Kitchen Cleaning Tips
They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, and it’s true for most of us. But, it’s also the room that seems to get messy the fastest. If you’ve got kids, you know how a kitchen can be perfectly clean at 3:00 and at 3:15 when the kids walk in the door it looks like a bomb hit.
From cooking messes to paperwork that needs to be filled out, to mud tracked in from an early morning dog walk, the kitchen sees it all. Keeping it clean doesn’t have to be a losing battle. With the following kitchen cleaning tips, you can streamline your efforts and enjoy a clean kitchen most of the time.
Get Organized:
Your kitchen may not be as dirty as you think; in fact, the problem may be one of disorganization more than anything. If you can’t find things when you need them and you have to search through this cabinet or that pantry and still can't find those darn tomatoes, the kitchen may not be as organized as you thought.
The first step in organizing your kitchen is to purge. Take a hard look at what you have and figure out if you really need it. Keeping only the things you really use will help you keep the room cleaner all the time.
Next, put everything where you use it. If you need your spices near the stove put them there. Don’t keep them in a cabinet ten steps away.
Make a Schedule and Stick To It:
This step goes hand in hand with organizing. Part of cleaning the kitchen is making time for it, so a schedule will help with that. Plan to clean out the fridge the night before trash pick-up and the day before grocery shopping.
Mop the floor on Monday if you’ve got kids, so you can enjoy a clean floor while they are at school during the week. Making your cleaning schedule fit your life will make you more likely to clean and make it seem less like a chore.
Use Multi-Tasking Products:
The very best cleaner; that you already have in your pantry, is vinegar. That’s right, that bottle of white vinegar is good for cleaning everything from your kitchen floor to the oven to the coffee pot. You can clean windows and glass, the shelves in your fridge and more with this powerhouse cleaner. Just have a spray bottle at the ready with half and half water and vinegar and you will be ready to clean just about anything your kitchen can dish out.
Cleaning Without Effort:
That might sound like it’s not possible, but there are many ways to keep your kitchen clean without having to put forth any effort or elbow grease. You can use a baking soda and water spray on a cold oven and it will clean it while you cook.
Run the dishwasher once a month with a cup of white vinegar set upright on the top rack and it will get really clean.
Got a few lemon slices in the fridge? Don’t throw them away. Instead, put them in the microwave to clean the inside. Run it for a few minutes and then wipe the microwave out with a wet paper towel. Those lemons aren’t done yet, throw them in the garbage disposal and run it for some deodorizing action.
The kitchen can stay clean and fresh without a ton of effort. You can make sure that yours is really the heart of your home and a place your family will want to gather.
