1.       Scrubbing Bubbles Gel. Every time you flush a toilet with Scrubbing Bubbles, the gel disc that is cleverly disguised under the toilet seat cleans the bowl. It also deodorizes continuously so your bathroom smells fresh, even if it really isn’t. If only it could flush the toilet for your kids when they don’t bother to! One gel disc lasts about a week and each dispenser has six gel discs. I just plop a new one into the toilet every week.  www.scrubbingbubbles.com

2.       Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. I know these aren’t new at all, but I live with a 3-year-old, so they’re mandatory for cleaning up. I believe they save me from repainting my house every year. It’s pretty disgusting how gross my walls, doors, and stair rails get from sticky dirty hands. This is one of my weekly rituals I perform while I catch up with my girlfriends on the phone. www.mrclean.com

3.       Bar Keepers Friend Powdered Cleanser.  This product has been around since 1882, but it’s new to me. I found it on the bottom rack of the cleaning products in my grocery store and love it! It’s less abrasive than other powdered cleansers and eats up grease and grime better than anything else I’ve tried. I use it to clean everything from my kitchen sink and the yucky, gunky stuff from my stove top to the bottom of my pots and the spaghetti stains in my Tupperware.  www.barkeepersfriend.com

4.       Chef’s Planet Non-Stick Oven Liner.  Normally, I wouldn’t spend $20 on something to prevent a mess, but this is one product I can’t live without. This liner collects all of the spills and drips at the bottom of the oven and then you literally run soapy water over it and it falls off. No more cleaning the bottom of the oven. No more buying those toxic faux lemon scented sprays. In college I almost burnt the house down because I forgot to wipe out the oven and then I pre-heated the oven later that day. I figure the $20 I spent is like fire insurance for an absent-minded and overcommitted mom.  www.chefsplanet.com

5.       A Clear Choice Carpet Cleaner. This cleaner can be used on carpets, inside the car, on laundry stains, and even on furniture. You spray it on, let it soak, and then wipe it off.  The night before my friend was going to put her house on the market, her son vomited a combination of Hawaiian Punch and Pop Rocks all over the center of her white living room carpet. I rushed over, applied the magic spray, and the 20-inch diameter vomit spot faded away in 30 minutes. (Warning: If you eat Pop Rocks and Hawaiian Punch it may cause vomiting! Only a teenage boy would think that’s a delicacy.) www.aclearchoice.com