One of my biggest pet peeves is a dirty kitchen – particularly if the sink is full of dishes. I think a dirty kitchen bogs you down and makes you feel overwhelmed. Keeping the kitchen clean and organized can be quite a task, especially if you are a working mom like me!
However, I’ve found some great tips and tricks to keep the kitchen clean so it doesn’t get out of hand.
Now, let me be clear. I am NOT perfect, and sometimes my kitchen looks like a whirlwind. So, if you notice your kitchen looks like a tornado hit it, don’t feel alone. We all hit that place at some time or another. Sometimes multiple times a month!
Tips to Keep Your Kitchen Clean Daily
I’m sharing these tips to keeping your kitchen clean, so those cyclone moments are fewer and further between! Keeping your kitchen clean on a daily basis will make the deep cleaning much easier! It will also help preserve your sanity!
Keep Cooking Messes to a Minimal
Use a splatter screen while cooking!
Being from the south, I’m a girl who knows her way around a cast iron pan. I can fry with the best of them. However, cleaning grease that has popped out of a pan or skillet can be difficult once cooking is over. It takes quite a bit of elbow grease! One great kitchen hack I love to use is a splatter guard for my skillet! This splatter guard helps keep the grease down to a minimum!
Wipe up your spills as you go.
Also, in addition to the grease mess, wipe up your spills as they happen. If you spill something, wiping it up immediately will save you from the headache of stuck on, hardened mess. Again, save that elbow grease!
Use a garbage bowl.
My biggest takeaway from Rachel Ray was her garbage bowl concept (and yes, I binge watch Food Network – no apologies). The garbage bowl concept is that she uses one big bowl to throw all your food scraps in as you cook. I do it for wrappers, egg shells, etc. If it’s something I discard as I cook, I toss it in the bowl rather than next to me on the counter. Then, at the end take the bowl and dump it with one simple trip to the trash can. It’s so much less headache.
Cover your food in the microwave!
For the longest time, we just used paper towels to cover our microwaved food. However, as we have tried to become a more eco-conscious family, we have discovered microwave splatter guards as well!
Clean While You Cook
I tend to babysit my food anyway, so I clean while it’s cooking. If my chicken is browning on one side, that usually frees up 5-6 minutes that I could be wiping down counters, dumping the garbage bowl, loading or unloading the dishwasher. Use your time wisely as your food cooks and the kitchen may be practically clean prior to sitting down to eat!!
Be a Minimalist
My husband is sort of who started me with this. He is the truest of minimalist. If it doesn’t have a purpose, he doesn’t really want it out. My cats kind of solicited the minimalist within because they will knock things off coffee tables, night stands, or anywhere. Just because they can.
However, once I moved this minimalist thought process to the kitchen, things really got easier! I keep appliances off the counter and in their storage places unless I use them frequently. The only appliance I currently house on my counter is my Kitchen Aid mixer, and I”ll be honest, it’s mostly because I love it and not really about it’s amount of use.
Meal Prep
Yes, meal prep! On the weekend, go ahead and cut up the ingredients you will need for the week. Not only will you save yourself time later in the week, but also save yourself the headache of a mess every single night! If you chop your veggies and prep your food all at one time, that’s only once that you’ll have to clean up cutting boards, measuring cups, and knives.
Related Posts:
How to Make Meal Planning Quick and Easy
Keep Your Sink Empty
If you empty your dishwasher immediately after it runs, you can keep your sink empty and avoid letting it pile up. I have everyone rinse their dish and place directly into the dishwasher so when it gets full, I can run it.
In addition to keeping your sink empty, be sure to wipe it down every evening. A shiny sink can make a huge difference in your kitchen.
Use Placemats You Can Machine Wash
Especially if you have children, get placemats that you can throw in your washing machine once a week! (You might want to be sure to read the wash instructions because I shrunk some I bought on accident. Whoops.)
Or you can get placemats that wipe down easily like these!
Assign a Daily Task to Your Child
There is no reason to go the task of keeping a clean kitchen alone!! All children can pitch in – regardless of age. The tasks may vary based on age but there is always something they can do. My child in the earlier ages was tasked with always setting out our placements and while I cleaned up after dinner, he would stack them back up in their storage spot. Now that he is 9 years old, he can load and unload the dishwasher with the help of a small step stool. Getting your children to pitch in not only helps you out but gives them a sense of responsibility!
Develop All These Clean Kitchen Habits!
Once you can develop all these clean kitchen habits and incorporate them into your daily life, you can keep your kitchen clean on a daily basis. This will make cleaning so much easier when you go to deep clean or spring clean!
I’d love to know any of your clean kitchen habits or practices!
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