Do you have clutter in you home? In every room or just one room? Clutter actually makes me feel overwhelmed. I am not a lazy person just an in-a-hurry person. My mission is to be clutter free. .
Preparing for Organization
First of all, you can do this. Set aside a time when you can take you time to think things thru. Start with the hardest job first. Most likely it’s the kitchen that needs organizing. We walk in to our home thru the kitchen and use the dinner table as a dumping ground. If it is not tidied up you will be sifting thru the pile looking for that one thing. Kids drop off their back packs and drink bottles. Husbands read the newspaper and stacks them on the table to. How many times have you had to look for that permission slip for one of you kids’ only to find it under the pile of stuff.
Get yourself three trays:
First tray is for the mail.
Second tray is for the kids’ paperwork that needs quick attention.
Third tray is for the bills.
Do not mix the contents of the trays.
How do I get my Kitchen organized?
To get you kitchen organized, you need to know what you’re working with. Depending on how big you kitchen is, you might not want to do this all in one day, but if you have pretty a small space, it’s worth getting this first step out-of-the-way in one go. There are all types of organizers in Amazon.
Getting you kitchen organized is a sign that you are well and truly adulting. Managing both the ability to banish clutter and to actually style you counter tops and kitchen cabinets in the process is almost embarrassingly satisfying. And if you’re working with only a few cabinets and drawers, then you’re going to want to browse and buy a couple of handy kitchen organizers to make the most of every single bit of space you have.
The general kitchen area is in constant flux and gets used every single day, so it requires more upkeep than you might think. From streamlining you morning coffee routine to making you space feel guest-ready at any given moment, learning how to organize a kitchen like a pro.
DAILY KITCHEN CLEANING TIPS
- Clean up after every meal: The rule of thumb, it seems like a faff but it is so worth it.
- Aim for an empty sink: Striving to keep you sink empty at all times will instantly make you kitchen space seem spotless and it will make deep cleaning a doddle too.
- Do the eye-level test: Get every last crumb by checking you counter tops at eye-level after you’ve cleaned them.
- Be strategic: Always work left to right and top to bottom. Once you’ve nailed this strategy, cleaning you space will be so breezy and you won’t need to think about it.
- Clean over the floor: You’ll clean you floor last so it’s fine if collects crumbs and the like.
- Vacuum daily: It takes five minutes and it will stop staining delicate floors leading to more time when deep cleaning.
- Empty you trash: Smelly trash is a recipe for disaster and bacteria as well. Don’t let it get to the point where you bag is overflowing by emptying it regularly.
- Never overfill you dishwasher: This is a star appliance but if you overfill it, it won’t clean properly. And, who wants to do the dishes twice?
- Clear out the refrigerator frequently: Cleaning a fridge regularly will stop smells and unsightly food display every time you go to open those doors. Aim for at least a monthly clean and get rid of old food as and when.
- Clean that under-counter sink: You know the one we mean, and just because it’s loaded with cleaning products, it doesn’t mean that it’s a clean space. Clear it out regularly.
- Be minimal: Limit what you have on you counter tops to keep you cooking area uncluttered, easier to clean and more visually pleasing as well.
- Label, label, label: To stop the need to organize everything again and again, every day of the week, label you herbs and spices – whether you have a pantry or not – so that creating order is far easier and becomes more routine.
HOW TO DEEP CLEAN A KITCHEN IN 45 MINUTES: STEP-BY-STEP
On top of daily cleaning, you should be deep cleaning you kitchen on a weekly if not bi-weekly basis. Again, it depends on how much the space is being used, and remember also that if you have a large family in tow, sharing the load is a wise move…
However, if you keep on top of quick daily chores, you’ll soar through the following deep clean checklist in about 45 minutes flat.
1. CLEAR THE DECKS
You cannot clean a kitchen with clutter everywhere and this first step may actually take you the longest but it’s also one of the most important tasks.
This is a good time to employ Melissa Maker’s, author and creator of Clean My Space(opens in new tab), 12 O’clock method (more on that later). You start by the door, and work you way around moving everything off the counters, putting any dirty dishes in the dishwasher or in the sink to hand wash/soak.
Note that it’s pretty tempting when putting the cayenne away to start reorganizing you entire herb collection, but don’t. Organizing kitchen cabinets and the entire contents of you pantry for that matter is a separate job. Focus on cleaning the kitchen only.
Empty the trash, you compost and any recycling too.
2. START THE DISHWASHER AND MAKE A START ON THE SINK
With everything in you dishwasher, if you have one, switch it on now. If your hand washing, do this now then dry everything to stow away.
With a clear sink, you can start deep cleaning process. If you know how to unblock a sink, add you unclogging cleaning agents now so that it can work as you continue to work on the rest.
Then, learn how to wash a stainless steel sink properly to remove any stains and food residue.
3. CLEAN YOUR STOVE TOP
If you have gas burners or a glass-top stove that’s looking grubby, start by scrubbing this down so that any burn-on food leftovers and splashes end up on the floor or on you counter tops which you’ll get to next.
4. WORK TOP TO BOTTOM
Why? You’ll kick yourself if you never realized that cleaning you counter tops before you dust and wipe down any upper kitchen cabinets just means that you’ll have to clean you counters again. So start from the top with you favorite cleaning product and a damp microfiber cloth and work you way down to you bottom cabinets.
