Keeping our home organized and clean is a constant goal and struggle. It sometimes seems that no matter how hard we try to keep our home clean, there’s another unsightly mess that needs to be cleaned up.

Sometimes these messes are caused by our kids. LEGOs on the floor are nearly every parent’s struggle.

Sometimes these messes are caused by, well, the very products we use to keep our homes clean. Take laundry detergent, for example. If you like to save money (don’t we all?) you probably purchase a bulk-size laundry detergent. That probably also means that no matter how much effort you put into keeping your laundry room clean, there is an unsightly laundry detergent cup somewhere in that room.

These large size laundry detergent bottles come with a convenient cup that we can use to measure out the correct amount of detergent, but some of the detergent lingers inside the cup after we pour it in the washer.

It doesn’t help that the laundry detergent is often a dark blue color. If the detergent were a clear color, it would still coat the cup, but at least it wouldn’t look so messy.

If you have one of these blue-coated laundry detergent cups in your laundry room, we have some very good news. It turns out that there is a super easy way to clean it, and if we had been paying closer attention, we would’ve known this all along.

How do you clean the laundry detergent cup? Printed right on the bottom of the cup, it clearly states that you can wash it with soap and water (duh) or you can toss it in your washing machine! That’s right. After pouring the laundry detergent in the washer, you can toss the cup right inside the machine along with your clothes!

All major laundry detergent and fabric softener brands include these machine washable measuring cups. If you’re not sure, just read the text on the bottom of the cup. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.

One word of caution. According to Mama’s Laundry Talk, it’s not a good idea to wash the laundry detergent cup with every load of laundry. Many washers spin very quickly, and this can be a little rough on the little plastic cup. It’s best to wash it with every 3rd or 4th load of laundry.

Did you know that you could wash the laundry detergent cup in your washing machine?