I Tried a Cleaning Apron for the First Time, and It’s a Legit Game-Changer

If there’s anything more interesting than thinking about all the cleaning and organizing tricks my mom taught me, it’s learning about what other people’s parents taught them about taking care of a home. For instance, my friend’s mom told me how she used to just fold clothes inside out when her husband or kids didn’t bother turning them right side out. Putting that little tip into practice cut my laundry folding time in half and, more to the point, helped put a stop to the inside-out clothes. 

I was at a new friend’s house recently and we got around to talking about how I write a lot about cleaning and organizing when she told me that her mom used to always walk around the house cleaning and wearing her cleaning apron. 

It was a lightbulb moment for me. A cleaning apron! It had never occurred to me to use one, but now that their existence had been brought to my attention, I had to try one. It seemed like such a smart way to carry my cleaning supplies around my home. And, to be honest, it fits my persona. I ordered the LoDrid Professional Cleaning Apron on Amazon and got even more excited than usual about my next cleaning session. 

It happened a couple of weeks later when my family returned from our Thanksgiving travels. We’d left the house clean, which I do as a gift to my post-vacation self, but the place was dusty and got messy quickly, as it usually does after returning home in a whirlwind. Once suitcases were unpacked and laundry was going, it was time for a thorough whole-house cleaning — and time to try out my new cleaning apron! 

I put it around my waist, slung a tad low so that I didn’t feel constricted. The strap was a little tricky to adjust, but I figured it out eventually. The apron has nine water-resistant pockets, and what’s really fun about them is that there are several different kinds of pockets. Some are large and more open, great for holding cleaning sprays, gloves, rags, scrub brushes, etc. There’s also one with a more secure elastic closure, perfect for something you want to tuck inside, like your phone. 

There are clips for cleaning tools: a smaller one to hang a spray bottle, a velcro one to secure a duster or longer tool, and one that you can string through a small item with a hole, such as a squeegee. I love the versatility and know that I’ll be using the apron for a while before figuring out the ideal setup.

But even this first time using the apron, it was fun to load it up. I grabbed my Swiffer duster, my Mrs. Meyer’s All-Purpose Cleaner in Orange Clove, a couple of my favorite cleaning rags, and my Safely Glass Cleaner. I tucked my phone into the elastic pocket (gotta have my audiobook playing while I clean!) and then I got to work. 

Having the apron made the job so much more efficient than I expected. While I try to keep a set of cleaning supplies in every bathroom and the kitchen, there are some tools, such as the duster, that I only have one of and need to carry around. I also was feeling a bit festive and wanted to leave the lingering smell of orange clove from my all-purpose cleaner all over, so I needed to carry the bottle with me. The apron made it so easy to go from room to room and have even the more unique products and tools I wanted to use close at hand. Additionally, I didn’t have to carry anything around to the more hidden areas of my home where I didn’t have a set of cleaning supplies handy. 

Besides acting like a hands-free cleaning caddy, the cleaning apron offered an additional and surprising benefit: It kept me on task. Wearing something out of the ordinary that also has some heft and a bit of awkwardness to it makes it hard to forget that it’s on. Consequently, it was much harder for me to get sidetracked as I was cleaning. The apron reminded me I was in cleaning mode and helped me get the job done that much faster. 

I appreciate my cleaning apron far more than I expected to. It streamlines mundane, ever-present tasks by eliminating the need to keep track of the supplies I’m using while I make my way around the house. In a word, they make cleaning easier, and I, for one, think they should make a comeback.