How to Speed Clean the Kitchen

Kitchens are generally the main hub of the family home and, as a result, there always seems to be something to clean.  I always hate having a messy kitchen so it is always the first place that I start when I am cleaning the house. Getting into a regular routine when cleaning your kitchen, will help make things quicker and easier.  Follow this simple How to Speed Clean the Kitchen checklist, to get your kitchen cleaned in 20 minutes or less. For some reason, the whole house seems to be cleaner when the kitchen is cleaned!

Cleaning Supplies: 

To speed up your daily cleaning, try to keep all of your kitchen cleaning items together in one place and ensure that they are easily accessible.  I try to use green cleaners as much as possible and have cut back drastically on the amount of cleaning products that I use {you can read more about my favorite green cleaners HERE}. Keep a cleaning bin or basket underneath the kitchen sink {or wherever works for you!} to store everything that you will need.  Here is a list of my basic daily kitchen cleaning supplies:

• microfiber cleaning cloth {these will bring up dirt and grime much better than standard cloths}
• all purpose spray {I usually just use a water bottle with 50/50 vinegar and water and some lemon or grapefruit essential oils}
• microfiber polishing cloth {I love my Norwex one}
• norewex micro pads
• dish soap / dishwasher detergent
• scrub brush for dishes
• toothbrush
• broom/dustpan or vacuum {I use my Dyson Animal and love it!}

General Tips: 

• Start with a clean dishwasher.
• Work on one task at a time {i.e. cleaning off all garbage off the counters, putting away all food items, etc.}. As you go through each task, work from one end of the kitchen to the other and generally clean from top to bottom.
• Clean the kitchen as soon as possible after the mess has been made.  If I don’t clean up the kitchen right after dinner, the chances of me getting back to it fall drastically.  Once I leave the kitchen and go upstairs, it becomes even harder to get it done.  Once it is cleaned, however, it is off my mind and makes for a much more pleasant evening!
• Do not get distracted.  If you have cleaning A.D.D. like I do, leaving the kitchen mid way through {even if it is related to a kitchen task such as going to the garage to put away the recycling!}, can easily lead to other distractions.
• Work on getting rid of as much kitchen clutter as possible and keep your cabinets organized so you know where everything goes.  Obviously the less stuff you have, the quicker this task will be.  Having a lot of clutter on your kitchen counters, also makes things harder to keep clean and gives you less space to work.  If you have a little work to do in this area, you can see how I have organized our kitchen cupboards HERE.
• Get your family to pitch in.  A lot of the kitchen cleaning tasks are just little things that pretty much anyone can do in a really short amount of time.  Make sure kids are putting their own dishes in the dishwasher and cleaning up any little messes that they make.  It may take a little nagging at first, but eventually they will get it. 😉

Cleaning Checklist:

Put away food items.
Put food containers back in the fridge or cupboards.  Store any left overs in air tight containers and place in fridge.

Clean up dishes and pots/pans.
Run a sink of warm, soapy water.  Scrape all dishes into the garbage or garbage disposal.  Place dishes either into the dishwasher or into the sink to soak.  Fill larger pots or pans with soapy water and let soak on the countertop.

Pick up all garbage.
Place all garbage into the kitchen trash. Sort any recyclable materials into a pile to be put away at the end.

Pick up all miscellaneous items.
Clear any items that don’t belong in the kitchen off of the counters and place in a basket to be put away afterwards.

Clean all surfaces.
Spray down table, and countertops with an all-purpose cleaner and wipe with a microfiber cloth.  Work from one side of the kitchen to the other.  Look out for any messes on the cupboards or walls that you can wipe down as you go.

Wipe down appliances.
Spray down any streaks or messes on appliances with water {or whatever cleaning agent you prefer} and use your microfiber cloth/polishing cloth to buff.  If you have burned on messes on your glass top stove, use a Norwex micro hand pad or Mr. Clean magic eraser to clean first {see more info HERE}.

Hand wash dishes.
This is my least favorite task and I usually try to get my husband to do this one if I can.  Wash all of the dishes in the sink and place them on a drying rack or towel on the counter to dry {or recruit a drying helper!}  Wipe down the sink and facet when completed and run the garbage disposal.  I have a sink brush that I keep right beside our sink to scrub the sink and I also often have to use a toothbrush to get right in the corners of our sink since it is square.

Clean the floor.
Sweep or vacuum any messes on the floor and spot clean any spills if needed.

Clean dish cloths.
Rinse out dish cloths.  If you have any dirty scrub brushes or sponges from cleaning the dishes, they can be placed in the dishwasher for cleaning and disinfecting.  Hang cloths and towels up to dry or place in the laundry if dirty.

Take out trash and any recycling.

See?  That really shouldn’t take too long.  And once you have the hang of the routine, it actually gets quicker!  It is definitely one of those rooms that you will get lots of practice cleaning! 🙂

If you would like to print out a checklist to keep in your kitchen or in a cleaning binder for extra motivation, I did make up a printable for you.  Do the same steps each time, and it will soon become an easy habit to follow!

DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE CHECKLIST HERE

Happy Cleaning!

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This post is part of The Household Organization Diet.  If you need some organization inspiration, check out THIS POST  to learn more about the plan and THIS POST for all of the 2015 updates.  You CAN get that house cleaned and organized once and for all!  To see all of the previous posts click the Get Organized tab at the top of the blog and go to The Household Organization Diet.  I also have all of the posts pinned to my Household Organization Diet pinterest board.  Start at any time and make sure you are following along so you don’t miss out…

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FIND THE PLAN HERE

For more kitchen cleaning and organizing inspiration, check out these posts…

Cleaning and Organizing the Kitchen

The Best Kitchen Cleaning Tips