The kitchen is the heart of the home and how orderly it is can make or break your day.
It is hard to make time for deep cleaning the kitchen. Bi-annual deep cleaning is a good idea when you’re a busy mom. But, sincerely, that’s a long period of time for such a busy place (like a kitchen) to stay clean. As for being the most active area, it is sure to become a disaster zone.
Similarly, being the primary room, it should be ready to use at any time. A pleasing place for family meals, and for when no-notice guests arrive.
Another reason to have a clean kitchen is to ensure a germ-free, bacteria-free kitchen area that will reduce the likelihood of attracting pests – ants, cockroaches, and rats.
I throw up my hands in despair and look forward to eating out when I have a sink full of dishes or an unruly messy worktop.
Establishing these daily habits will help you overcome all of the aforementioned inconveniences, and experience a squeaky-clean kitchen all the time:
8 DAILY HABITS FOR A CLEAN KITCHEN
1) Begin your day in a clean kitchen:
Is there any mess from the last night? Food ingredients, dirty dishes, garbage, or spills on the kitchen top? Take a few minutes to get that away, first.
Move all the dirty dishes out of the sink. Run the sink with hot water. Add dish soap. Let the dishes soak well while you clear the countertops.
Put away spice jars, sauce bottles, or anything that should go inside the refrigerator or cabinets.
Complete one task before moving on to the next.
Gather all garbage. Pick all of the wet garbage, wrappers, and boxes.
Now you’re halfway there.
Quickly wash the dishes in case of handwashing or start the dishwasher. Wash down the kitchen top.
Preferably this cleanup should be done after each meal or at least twice a day.
But it can still be done once at night to clear off anything that is remaining from the day and enable a fresh start with fresh energy.
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2) Clean the sink after dishes:
Two things have made me habituated to this and I’m so thankful for it. One is the FlyLady shining your sink method.
Second, I can’t remember where I read once – how vintage homemakers kept their homes clean.
In that article, it was referred that they washed their sink after washing dishes following every meal. It struck me hard.
Those homemakers tried their hardest without any modern conveniences like we have today. I was really embarrassed.
The kitchen sink is the place where all the important tasks are carried out: washing – fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, utensils, pet eating/drinking bowls, and whatnot. Hence, it collects dirt, and grease, and is brimming with various kinds of bacteria and microbes.
Developing a habit of cleaning the sink once a day and disinfecting it a couple of times a week will ensure proper cleanliness and safety.
Learn how to clean your kitchen sink here.
Related: No More Dirty Dishes – 8 Hacks To Make Dishwashing Easier
3) Deal with the leftovers immediately:
I have been really bad at this.
I use to let the leftover food sit there for hours and come back only to know the food has gone bad.
I regret dumping so much food because of my poor habit of negligence.
Now that I tend to it immediately, it saves me a lot of time and energy to cook fresh meals a couple times every week.
4) Have a trash container:
Have a bowl to collect scraps and waste in one place while prepping food.
This helps prevent frequent trips to throw the waste.
Having the garbage bin under the sink is a nice plan too.
5) Make use of cook-time:
This technique has been so much helpful.
Most recipes call for at least 30 minutes of cooking/baking time. That’s a lot of time to clean up all the cooking messes.
Clear up the trash, clean the utensils, wipe off grease from the walls, and clean up the countertops.
Challenge yourself to get more done during this time. If this is done and there’s still some more time in your hands, move forward and quickly declutter a cabinet drawer or wipe down cabinet doors.
There will be considerably less to clean later on.
6) Make organizing a top priority:
Declutter and organize every now and then.
Do you have to move spice supplies, knife rack, and so, in order to use your worktop? Chances are you have a cluttered space.
Start by removing things that are occupying space in your cabinets that you no longer use. Sell them. Donate them. Just get rid of them.
Now you have more room to store daily essentials – blenders, canisters, etc
Store things in the order of their usage. Things that are used often in the front and occasionally used at the back.
Cleanup is easier when you don’t have to move things around.
7) Don’t forget the floors:
Having the floors swept or vacuumed makes a huge difference. Your kitchen clean-up would be incomplete without this step.
Quickly go through — pick up things and give the floors a good sweep before your call it a day.
8) Have a basket:
Have a basket to gather the items that don’t belong to the kitchen – mail, papers, toys, books, stationery, etc.,
If your kids are older they can help you restore things.
Else, get back to it later. For now, focus on the kitchen.
Keeping a basket will make tidying cinch.
Final words:
Now we have it. 8 easiest daily habits for a clean kitchen. Don’t try to follow them altogether.
Don’t overstress even when you haven’t been doing any of them.
Just pick one or two habits (whichever you find easier) and work on them until they come naturally to you. Then proceed with a few others.
Thank you so much for reading. Happy Cleaning!