7 Tips to Keep Your Kitchen Clean

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information see the Affiliate Disclaimer.

You know as well as I do, that the kitchen is often a hub of activity.  Especially if you have teenagers eating around the clock!

Staying on top of keeping your kitchen clean can take some effort if you’re not disciplined about it.  And, this may not happen overnight.  It sure didn’t for me.

This took some work to put into practice and maintain.  However, these 7 tips to keep your kitchen clean can help break things down to make this more manageable and can help to lay the foundation to make your regular cleaning easier.

These tips to keep your kitchen clean will also save you time and energy.   

At the end of the day, who doesn’t want a clean kitchen?

Clean While You Cook

Okay, so this tip might sound obvious, but it does wonders for your final clean-up. Clean. While. You. Cook.

To contrast, on the rare occasion that my husband cooks, I’m amazed how one person can create so much havoc in one space!   I don’t want to discourage his efforts by jumping in and cleaning up while he’s cooking but, it’s certainly tempting.

So, when preparing your meals, take the time to lay out your ingredients, cookware, etc., ahead of time.  And, as you use what you need, put things away. Shelve the ingredients, dispose of peels and other food waste (that’s the next tip), clean the counter. 

While the food’s cooking, continue with your clean-up.  This is a good opportunity to prevent spills from becoming stains. And, remember to either put cookware, utensils, bowls, etc., in the dishwasher or, start manually washing them up, while your meal is cooking.  

Who, besides my husband wants to do a huge clean-up after preparing a meal?  Not me!  Knowing that there’s less clean-up to do after cooking, is a bonus and gives you the chance to enjoy your meal even more.

Have a Designated Compost Bin

Separate your food waste into a compost bin.  

Better yet, create less work for yourself and save some time by peeling and cutting up your ingredients directly over the compost bin. This reduces the need to wipe food waste off your counter and risk not getting all of it.

Besides, separating food waste is a dirty job, so the less time you spend handling it, the better you’ll feel (or is it just me?).

As a bonus, food waste makes great compost for the garden.  

Clean Your Stove

It’s good practice to clean your stovetop after each use, as neglected food spills can quickly become breeding ground for bacteria.   Wipe down your stovetop with a microfiber cloth and an all-purpose cleaner to get rid of the food residue.

Every week, wipe down your stove.  If it’s stainless steel, remember to clean in the direction of the grain.

And as far as the oven is concerned, every 3 – 4 months is recommended, or, when you detect burnt food residue, or, worse, smell smoke when something’s in the oven.  

Clean Out Your Refrigerator and Freezer Regularly

Over time, food items can stick to the fridge walls and shelves. Make it a habit to clean out your fridge regularly. This also helps to eliminate any bacteria that could be growing in your fridge.

As you go through the items, remember to check expiry dates and get rid of anything that has a past due date. You don’t want to put your health at risk by putting expired cream in your coffee!

Bonus tip: it’s very easy to forget what items are in your fridge, so food labels come in handy, particularly when it comes to leftovers. This helps establish a good first-in, first-out routine with your food.

Designate an Area for Small Appliances

Now, most of us have a pretty decent collection of small appliances. Between Instant Pots, Air Fryers, rice cookers, food processors, juicers, it’s a wonder there’s space for much else!

I keep the small appliances that I use most frequently, neatly arranged on a baker’s rack. Once I use them, I wash them and wipe them down (as per the manufacturer’s instructions), and immediately put them back on the rack.

I do not keep them on my counter – too much clutter. And, I don’t keep them in a cupboard, as they would be too hard to access.

Designate an area of your kitchen that works well for you.  I’ve seen more than one person install a Lazy Susan in their cupboard, specifically for small appliances.  This provides easy access and looks great.

Clutter-Free Counters

Keep your kitchen counters as clutter-free as possible.

It’s tempting to have a bunch of items on your counters, for easy access.  As mentioned above, I used to keep a few small appliances on my counters, for that very reason.  And, with a small kitchen and limited counter space, the cluttered look is easy to achieve.

It’s much easier to wipe down your counters when they’re clutter-free.  The more stuff you have on your counters, the more stuff you have to move, in order to clean them.

And, a clutter-free counter can transform the look of your kitchen. I absolutely love walking into my kitchen first thing in the morning and seeing how clean the counters look!

Use Liners where you store food items

Install shelf liners in your cupboards and pantries.  This localizes any crumbs and food residue that could scatter around your cupboards or kitchen. You can easily remove the food items in your cupboards and pantries, give the liners a good wipe-down, and put the food items back. This will also minimize damage to your cupboards and pantries, by preserving the shelves.

Just like the fridge, it’s important to check expiration dates on the items in your cupboards and pantries and remove what has expired.

Implementing these 7 tips to keep your kitchen clean is a step towards having a less tiring kitchen clean-up. Let’s face it, you’re busy and anything you can do to make things more efficient is a relief and makes life just a little bit easier.