If you are cleaning marble, granite or other natural stone worktops take care with what you use as natural products like vinegar are too acidic and can damage the finish.
If you counter tops are wood, then you’ll need some extra knowledge on how to clean butcher-block counter tops, but it’s not that difficult; you just need to be gentle.
5. CLEAN LEFT TO RIGHT
And working left to right just makes it easier to ensure that you’ve got to everything, including big and small appliance doors like microwaves and ovens, in one smooth sweep.
Dust you fridge, and make sure you catch crumbs from you toaster or grounds from you coffee maker. We’re surface cleaning here, but if you do want to set more time aside later to say, clean an oven or descale a kettle, you can get you cleaning agents started now so they have time to work their magic.
6. CLEAN ANYTHING ELSE IN THE SPACE
If you have a breakfast bar or a dining table in you space, maybe it’s an open-plan kitchen that you have – be sure to wipe down the chairs and table-top as well.
7. REASSESS EVERYTHING REMAINING ON
YOUR COUNTER
With you counters clean, now you can take a good, hard look at what you’re left with. If it’s spick and span but still a little busy, think about what you actually use and what you actually need on display. Be ruthless here, and if the waffle iron that made an appearance 3 Christmases ago is still there collecting dust, find it a new home in you cupboards.
8. FINISH CLEANING THE SINK
Whether it’s baking soda and vinegar, or you favorite cleaning product you used to clean and unblock you sink, now it’s time to scrub it off. Once done, pour hot water down the plughole to unclog anything remaining. Make sure you give you taps and spout a wipe down too.
9. CLEAN THE KITCHEN FLOOR
All that dust and all those crumbs landed on you kitchen floor so grab you best vacuum cleaner or go old school with a broom and collect it all.
Once it’s dust-free, pick up you best mop – we like to use a flat head mop – and wipe the floor down, cleaning yourself out of the kitchen, not into a corner! Make sure you consider you kitchen’s floor material, taking care not to clean with acids on engineered wood and the like.
Ceramic tile is the easiest to clean, but you can learn how to clean hardwood floors to keep them in perfect condition, too.
10. PUT YOUR KITCHEN BACK TOGETHER AGAIN
Whether you need to replace the kitchen sponge that is now in the garbage can or if you need to put a new liner back into the trash can for that matter, now is the time to do it.
Add clean kitchen towels and if de cluttering you breakfast bar area now means you can add fresh flowers or you favorite candle to lightly fragrance the room, do that now too, you totally deserve it.
11. PROTECT YOUR APPLIANCES AND COOKWARE FROM SPILLS
It may sound obvious, but protecting you appliances from spills in the first place will drastically reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do. Dennis Capone, a kitchen expert at My Kitchen Toolkit(opens in new tab), recommends using cooking liners ‘if you use an air fryer, toaster oven or slow cooker.
Don’t want liners? Capone points out that ‘you don’t have to limit yourself to
pre-made liners – a simple sheet of aluminum foil can also do wonders
for keeping baking trays, broiler pans, and toaster ovens clean..
HOW DO YOU CLEAN A KITCHEN IF YOU’RE A BEGINNER?
If you’re moving into you first home and don’t have much experience cleaning a kitchen, panic can set in pretty quickly. Sara San Angelo, a professional house cleaner and blogger(opens in new tab), appreciates that ‘for those who are moving into their first apartment or house, cleaning the kitchen can seem like an overwhelming job..
However, she has some words of reassurance: ‘if you do a few certain things each day, it becomes much more manageable. I recommend doing the dishes every day, clearing and wiping the counters, and spot sweeping or cleaning up spills immediately..
Do those dishes, and do them every day! According to San Angelo, ‘an empty sink at the end of the day can really give you a sense of accomplishment and keep you
motivated to tackle bigger cleaning tasks..
Additionally, ‘keep a nice basket on the counter to throw loose items in for a quick de cluttering’ and keep you floor clean: ‘a clean floor is the easiest and fastest way to make you house look clean..
YOUR KITCHEN CLEANING ESSENTIAL
WHY IS MY KITCHEN SINK CONSTANTLY BLOCKED?
If you’ve done all the above and then a week later you sink is blocked again, you may be dealing with a bigger problem – and it’s usually caused by grease build-up. Jake Romano, the manager of John The Plumber(opens in new tab), goes as far as to say that ‘when a kitchen sink is always blocking up, I’d be happy to bet money that you have quite a bit of grease and gunk in the drains..
And why is grease so often responsible for blocked drains? Well, ‘grease is a tricky one because it doesn’t really clean out all that easily. If you use Drano, Drano will burn a hole through it. If you snake it, the snake will drill a hole through it. But, shortly after using it again, the hole will fill in and you’ll be back where you were..
The solution? Call the plumber. Seriously. Romano reassures homeowners that ‘many plumbers and drain cleaning services offer Hydro Jetting. Hydro jets are powerful pressure washers with a long, flexible hose that can be pushed through you drain system. It’s designed in such a way that it can move around bends in you pipes, and it can blast away years’ worth of gunk in seconds.
WHAT NOT TO CLEAN WITH VINEGAR
However, if you’re using cupboard staple vinegar, it’s vital that you steer clear of natural stone or marble counter tops. This is because these materials – while strong and durable – are porous, and the acidity of vinegar can gradually mark them and wear them down.
On the Amazon site, there are all the cleaning products to get the job done. Check out a past post on spring cleaning: