How to Clean your Kitchen in 10 Minutes or Less
I’m convinced that messes appear out of nowhere in my kitchen. There’s no other explanation for how quickly it gets messed up again after I clean it. The crazy thing is no matter how clean I get my kitchen, it’s a guarantee that the second my sink fills with dishes someone will show up at my house unexpectedly.
My friends probably think the dirty pots on my stove are decorative at this point . . .
It IS possible to get your kitchen clean . . . even when you have kids who are determined to mess it up. I don’t have a lot of extra time to clean (or do anything else for that matter) but I get stressed out when my house is messy.
The only solution to my messy kitchen problem is this 10 minute kitchen cleaning routine. Do this once a day and your kitchen will stay clean(ish) and ready for surprise company.
Remove clutter. We all have those spots in our kitchen that attract clutter. For me, it’s the nice wide windowsill I have. Clutter attracts clutter though and it just looks so messy. If you don’t have much time, put all the clutter in a box and put in another room until you have time to sort through it. You’ll at least prevent more clutter from building up in the meantime.
I have a gorgeous view out of my kitchen windows but most of the time I’m distracted from the view by piles of clutter. I swear clutter just appears there.
See. Much better.
Put the dishes in the sink. Nothing looks messier than dirty dishes on the counter. I’ve timed myself and I can load the dishwasher in 3 minutes flat when I need to. What helps me go faster is soaking the dishes for a few minutes while I work on another task in the kitchen. Put all the dishes in the sink and fill it with warm soapy water. Even if you don’t have time to load the dishwasher right away, at least they are all in one place and look like they are in progress.
Clean the flat surfaces. The first thing you notice when you walk in a kitchen is what’s on the flat surfaces like the table and the counters. If your counters are cluttered or dirty, your whole kitchen looks dirty. I always start by clearing and wiping my kitchen counters and table. With all the dishes already soaking in the sink you should just have odds and ends left. I put the remaining stuff away (or in baskets to go to other rooms), and wipe them down. This takes only a few minutes if I move fast.
*Time saver: Put your kids to work and make them your runners. If you have stuff to go to other rooms have your kids put them away for you. It gets them involved and let’s you move faster on other jobs.
Clean the shiny stuff. Some of the most noticeable messes in my kitchen are smudged or fingerprint covered shiny stuff. In my kitchen that’s my stainless steel fridge, the knobs on my cabinet doors, and my sink facet. If I shine those up my entire kitchen looks cleaner.
I’ve had the hardest time finding something that works well on my stainless steel fridge. With 6 kids, we constantly have fingerprints. Even the twins like to use the handle on my freezer to pull themselves up to a standing position so I get finger prints from them all over the lower half of my fridge!
The best thing I have found to get rid of fingerprints on stainless steel is Pledge Lemon Clean furniture spray. It’s pH balanced so you don’t have to worry about it stripping away the finish (I tested it on the side of my fridge first just to make sure) and it has a nice mild scent.
Sweep the floor. My floor ends up with all kinds of things on it. Having 2 babies in high chairs will do that. A quick sweep of my floor does so much for making my kitchen feel clean. Take a wet rag ad scrub any especially dirty spots on the floor. You can save the full mopping for when you have more time but this will get your floor looking fairly clean in no time at all.
If you are tight on time, set a timer and give yourself 2 minutes for each task. You’ll be amazed at how much progress you’ll make in your kitchen. When I’m tight on time, I try and do a ten minute kitchen cleanup once a day and then I’m able to keep up on the basics.
What tricks do you have for keeping your kitchen clean when you are busy?
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
You may also like:
