Between baking treats for the kiddos and cooking nightly dinners for the family, it’s easy for the kitchen to turn into a major disaster zone. “I’ll clean the kitchen tomorrow” becomes the mantra of most tired and stressed moms as they stare down their messy kitchen—but stress no more!
With this fast and easy step-by-step guide, you’ll be able to take on the task of cleaning your kitchen. Because there’s no guesswork, you’re going to save tons of time!
Tackle out-of-place items
If you have any items cluttering the kitchen that don’t belong there (e.g., toys, shoes or mail), put them back where they belong. This will give you a clean starting point!
Empty and wipe your refrigerator
Throw away (or compost!) any old food still lingering, organize all the fresh food you’re keeping and wipe down the shelves with a damp microfiber cloth.
Soak dirty dishes
Fill up your sink with hot water and add a few drops of dishwashing liquid (preferably one that’s free from chemicals like phosphates, phthalates, SLS, SLES and dyes). Then soak any dirty dishes, pots or pans so they can be cleaned more easily in Step 8.
Give your microwave some love
Grab your microfiber cloth and wipe down the inside of your microwave. This appliance is sometimes forgotten during cleaning, but tackle it in this step!
Don’t forget the stovetop!
Fold your microfiber to an unused side, then give your stovetop a good clean. Is it time to clean the inside? Preheat your oven for a few minutes then grab your (enzyme-based) oven cleaner and give it a spritz!
Dust from top to bottom
Dust cabinets, walls and light fixtures, starting with the top and working your way down to the bottom. This ensures that all the dirt and dust will be removed in one pass!
The countertops need a good scrub
Wipe them down with a clean microfiber and water.
Unload and load up the dishwasher
If you have any dishes in your dishwasher, go ahead and put them away. Drain your sink and re-load your dishwasher with the dishes you soaked in the sink in Step 3.
(Optional): Clean inside your oven
If you sprayed your oven with an enzyme-based cleaner in Step 5, now’s the time to grab your damp microfiber cloth and quickly wipe down the inside.
Sweep your floors
Go over those floors with your microfiber mop pad. Be sure to get all the nooks and crannies!
Take out the trash
There’s nothing like a clean kitchen that’s also free of odors. This is a good time to spritz an enzyme-based, odor-removing spray in your trashcan!
Reward your hard work with a treat!
We like chocolate.
What room in the house is your arch nemesis and refuses to stay clean? Share your answer with other busy moms in a comment below!Resources:
I find that putting a bowl of water with some lemon in it really helps make tackling the microwave easier! Just warm it for about 4-5 minutes and that stuck on food wipes off in a jiffy!
That’s what I do! Then I just use my Enviro for the quick swipe to clean!
I wipe it when it has humidity on the walls from something I just cooked. Do it before it accumulates!
That’s what I do! But sometimes others in my household don’t – thanks for the water & lemon trick!
Definitely the best time to clean! Strike while the irons hot!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing, Stacy!
The play room is always a mess. Which I guess is ok, sense it is where the kids spend the majority of their play time. The kitchen is also hard to keep clean. And laundry is constantly piling up! Life of a momma of toddlers I suppose
Bathroom most used room. Much easier to keep clean now that I have Norwex envirocloth, polishing cloth, blue diamond chemical free cleaner and toilet brush.
I agree! I feel like it’s always being used or will be used so I wait until the end of the day and then I end up putting it off until the end of the week! Norwex products have definitely helped me maintain it since I know that with a couple swipes I can really deep clean a surface
Bathroom!!
The bathroom hands down. But I have found that staying on top of it and wiping the counters and mirrors each mirror with and enviro and then the window cloth really helps to keep the messes at bay! Not to mention saving my sanity.. 😉
I need a self-cleaning house. Homeschooling with 5 kids, cleaning is just a fleeting memory, lol
I keep telling my five they all need to leave for like two weeks, and I would have the house sparkling….but once they walk back in…DISASTER!
kitchen for sure
My office is one where the clutter from other rooms end up!! I need hours and hours to get this back where it should be… :-0
I know what you mean. When I expect people to drop in, I just close the door.
I clean the kitchen while I cook. So when I’m done with the meal, I don’t have much left to do.
Great tips to help get some order. I love lists!
Difinitely the bathroom. Seems husband always chooses to shave that same day
I Love how easy it is to keep my home clean!
Bathroom. Its highly used, but no one is in there that long. Amazing how it needs to be cleaned on a daily basis.
Just joining in a few months late 🙂 but the kitchen is my hardest room to keep clean. We cook alot, so that means alot more mess!! However ever since using Norwex it has been easier and we have reduced our paper towel usage also!
The kitchen is my arch nemesis that refuses to stay clean for sure! lol
The kitchen needs to be cleaned most often, though other rooms tend to get more cluttered.
I find my two teenage daughters rooms and bathrooms are the hardest to keep clean.
So awesome!!! Love that there’s a PDF Attached!!
Defiantly the playroom. Always a disaster, You put something away and they dump another bucket. Really trying to teach them to put what they are playing with away before pulling something else out.