Let’s face it, nobody wants to be trapped in a never-ending cycle of washing and cleaning. Especially now that the weather is finally warming up, who wants to spend copious amounts of time couped up inside doing mundane chores? With that said however, everyone loves clean things, and one of life’s simple pleasures is having a fresh, tidy and organised kitchen space.
Remove Clutter when Keeping your Kitchen Clean
Firstly, in order to keep your kitchen clean, collect anything and everything that doesn’t belong in the kitchen and put it away in its designated place. All too often, people will dump old mail, keys and other random bits and bobs on the kitchen counters or in the fruit bowl. Decluttering helps a space appear cleaner instantly. From here, it is also a good idea to remove appliances from your countertops that are not used often. If you’re a morning coffee person, it’s a good idea to keep your coffee maker or kettle in an easy-to-reach place. But if for instance, you only make toast every once in a blue moon, you can pack away your toaster and retrieve it when needed. Not only do open spaces appear cleaner, but they also feel more organised.
Put Away Food Items
Once you have prepared a meal, immediately pack it away into containers and pop it into the fridge or cupboard. This will not only ensure you keep your kitchen clean, but also free or germs and unwanted visitors like flies (or even worse – rats!). It can also be a good idea to keep your fruits and vegetables packed away to avoid attracting fruit flies. This will also ensure your foods are kept in good condition for longer.
Wipe Down Eye Level Surfaces
Use a microfibre cloth and all-purpose spray or sanitiser to wipe down your counters on a regular basis. Make a rule that you wipe them down after every meal, or at the end of each day. This way you ensure your surfaces are frequently cleaned down of unwanted dirt and bacteria. If you have pets in your home, they may trapse extra dirt and dust into the home that can ultimately settle on the areas you use to prepare your food.
Sweep the Floor
When keeping your kitchen clean, it is important to remember the floor too. Grab your broom every now and again during the week, and take care of all the crumbs, dust and debris that can collect on your kitchen floor. Now could also be a good time to shake out your kitchen rug if you’ve got one. It is obvious that carpets attract dirt and debris so doing this regularly will rid your kitchen of unwanted dust.
Take Out the Trash
Old rubbish bins are the perfect breeding grounds for germs and bacteria. Especially in warmer environments where foods can turn, and decompose more quickly. Although most households have a big bin that is only emptied weekly, it can be a good idea to have smaller bins that are designated for various items – food refuse, recycling, and non-recyclables. This way, you can empty out the dirtier rubbish more regularly, keeping your kitchen clean for longer.
Wash the Dishes
The worst thing to tackle in a kitchen is the huge pile of dishes. Those cups and plates that have been gathering in the sink throughout the day. Instead, fill the sink with hot, soapy water so you can soak your dirty dishes. This will prevent the remnants from lunch hardening up and becoming stubborn an extra challenge to tackle. Before you head to bed, ensure you clean all the dishes and place them on the drying rack. Not only will this help when keeping your kitchen clean, but it will also assist in preventing the growth of unwanted germs and bacteria.
Wipe Down Sink
After washing all the dishes, it is imperative that you remember to wash down the sink, too. The walls of your sink, as well as your sponges and cloth’s pick up the debris, leftover food particles, and germs that are removed from your dirty dishes. You can’t shower efficiently in a dirty environment, right? So why would you wash your dishes in a dirty sink? It is essential that you wipe down and rinse down your sink daily. If you find there are stubborn greasy particles, use hot water and disinfecting cleaners to give your sink a more thorough clean down.
Wipe Down Appliances
We often forget to clean down the appliances that we use on a daily basis. The kettle, coffee machine, or toaster for example. We handle these appliances with dirty, or food-covered fingers on a daily basis and often neglect to wipe them down. It is important that we take a moment to quickly wipe down the appliances in our kitchens to provide for a cleaner environment. This doesn’t have to happen every day. However, logically, wiping down your appliances frequently with a damp cloth prevents the buildup of unwanted grease, dust and debris that is more difficult to remove at a later stage.