Cleaning the kitchen has never been a trendy hobby, nor has any house chore for that matter. The kitchen is arguably the most challenging part of the house to keep tidy, a position challenged, perhaps, by the bathroom. Unlike other parts of the house, the kitchen requires constant care throughout the day, as dirty dishes seem to respawn like video game zombies.
There is great news: you don’t need to let your kitchen enslave you. Some simple tricks can make the job easier, even if you have a busy, bustling life. Read on, and you won’t have to envy magazine-like tidy kitchens ever again.
Show It Who’s the Boss
If you’re in a home office, you’ll need to use your kitchen at least three times a day for meals. If not, you’ll need it at least for breakfasts and dinners a couple of times per week. Unless you receive a miracle visit from the Dirty Dish Fairy, the situation can get out of hand quickly. Luckily, you can prevent a kitchen rebellion by following these simple steps.
Have a Schedule
Not many people have time to polish their kitchens at random, but a weekly schedule can help to keep everything minimally organized. Mark fixed days of the week for heavier cleaning and specific times for doing dishes and other small maintenance tasks.
Following a quick work plan can keep your kitchen at a certain standard of cleanliness and organization. Letting dishes accumulate in your sink from one meal to another will trigger a snowball effect. The same goes for unwiped surfaces and neglected ovens.
Keep Everything in Place
Have boxes, shelves, and drawers to keep everything organized in your kitchen. Even if you have a spacious cupboard and manage to keep it tidy inside it, an empty cupboard will still look much more organized. Besides, it’s much easier to wipe an empty cupboard than one full of pots, mugs, and spices. So, go minimal on your kitchen surfaces.
Clean Your Sink Regularly
It’ll be much easier to keep your sink clean if dishes don’t accumulate. Letting dishes accumulate for days may lead to drain blockage, and you’ll end up having to call a
drain cleaning service. Keeping the kitchen clean in between meals is the best way to prevent it.
Taking care of your sink includes cleaning it every time you clean the dishes, preventing any residue from building up in it. You can ease your way by always leaving a spray with a cleaning solution and cloth.
Multitask
It doesn’t matter if you’re preparing a meal or waiting for the kettle to boil. Take advantage of the free time between activities to do small cleaning tasks like cleaning a table, wiping the oven, or washing dishes that were used along the way. If you use the gaps between such activities, you’ll still be attending to your kitchen’s upkeep, and it won’t feel like so much of an effort afterwards.
Hacking Chores
The steps above comprise the basics for keeping your kitchen clean and organized. Scratching surfaces and removing stains can be time-consuming. In this section, you’ll find easy ways to face smaller challenges.
How To Clean A Microwave
Microwaves can be tricky to clean. Still, there’s no need to use heavy chemicals on it. All it takes to clean the microwave and remove any smell is a sliced lemon in a water bowl. Let it boil inside the microwave, and citric acid will do the heavy work. After the procedure, wipe the inside to remove grease and bits.
Lemon Them Out
Lemons can be powerful allies in the fight to keep your kitchen’s air fresh and your sink spotless. Scrub half a lemon on spouts and any other metallic parts around the faucet to keep them shining as new. Boiling lemons is also an effective way to refresh the air in the kitchen after cooking meals with diehard smells.
Use Oven Mats
Cleaning the oven isn’t as simple, unfortunately. If there are burned bits in there, the chances are that you’ll really have to scrub it. Still, it doesn’t have to go this way next time. Buy oven mats to protect the bottom of your oven. In case anything spills, just remove and replace the soiled mat; no heavy cleaning is required.
Soak It Up
You can still make your job easier if you don’t have a washing machine. Fill the sink with hot water and soap and leave the dishes there for a while. It’ll be much easier to remove leftovers and grease if you apply hot water to them.
Turning Off the Light
The number of tips may sound slightly overwhelming at first. However, small maintenance tasks go a long way in keeping a tidy home. Additionally, maintenance is much less demanding than heavy cleaning. Your kitchen will see a lot of use, and you must clean it just as often if you want to keep it spotless. You can work much less with our tips in mind.