on buckets, I figure I only use the inside surface so as long as that's sanitary I'm good. This means that I can sanitize the bucket by filling it with sanitizer. this is usually deep enough to sanitize anything else I might need to sanitize.
If I am bottling a whole batch and the timing works I will put the bottles in the oven the night before and bake them at 350 for 20-60 minutes and then turn the oven off and leave them there till the next morning. anything that can't be baked or won't fit in a bucket I just throw away cause I can't think of a reason that I need it. but if I DID need it I would spray it down really well with star san.
For cleaning I use the garden hose and a cotton or nylon grain bag, again, I'm almost always cleaning a bucket or a kettle if I'm cleaning big stuff so that becomes my 'sink' till I'm done.
Kegs get PBW and hot water inside, shaken well and then transferred under pressure to the next container that needs cleaning. same with sanitizer.