning them later on, but you forgot and now you're regretting it. It's time to stop lying to yourself - it's time to stop soaking.

Sweaty clothes stink, but sweaty workout clothes stink worst of all. Like those synthetic-fibre leggings, those sweat-wicking socks, those "technical" tees? Phew. These fabrics are especially prone to harbouring the smelliest bacteria.