Who doesn’t enjoy spending time in the kitchen with their family and friends for company? It’s almost like a hangout spot with food and drinks at your disposal while you enjoy some lighthearted conversations. Of course, a kitchen is primarily a place where you cook and perhaps, eat a snack or meal, so it’s no surprise that things tend to get pretty messy from time to time, or on a daily basis!
The thing about kitchens is that almost everything in it gets used on the regular. From pots and pans, to appliances and ingredients, things get moved out of place; grease finds its way around the room; food spills are pretty much inevitable; and before you know it, you’ve got a dirty, untidy kitchen that needs cleaning!
Now, for a room that needs frequent tidying up and cleaning, it’s only natural to want to do it as quickly as possible. Well, you’ve come to the right place because we are sharing the best tips to speed clean your kitchen in an effective manner. Read on!
Dirty Dishes First
Whether you have a dishwasher or wash them by hand, this is the first kitchen cleaning task you need to get out of the way as it’s rather difficult to get any cleaning done when you’ve got a sink full of dirty dishes. A helpful tip to ensure that you can clean your dishes quickly and efficiently is by allowing them to soak for as long as possible before it’s time to wash them. For this, we suggest plugging your kitchen sink and filling it with soapy water or, as an alternative, simply use a large basin. With enough soaking time, cleaning dishes by hand or a dishwasher will be quicker, easier, and definitely more effective!
Tidy Up
Don’t let clutter slow you down when you’re trying to speed clean your kitchen. Get ahead of untidiness by quickly putting things back in place. Focus on one area at a time; for example, if there are ingredients lying around that need to be refrigerated, gather them up and put them in the fridge before moving on to something else. Once you’ve cleared up counters, tables, and shelves, you’ll find that cleaning up is a lot quicker than you thought!
Quick Stovetop Cleaning
Whether you’re cleaning a glass stovetop or a stainless steel one, using heat is the best way to speed things up. By this, we don’t mean having to turn on the gas, but rather the use of hot towels draped over the surface to loosen up grease and grime. Here’s a super quick tip when cleaning your stovetop: spray the surface (generously) with all-purpose cleaner or a specific cleaning product for your type of stovetop; place a towel soaked in hot water over it and leave it for about 10 minutes. While the heat combined with the cleaner gets to work, find other kitchen cleaning tasks to finish up in the meantime. By the end of 10 minutes, pick up the towel and use an appropriate scrubbing tool to clean up your stove.
Wipe Down Counters
This is one of the cleaning tasks you can do while you give your stove cleaner some standing time. It’s a rather quick job, especially when you’ve already tidied up your kitchen counters beforehand. For a quick and efficient clean of your counters, it’s wise to lift any other items that are generally placed on them such as fruit baskets and/or holders for ladles and serving spoons. Once you’ve got an entirely clear surface to wipe, cleaning is a breeze! Use your chosen cleaning product to spray the surface before giving it a good wipe down using a microfibre towel. Be sure to rinse out your cleaning tool as and when needed for a truly efficient clean.
Wash the Kitchen Sink
After you’ve soaked/washed dirty dishes, rinsed your cleaning tools out, and used the sink for other purposes during the entire kitchen cleaning process, it’s no surprise that your kitchen sink ends up covered in grease and grime. While a deep cleaning of your kitchen sink will require a long, step-by-step process, our quick fix is probably the way to go when you’re in a hurry, or simply looking for daily cleaning tips. For this, all you need is a handheld scrub brush and a reliable cleaning product that is formulated to cut through grease and grime. Simply wet the interiors of your kitchen sink with water (hot water helps in breaking down grime as we mentioned earlier), and apply a generous amount of the cleaner onto the bristles of your scrub brush; use this to clean the sink thoroughly. Don’t forget to rinse the brush and reapply the product when it gets too soiled.
Wipe Exteriors
From kitchen appliances to cabinet doors and handles; grubby hands or greasiness can end up on the exteriors of various components in your kitchen. For this reason, a quick wipe down is definitely advised to complete your kitchen cleanup. The use of a clean microfibre cloth and all-purpose cleaner is typically all you need for wiping the exteriors of cabinets and appliances, however, in case of glass surfaces, a natural cleaning solution of water and white vinegar will suffice. Regardless, of what the surface may be, simply dampen the cloth with your chosen cleaner and wipe the exteriors using gentle, circular motions. For door handles/knobs, spray the cleaner directly onto the surface and wipe with a clean, dry cloth.
TIP: Avoid soaking the cloth as this will only wet the surface more than it should, taking up extra time to clean and dry up. Moreover, it can cause ugly streaking which will have to be wiped over yet again to remove.
Sweep Floor
If you’ve been vacuuming your kitchen floor instead of sweeping it, you’ve probably been spending way more time on cleaning it than you should be! Vacuuming, in general, can be a longer cleaning process simply because it requires to be pulled out from storage; plugged in; and dragged around. Moreover, it’s not always quick to move a vacuum cleaner around and/or clean underneath tables and chairs. A broom, on the other hand, is easy to use and incredibly quick to gather up dirt and debris. There are various types of brooms you can use for hard floors, including ‘Indian brooms’ which are convenient for cleaning underneath furniture or narrow spaces.
Mop Up
The last task to complete your kitchen cleaning is – mopping! Now, for many, mopping the kitchen floor is something homeowners choose to skip unless they have a lot of time on their hands. However, you’ll be surprised to know that mopping can actually be one of the quickest house cleaning chores if you choose to do it the following way:
- Keep a pre-made floor cleaning solution in a ‘squeezy’ bottle (you can make one on your own by simply using a plastic bottle and poking a hole through the cap)
- Grab a clean, dry mop and walk to one end of your kitchen (furthest away from the exit)
- Spritz a large section of the floor with the cleaner (perhaps from one end to the other)
- Start mopping and repeat the process for the entire floor
When compared to traditional mopping using a bucket that needs to be moved around and a mop that requires to be wrung, this method is a whole lot quicker, convenient, and equally effective!
With the tips above, you can speed clean your kitchen in 15 or 20 minutes tops! The most important thing to remember is to be prepared with pre-made cleaners, and to perform each cleaning task in a time-saving order. Figure out what works best for you and rest assured that these tips will guide you through it all!
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