How to Clean Your Kitchen in 30 Minutes or Less

Cleaning the kitchen is rarely anyone’s favourite chore but if you use yours on a regular basis, then it’s going to need cleaning pretty frequently. Over the years, I’ve developed a system which means my kitchen is nearly always ‘guest ready’ at a moment’s notice even though we cook every single day. There are rarely dirty dishes piled up in the sink or dog hair and onion skins on the floor, the hob is clean and the worktops shiny.

How do I do this? Well, the old adage of ‘little and often’ is my motto for cleaning the kitchen so while I might spend a bit more time on certain tasks than others, breaking it all down to manageable chunks means it takes me less than 25 minutes a day to keep it looking shiny and clean.

Here’s how to keep your kitchen clean with by tackling a few basic tasks on a regular basis. Scheduling in 15 minutes or half an hour to complete these is not difficult to do but with the daily distractions of everyday life, you may find it easier to set a timer for yourself so you can focus on the job in hand.

If you follow this schedule, it really starts to become routine and can easily fit in even with a busy life. The best thing with the ‘little and often’ method is that the kitchen will never be so far gone that you find it a daunting and overwhelming task that you rather avoid than do something about.

Every Day

Clean kitchen sink and tap

These tasks should take no more than 15 minutes a day in total. If you have 6 kids, it may take a little longer but at the same time – you have 6 kids! Let them help to get everything done!

  • Wash the dishes in the sink (or load the dishwasher) (8 minutes)
  • Wipe down the sink and tap (1 minute)
  • Using a clean rag or sponge with a kitchen cleaner spray, wipe down the worktops and hob (2 minutes)
  • Toss any large recycling pieces (large boxes, water bottles) directly into your outside recycling bins (1 minute)

One thing I always do is rinse my dishes under hot water straight after we use them prior to washing them. This way, food comes right off them and you aren’t spending time trying to scrub off any dried on bits that take more time!

Every Other Day

Cleaning floors in the kitchen

These tasks can be done every other day or a few times a week, depending on how frequently you use your kitchen. They’ll take no more than 10 minutes to complete in total.

  • Vacuum or sweep the floors (5 minutes)
  • Wipe down the outside of the bin (2 minutes)
  • Empty recycling containers or take out rubbish (1 minute)

Once a Week:

cleaning the cooker

I normally tackle these tasks on a weekend when I have a bit more flexibility in my schedule. Along with the above every day tasks, it should take you no more than 45 minutes in total.

  • Hoover and mop the floor (7 minutes)
  • Wipe down the wall tiles (5 minutes)
  • Wipe down the refrigerator, the top of the refrigerator and the front of the appliances (4 minutes)
  • Wipe down the cooker hood (1 minute)

Once a Season

cleaning the refrigerator

This is a little more involved but as you are doing these tasks every couple of months, you should be able to squeeze it all in in less than 2 hours.

  • Empty and scrub the inside of the refrigerator (25 minutes)
  • Empty and clean the inside of utensil drawers (5 minutes)
  • Go through the ‘junk drawer’ and toss anything not needed (5 minutes)
  • Thoroughly clean the outside of the cupboards (5 minutes)
  • Clean the cooker hood filter (2 minutes)
  • Clean under appliances (10 minutes)
  • Clean the inside of the oven (20 minutes)

When you break down each task into manageable segments, you realise each of these items really doesn’t take much time. The more involved tasks will take longer of course but keeping on top of the smaller jobs every day will go a long way in keeping the kitchen tidy on a day-to-day basis.

How do you manage to keep your own kitchen clean? Do you use any strategies to keep on top of it all? Let us know by tweeting us onĀ @TileMountain1 or tag us on Instagram!
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