No matter how often you deep clean yours, kitchens always seem in need of a scrub. As one of the busiest and functional rooms of the house, this is perhaps unsurprising.
Here, our panel expert cleaners reveal six quick cleaning tasks people with clean kitchens always do between weekly deep cleans, such as wiping down the fridge and using a scraps bowl. These will make save you time when your deeper kitchen cleaning session rolls around.
Doing these things regularly will help maintain your cooking space with minimal effort and make deep cleaning a kitchen quicker at the end of each week.
Things people with clean kitchens always do
From kitchen closing shift routines to cleaning as you go, these six tricks will leave your kitchen gleaming at the end of each day.
1. Stay on top of dishes
Whether you wash dishes by hand or load a dishwasher, stopping dishes piling up is a must for people with clean kitchens.
Jade Piper, operations manager at BetterCleans says, ‘Dirty dishes pile up quickly and if not washed up, it will give your kitchen a messy feeling. Rinse and load dishes into the dishwasher as you finish using items, or hand-wash them right away.
'Letting dishespile high in the sink for days just makes things harder to clean later on.’
These dishwasher tablets are free from synthetic fragrances, dyes, chlorine bleach, and phosphates for a healthier clean.
With a fresh lemon scent and a concentrated soap formula, Dawn Powerwash breaks down grease to limit how much you need to scrub.
There are a few soaps better for fighting grease than Dawn. Fill your sink up with hot water and a few drops of soap before cooking to make quickly cleaning tools simple while your food cooks.
2. Wipe down the fridge before grocery shopping
Cleaning a refrigerator doesn’t have to be a mammoth task. To avoid having to pile items on the countertops, people with clean kitchens will get it done the day before a grocery shop.
Aminah Vieira of InspireClean Cleaning Services says, ‘Empty and wipe your fridge shelves the night before your grocery delivery or shopping trip. It's brilliant timing since the fridge is at its emptiest, and your fresh food gets to sit on lovely, clean shelves
This anti-bac spray fights grease and kills potential food contaminants while leaving a fresh lemon scent behind.
Microfiber cloths will help to pick up crumbs and debris from your fridge shelves to leave a sparking surface behind for safe food storage.
Need to get rid of fridge smells? Pop a bowl of baking soda at the back of one of the shelves. The powder with absorb and neutralize smells for fresher food storage.
3. Declutter counters
Decluttering countertops is another must for people with clean kitchens. Not only does it make your kitchen look neater, but it makes it easier to clean, too.
Ashley Kidder, cleaning expert and COO at Dashing Maids shares, ‘They keep their counters free of non-kitchen items such as clutter or personal items that belong anywhere else in the home, and rarely used small appliances. The more cluttered your counters are the more time you will have to spend wiping things down and moving things to clean under or behind.’
Once cleared off, Marla Mock, cleaning expert and president at Molly Maid USA adds, ‘Spray the stovetop, counters, cabinet doors, etc. with a multipurpose cleaner [such as Attitude's Natural All-Purpose Cleaner, from Amazon], and wipe them down with a clean washcloth.’
4. Use a scraps bowl
To make cleaning a kitchen after dinner simple, Jade Piper, pro cleaner, suggests, ‘Instead of running back and forth to the trash can every time you need to toss a veggie peel or onion skin, keep a bowl on the counter and just drop your scraps in there. Sometimes, when I don’t want an extra bowl to deal with, I use a paper towel [such as Bounty, from Amazon] so I can just crumble it up after, then toss it.’
It is a super simple thing to do daily to keep kitchen counters clear, but it really is a godsend on a busy mid-week work night.
This smaller mixing bowl is ideal for collecting food scraps ready for your trash bin or compost. You can even store vegetable scraps to make stock.
Paper towels make cleaning up even quicker, simply bundle everything up and throw in your trash bin or compost.
The surface doesn’t get sliced up, bacteria will not seep in, and you can also set down your hot pans and baking trays on it as it’s heat resistant and shatterproof. Switch your plastic chopping board to a non-toxic one.
5. Clean as they go
To make cleaning kitchen grease easier, people with constantly clean cooking spaces will always clean as they go.
Jade continues, ‘Cleaning up while you cook will make cleaning after the meal much easier. If you’re done with a measuring cup or a spice, just clean it and put it away right after using it. Or wash a knife or pan while your pasta’s boiling or the veggies are roasting. By the time the food is ready, you’ve already tackled some of the mess.’
The same rule applies to any spills Dela Gomasi, managing director and CEO of MaidForYou adds. ‘It’s the kitchen, and spills are inevitable,' Dela says. 'One of the things that I’ve noticed when cleaning clients’ kitchens is that oftentimes there are stains and dried-up spills on various surfaces and appliances, which indicate that they have been left as-is for a while.
'While I wouldn’t recommend stopping what you’re doing to clean up a small spill, it’s something you should address as soon as you can. Leaving it for later or for your kitchen cleaning day only creates a bigger mess to deal with.’
Swedish Dishcloths, available in multi-packs at Amazon, are a great sustainable alternative to traditional kitchen paper towels. They can be used to quickly and efficiently mop up spills before being thrown in the washing machine to be washed and reused.
6. Put the kitchen to bed
Closing down the kitchen after dinner might be the last thing on your mind when you are full, tired, and ready for bed, but it is a great daily cleaning habit for a tidier home that people with clean kitchens swear by.
Ashley Kidder, cleaning expert is a big advocate for this practice, adding, ‘Put the kitchen to bed at the end of every day – load and start the dishwasher, sweep or vacuum the floor, spot clean any spills, and put miscellaneous items back where they belong.’
The last thing you'll want to do right before bed is dig out and start up a noisy vacuum. A dustpan and brush set makes staying on top of floors simple in between vacuuming and mopping.
FAQs
Why is it important to always be clean in the kitchen?
A clean kitchen is important for several reasons. Firstly, it helps maintain proper food hygiene, reducing the risk of illness. Regular cleaning also prevents the build-up of bacteria and mold on surfaces (including walls) to prevent bad odors and protect your air quality.
How often do people clean their kitchens?
This will depend on how and how often you use it. For a general household kitchen that is quickly wiped down daily after cooking, you should aim to clean it once a week, focusing on all the counters, sinks, and cooking appliances. You can then deep clean once every month or two, cleaning out cabinets and larger appliances.
Adding these six things into your daily routine does more than make deep cleaning down the line simpler. Shutting down your kitchen every day can also help you organize a kitchen for a better morning routine and a more relaxing start to your day. It is more than worth the little added effort for the minimized stress.
The kitchen isn't the only place to keep on top of cleanliness in daily. Our experts have laid out the things people with clean bathrooms always do too.
