15 Traditional Cleaning Tricks You Never Knew

One of the biggest Lunar New Year traditions in China — besides the red envelopes and parades — is the house-cleaning ritual, known as da sao chu. Days before the new year, families undertake a total home purge, scrubbing down every nook and cranny in hopes of sweeping out bad luck and welcoming the future with open arms. Everything has to be spotless.

In my own childhood, I dreaded this practice due to all the obligatory housework involved. (Duh, what kid wants to reorganize a bookshelf?) But, as I grew older and moved out, I found myself gravitating toward the tricks my parents learned through word-of-mouth. So many things we just have laying around can be repurposed as cleaning tools. No wonder they were always reminding me how wasteful it is to toss things out.

To make sure that the Western world is also in on the wisdom, we enlisted Sona Queen, a Taiwanese author and lifestyle guru, to share her favorite hacks. Get ready for 15 unexpected household-cleaning remedies, and brace yourself — these call for expired milk, onions, and sprouted potatoes.