Cleaning the kitchen can be a real hassle, especially if there are piles of dishes in the sink, stains from meals on the furniture and countertops, and let’s not even mention the floor. Cleaning the kitchen can sometimes be a true challenge. Of course, there are plenty of guides on how to do it, but do you really have time to read when you need to quickly tidy up your kitchen? If not, take a look at our tips, and we'll provide you with bullet points on how to deal with the mess in the kitchen.
First – where to start?
Cleaning the kitchen is a challenge, especially if you don’t do it very regularly. The first step should be to put away everything that doesn’t need to be on display. Next, you should throw away everything that unnecessarily takes up space in the kitchen – empty bottles, jars, packaging from food products; you will be surprised how much space can be freed up on the countertop by getting rid of empty containers from ketchup, cookies, or granola.
While tidying up the countertop and kitchen table, move all the dishes, such as cups, bowls, glasses, and plates to the dishwasher or put them in the sink. You should do the same with the dirty pots and pans sitting on the stove. Now you can turn on the dishwasher or wash the dishes by hand. You have completed the first stage of cleaning.
Second stage – let’s start cleaning
Once you’ve cleared up the space on the kitchen countertop, table, and cabinet tops, you will probably see various stains: grease stains, water marks from wet cups and jars, spills from juices or coffee, or maybe remnants of jam or honey stuck to the table. You need to deal with them. At this stage, you should simply wash the tables, countertops, and those areas of the kitchen cabinets that you can reach without having to climb a ladder – save the tops for the major clean-up.
This is the best time to clean the walls and cabinet fronts, as well as the surfaces of the refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven. Usually, traditional detergents and soft cloths are sufficient. If you regularly clean your kitchen, you can get away with wiping down the mentioned areas using a damp sponge.
Let’s continue
The third stage will be thoroughly cleaning the kitchen utensils you use every day. It’s time to wash the stove; how you do it depends on the type of stove. A smooth glass plate can simply be washed with dish soap, while for a gas stove, you need to clean the metal grids where the pots are set.
After the stove, it’s time to clean the oven; if you’re not one of the lucky ones with an oven that has a self-cleaning function, you have to do it manually. In the case of particularly stubborn stains, it’s worth relying on products specifically designed for cleaning ovens. When you’re rinsing the sponge after cleaning the stove and oven, you can immediately clean the sink. You can do this with warm water and dish soap.
And that’s almost everything…
Finally, you’ll need to sweep and mop the floor; if you don’t have a robotic cleaner, you need to arm yourself with a broom and a mop with a long handle and a bucket of warm water. The aforementioned steps can be considered basic kitchen cleaning; this is a somewhat simplified version, and you can expand it by cleaning the inside of the refrigerator as well as the windows. ☺ However, for most of us, daily cleaning usually requires just cleaning the stove and washing the most visible stains.
More tips for cleaning the kitchen
Above, we advised you on three key elements that represent cleaning the kitchen. We still have a bunch of tips that are worth using to make your job easier and speed up the process:
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clean in the right order – best from top to bottom; otherwise, you will make dirty what has already been cleaned,
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put food products away immediately when you no longer need them – they will stay fresh longer and won’t take up space on the countertop or kitchen table,
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regularly get rid of food scraps – peels, crusts from bread, unfinished sandwiches, crumbs, there is no place for them in your kitchen,
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use home remedies for kitchen cleaning – cleaning with baking soda or lemon slices is really effective and definitely cheaper than using traditional cleaning agents,
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cover pots while cooking – how does this relate to cleaning? Steam rising from the pot settles on furniture and may contain grease particles, which quickly turn into greasy stains that mar cabinets,
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equip yourself with the right cleaning accessories; a broom with a long handle, a mop, and a set of sponges and microfiber cloths will definitely speed up kitchen cleaning,
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involve household members to help; it’s worth teaching children from a young age that the kitchen is a shared space that everyone should take care of equally.
During major clean-ups, the list will certainly expand, but the ten tips mentioned here should be sufficient to keep your kitchen clean.