One morning in college, after a Saturday brunch at a family friend’s house, I was helping out in the kitchen doing what I was taught to do. The methodical steps my mother drilled into me were so twisted they became second nature, even to a nineteen-year-old boy. I didn’t think about it until a family friend of ours said, “Wow, your mom really taught you how to clean the kitchen!”
Eleven years later, I still clean my kitchen the exact same way – and teach my kids to do the same.A mess in the kitchen can be demoralizing. I can’t cook in a dirty kitchen and having to clean it before I start saps my energy. So the kitchen must remain in a primary and general state of cleanliness and order. As the busiest room in the house and where the dirtiest messes are often made, it’s a feat best achieved with some principles firmly in place.
Here are some of the best ways to keep your kitchen in perpetual tip-top condition.
Table of Contents
Clean as you go.
The concept of cleaning as you go is essential to keeping your kitchen clean. This means you clean up when you cook or use the kitchen. Examples of this idea in action include immediately wiping up spills on the counter, putting ingredients back when you’re done with them, and washing dirty dishes while dinner is in the oven.
Never put dirty dishes on the counter.
Don’t make unnecessary messes! Grab a piece of paper towel, cloth, or even a small bowl to put away the tablespoon or serving fork you used to spread the leftovers you’re microwaving. A spoon mat that is always out is also a great option.
- Do a nightly check.
Paper and another clutter pile up on kitchen counters. When left out, it multiplies. Make sure this doesn’t happen by clearing the counters and putting things where they belong each night as part of your “kitchen shutdown” routine.
Wash these three tools immediately after use.
Do not let cheese graters, strainers, or chef’s knives sit before cleaning. Instant cleaning means you won’t have to deal with the hassle of cleaning dried food from these sneaky items.
Organize the cabinet under the sink.
Having cleaning tools and supplies readily available is key to maintaining a clean kitchen. You probably store most of them in the cabinet under the sink. And that’s great – you just need to make sure it’s organized so you can easily grab what you need when you need it.
Create kitchen counter zones.
Designating work surfaces for specific tasks will prevent all worktops from getting dirty while working in the kitchen. For example, if you only bake in the corner where your stand mixer resides, you know that you just need to wipe down that counter (and the area around the sink) when you’re done whipping up muffins.
Run the dishwasher before it gets too full.
Chances are you have to run the dishwasher more often than you think. If you put it away for too long and you can’t fit anything in it, it becomes useless and the dirty dishes have to sit (or be washed by hand!). Try to get into the habit of running it every night after dinner.
8. And empty immediately.
If you run the dishwasher at night, you can unload it in the morning while you wait for the coffee to brew. That way, you start the day with an empty dishwasher that can be refilled when the dishes get dirty.
Strive to always have an empty sink.
It’s subconscious, but even one dirty fork in the sink makes it easier to stack your dirty dishes rather than putting them in the dishwasher or washing them right away. Messes beget messes. But the opposite is also true. The empty sink will probably remain that way. Get into the habit of leaving the sink empty (and ask your family members to join in the effort).
Vacuum, sweep or Swiffer every night.
Kitchen floors can get dirty quickly if not maintained. Add a nightly vacuum or a quick sweep to your routine so the floors never get dirty—and you don’t track kitchen crumbs all over the house.
Be extremely selective about what stays on your countertop.
Crowded spaces tend to hide clutter more easily than empty ones. Counters that are kept clean offer no place for clutter and dirty dishes to hide. This means that everyone in the house is more likely to put their belongings away.
Clean up immediately after each meal.
Never allow yourself to return to a dirty table and kitchen after a “break”. Clear the table immediately and let everyone work until the kitchen is in order again. THEN you can settle down to watch Netflix.
Turn off the kitchen every night.
Basically, it means you’ll never go to bed with a dirty kitchen. At all. It’s easiest to close the kitchen when you clean it after dinner, but sometimes you can make lunches for the next day after dinner or prepare an evening snack, so take that into account if you need to. Switching off the kitchen means that all your daily kitchen tasks that need to be done are complete, including things like running the dishwasher and emptying the bin.
Make cleaning the fridge a regular task.
Yes, you’ll still need to deep clean your fridge from time to time, but if you want to maintain a clean kitchen, you’ll need to regularly check for spoilage and leftovers that need to be thrown away. Tying this inventory to your grocery shopping will remind you and also help reduce food waste and unnecessary spending.
Reassess what you have in your cupboards.
Overcrowded cupboards are no fun (and a giant time-suck if you have to stack and stack different serving bowls every time you need to get your pots). Go through your closets and keep only what you really use and love in your most accessible cabinets. That way, getting what you need—and returning it—will be smoother.
Clean the oven “less pain, more success”.
Having a proven, effective and relatively easy way to clean your oven means you’re less likely to put the task off until it’s a huge job. Add oven cleaning to your monthly cleaning routine so you never have to deal with excessive dirt build-up again.
