I was chatting (virtually) with my friend Chas the other day about how we use alcohol to clean our homes. One of the ways she uses it is to deodorise shoes, which has nothing at all to do with cleaning your kitchen but I just thought I'd throw that in as an extra tip. You can see all the other ways that Chas uses it here.
This got me thinking as I’m often asked how I keep my kitchen so clean. This question always surprises me because I really don’t spend a lot of time cleaning my kitchen, and it’s certainly not spotless all the time.
To me, the answer it simple – but when I think about it a little more, maybe there’s more to it.
So, what’s my best tip?
I’ll tell in in a hot minute.
First, let’s look at the steps to clean your kitchen in under 15 minutes.
The first thing to do is clear the clutter – now if this is the first time you’re cleaning your kitchen in a while, this may take a bit longer but, if you do it every day, you’ll find that it takes just a minute.
On a side note, it’s always good to have a ‘junk drawer’. This is somewhere you put things that don’t have a home – maybe it’s yesterday’s mail that is still to be sorted or that random screw that always seems to turn up in your kitchen.
What! That doesn’t happen to you?
Now you’re probably thinking – that’s going to take me ages, especially if you have a gas stove. Believe me, if you follow my best tip (below) it won’t.
Remove the cast iron grates and put them aside. If they are particularly dirty you could give them a wipe with a damp cloth.
Spray your stove top with a grease removing cleaner like the one Chas uses.
Let it sit for one minute while you clean the oven door (next step).
Wipe it down. I’m not talking about the burners here; I’m just talking about the surface. (Burners can be cleaned on another day, unless they are really grubby but that’s another story.)
Dry it!
Yep, if you dry it with a paper towel, it will be streak free!
Place the grates back on.
Spray the oven door with Eucalyptus Oil Spray or another glass cleaner.
Wipe it with a paper towel. Sometimes I employ a microfibre cloth here – the kind that is especially made for glass, but generally, a paper towel will do the trick.
Remember to go back and clean your stove top now.
This may seem like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do this.
Now, I’m not talking move everything off your countertop and give it a good scrub (maybe if you haven’t done it for a while, you could do this). But, on a daily basis, just give it a wipe.
You’ll be surprised how much difference this makes.
How long this takes will depend on how much countertop space you have, I have a lot of counter space and it takes me about two minutes.
I have a stone countertop on my island, so I take the extra step of drying it so there’s no streaky makes (add one minute).
Under my sink I have shaker jar filled with baking – the kind they use in cafés for sugar.
When your sink is wet (just after you’ve done the dishes is a good time), sprinkle it around and give it a good wipe with a damp cloth. I really like these Selley's cloths ones from Mitre 10.
Wash it well (I mean well, with lots of water) to remove any leftover baking soda.
Dry it with a dry dish towel or paper towel!
Yep, you heard it here! You need to dry your sink!
This makes your sink nice and shiny and sets you up for the day. In the process of doing this, I also use the dry towel to give my taps a quick polish.
Now you’re thinking – this chick is crazy! I can’t clean the floor in this little time!
What I’m talking about here is give it a quick sweep, then use a dustpan to pick up the dirt.
If there are any ‘hot spots’ which need a clean, spot clean them with a damp cloth.
After all this wiping, it’s important to change your cleaning cloths and dish towels as they will be dirty. I wash mine everyday but that’s another post.
Now, take a moment and enjoy your nice clean kitchen.
Let’s count up – 12 minutes!
Did you ever believe that you could clean your entire kitchen in less than 15 minutes!
I just realised, I never gave you my best tip for cleaning your kitchen – it’s simple.
Are you ready?
It’s going to blow your mind!
You have probably already figured it out.
Da, da da da, da da!!!!
I know this is radical, but if you take 15 minutes every day to clean your kitchen – I know you’re busy, but it's only 15 minutes, you will always have a lovely clean kitchen. Whether you do it before you go to bed, or when you get up in the morning, or as you are running out the door, make the time and you will feel better about your kitchen.
Obviously, this isn’t a deep clean – that’s a story for another day, but I promise, that spending just 15 minutes daily cleaning your kitchen will make it much quicker when you do need to do that deep clean. It will also make you feel good about your daily routine, and your kitchen.
Give it a try and let me know how you go in the comments section below.
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September 23, 2020
Hi, my name is Carol Karl. I live in little old New Zealand. My family and I strive to live the most ‘real’ life we can – by that I mean that we eat real food, we live real lives and just generally be our most authentic selves.
