Daily Habits for a Clean Kitchen

A clean kitchen doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. With a few simple habits you can keep your kitchen nice and clean. No more worrying if you get surprise guests! 

The kitchen is usually the busiest room in our homes. It can get messy very quickly. Once it’s out of hand it can take a lot of time to get it back in order.

For me having a clean kitchen is the most important thing if I have surprise guest, that and the bathroom guests will use. If these two rooms are clean I don’t feel too embarrassed about any other mess. The messes that build up in other rooms just aren’t as embarrassing as dirty dishes.

There are a lot of things that can help you keep your kitchen clean at all times. Building these good habits also mean when it’s time to deep clean the kitchen it takes a lot less time.

Start with a Clean Kitchen

Before you start creating these good habits for a clean kitchen, you need to have a clean kitchen. Spend sometime getting your kitchen really clean. Here is a quick list of things to make sure you do.

• Wash all of the dirty dishes and put them away.
• Wipe off all counter tops and fronts of cabinets.
• Vacuum and mop the floors.
• Clean appliances if needed.
• Scrub your sink.
• Clean your garbage disposal.
• Put out fresh towels.
• Clean out your fridge, freezer, and pantry. If you want to be really organized, make inventory lists while cleaning.

Quick, daily habits won’t help if you have a messy, dirty kitchen. Start with a clean kitchen and you will be able to keep it clean longer with daily habits.

It’s also a good idea to organize your kitchen well. This is a step you can work on overtime. Pick a space a week, declutter, and make sure your organization is working for you. You need to have a place for everything.

You can also find some great advice in my article Cleaning Your Kitchen Like a 1950s Housewife.

Daily Habits for a Clean Kitchen

• Keep the Countertops Clear
  The more stuff on your countertops the harder it is to quickly clean them. You don’t have to be a minimalist and keep nothing on your countertops, just be sure you don’t go overboard. I keep several things on mine but they are all easy to move and everything has a reason for being out, even if that reason is that it makes me happy. Just keep in mind the more stuff you have out the more you have to move. Also make sure the family is used to putting things away when they are done.  And have one spot for things like mail, and go through it at least once a day.
• Wipe Everything Down With Each Use
  After each meal take just a few moments to wipe down the spaces you used. This takes less time than waiting until the end of the day and having to deal with things that have dried onto the surface.
• Put Dishes Straight Into the Dishwasher
  If you have a dishwasher be sure that dishes go straight into it when you are done. Teach other family members this habit as well. If you don’t have a dishwasher wash dishes after each meal and between meals make sure dishes are rinsed and put into the sink.
• Sweep Floors
  As needed throughout the day sweep or vacuum up crumbs. I really like the cord-free Dyson for this. It takes just a minute or two to vacuum the whole kitchen.
• Create Morning and Nighttime Routines
  Building these habits into a morning routine and nighttime routine can help you stick with them. For example, I like to make sure the dishwasher is loaded and assuming it’s full I like to run it overnight. In the morning, I unload the dishwasher. I also like to change dish towels and rags before I go to bed.

These five simple habits won’t take the place of deep cleaning your kitchen but will make that task much quicker and keep your kitchen ready for guests.

Remember it takes time to develop good habits. While you are still working on this make yourself a checklist you can look at each day to make sure you are getting everything taken care of. Before long you won’t need the list and will just remember to do everything.

SaveSave