Cleaning Checklist: How to Keep Your Kitchen Clean

The kitchen always seems to be the room of the house with the most traffic, and rightfully so – we go where the food is! It’s also often the most noticed room of the house by guests (our guess is also because of the food). If the kitchen stresses you out to keep clean, we have some helpful and manageable tips for you!

We’re sharing our kitchen checklist to help give you ideas of how to keep your kitchen clean:

1. Clean As You Go

The concept of “cleaning as you go” is fundamental to maintaining a clean kitchen. It means that you clean up as you’re cooking or using the kitchen. Here are a few examples:

• When you spill something, wipe it up right away so the spill doesn’t harden or stain.
• If you use ingredients to cook, put them away immediately after use
• While your dinner is in the oven, wash the dirty dishes and utensils to minimize work afterward.

2. Strive for an Always-Empty Sink

It’s subconscious, but even one dirty fork in the sink makes it easier to stack your dirty bowl in there rather than sticking it in the dishwasher or washing it right away. Messes beget messes! But the opposite is also true. An empty sink is more likely to stay that way.

Get in the habit of keeping an empty sink (and ask your family members if they could join your efforts). Use a little baking soda to clean your sink at the end of the night. It will shine stainless steel, brighten ceramic sinks and keep the drains from becoming smelly!

3. Be Extremely Selective About What Stays Out on Your Countertops

Crowded spaces tend to harbor messes more easily than empty ones. Counters that are kept clear offer no place for clutter and dirty dishes to hide. This means everyone in the house might be more likely to put their stuff away.

4. Organize the Cabinet Beneath Your Sink

Having your cleaning tools and products accessible is key to maintaining a pristine kitchen. You probably store a majority of them in the cabinet under your sink, and that’s great! Just be sure it’s organized so you can easily grab what you need when you need it.

5. Wipe Down Appliances

The stove, coffee maker and blender take in a lot of daily use. It’s important to clean them thoroughly to avoid unsanitary germs. You can easily turn your coffee pot and blender into a mini dishwasher. Here’s how:

• Cycle the coffee pot with hot water only. Then use the hot water in the carafe to pour all over any other detachable parts before washing them.
• For the blender, blend some hot water and dish soap. Then rinse it well and set it aside to dry.

6. Clean Up Wall Splatters

Immediately clean food splatters when you’re preparing meals and when you’re throwing food away. Don’t let it sit and harden. Use a safe cleanser to wipe down the walls, removing food spots, cooking grease, and dust. Most of the time, a little warm water and dish liquid will do.

7. Vacuum, Sweep or Swiffer Nightly

Kitchen floors can get dirty really fast if they aren’t maintained. Add a nightly vacuum or quick sweep to your routine to keep floors from ever getting too bad — and to keep from tracking kitchen crumbs throughout the house.

8. Run the Dishwasher at Night

If you run the dishwasher at night, you can unload it in the morning while you wait for the coffee to brew. This way, you start the day with an empty dishwasher that can be loaded as dishes get dirtied.

9. Create Routines and Stick to Them

Being able to switch into automatic pilot mode is the surest way to keep up with your kitchen-cleaning chores. Create routines for cleaning up after every meal, including steps like clearing the table first and then wiping it down, putting leftovers away, soaking any pots that need it, etc. Also, create a specific routine for shutting down the kitchen and for weekly cleaning chores.

10. Out with the Trash

Don’t let trash sit in your pantry, garage, or wherever you store it overnight. Compost rots quickly and may draw unwanted pests and bugs. As soon as you finish cleaning down the kitchen, take out the trash. Wipe down the outside of it to remove any food stains or streaks. We recommend cleaning the inside and outside of your trash receptacle after you pull out the trash bag and before putting in a new bag.

As you tackle your kitchen, we hope these tips provide some guidance and peace of mind. The kitchen can be a tricky room to maintain, but you’ve got this! And if you just don’t have the extra hours in the day to keep your kitchen deep-cleaned, it’s worth scheduling regular cleanings to make your daily clean-ups quick and easy.

Contact T.L.C. Home Services today if you need an extra hand at keeping your spaces sparkling!

Stay tuned for more “cleaning checklists” for each room of your house!