Cleaning up a mess with another mess is counterintuitive, and that’s how I’ve often viewed mopping. The big bucket of water sloshing around as you move through the house goes from clean and soapy to dirty and flat faster than you’d like. I’ve personally overcome these issues by using products like a Swiffer Wet Jet or the Bissell CrossWave Omniforce, which spray water away instead of relying on a traditional bucket system. But you don’t have to spend a ton of money on a specialty product or other bulky cleaning device if you don’t want to. There’s a cheaper, easier way to mop better: use a spray bottle.

A mop bucket, vacuum-mop combo, or even the humble Swiffer take up a lot of space and can be pricey. A spray bottle, on the other hand, is neither. You can pick one up right now at the dollar store, or Target has one for $4. All you really need beyond that is a simple mop. Instead of mixing your cleaner and water in a big, clunky bucket, just mix it all up in the spray bottle and start spraying your floor. It’s easier and less messy than dunking your entire mop in a big tub of soapy water. The drying time is faster, you can be more precise, and you don’t have to lug the bucket around with you.

If you’re a bit of a traditionalist and can’t wrap your head around the idea of not using a bucket, can I at least interest you in a better bucket? It’s high time you upgraded to a bucket that reduces the amount of liquid in your mop head, which means less liquid ends up on your floor. O-Cedar makes a variety of QuickWring systems that compress your mop head, making it less, well, wet. If space is an issue, get a small one for $31.49. If you have the space to store it, you can get one for $49.99 that separates clean and dirty water, making your mopping more fruitful. Both also come with a mop, so you get your money’s worth and ensure that the mop you’re using actually fits in the wringer.

Lindsey Ellefson is Lifehacker’s Features Editor. She currently writes about study and productivity hacks, as well as household and digital declutter, and oversees Lifehacker’s sex and relationships freelancers. She spent most of her pre-Lifehacker career writing about media and politics for outlets including Us Weekly, CNN, The Daily Dot, Mashable, Glamour, and InStyle. In recent years, she’s focused on drug use and the overdose crisis as a freelancer, with pieces appearing in Vanity Fair, WIRED, The New Republic, The Daily Beast, and more. Her story for BuzzFeed News won the 2022 American Journalism Online Award for Best Debunking of Fake News.