Your kitchen is one of the dirtiest places that needs the most work to stay clean. No matter how hard you clean after you cook, your kitchen is bound to get dirty again. Your apartment kitchen can be easily cleaned in fifteen minutes, awarding you with more time to do what you want and have a clean kitchen.
Collect Everything You Will Need
Having everything you need already in hands-reach makes cleaning your apartment kitchen that much faster. By trying to find the broom or multi-surface spray, precious time gets wasted. To clean your kitchen in 15 minutes, you will need a trash can, basket for non-kitchen items, dish soap, surface cleaners, floor cleaners, a sponge, scrubber, broom or vacuum, and a mop. Wearing gloves is smart if you don’t want to touch anything gross with your bare hands. Furthermore, gloves protect our hands from the potentially harsh cleaning chemicals.
Fill Your Sink with Hot Water and Soap
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- Turn the hot water lever all the way open; the water will cool down as you use it. If you are fortunate to have a double sink with a garbage disposal, fill the side without the disposal so you can use the disposal for food leftovers.
Scrape Your Dishes Clean
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- Using a fork or knife, scrape off all of the leftover food on your dishes into the trash. If you have that garbage disposal we were talking about, then do it there.
Soaking Session
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- Start soaking your dishes in the scalding water as soon as possible. For bowls, pots, and pans, fill them with soap and hot water and leave them on the counter to save your sink space. Soak plates and everything else in the sink, with the dirtiest dishes at the bottom.
Pick Up the Garbage
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- Pick a starting spot and go through the entire kitchen—cabinets, counters, floor, and clean up all of the trash. Do not worry about anything except the trash right now.
Kitchen is for Kitchen Items
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- This is where the basket for all of the non-kitchen items comes in. It’s time to get this clutter out! Now that all the trash is gone, all nonkitchen items should be placed in the basket. Once all nonkitchen items are in the basket, do not worry about the basket after this; maintain focus on the kitchen.
- Everything that is out of place in your kitchen should be put back into place. Don’t lose focus and try organizing your cabinets and drawers, just put things back where they go, you can organize your kitchen a different time.
Back to the Dishes
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- Now that your dishes have been soaking for some time, you can start to clean them. If you have a dishwasher, load it for this step and you are done. If you don’t have a dishwasher, now is the time to handwash; it is exponentially easier to hand wash after letting your dishes soak.
Everything Gets Wiped
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- All surfaces and appliances in your kitchen have to get wiped. Don’t scrub the microwave or get the crumbs from the toaster; this step is for wiping the surfaces of your counters, cabinets, and appliances. Make sure to wipe down the buttons on your microwave and oven as well as the fridge handle either! These places are the most commonly overlooked places to clean.
Vacuum if You Have it, Otherwise Sweep Followed by Mopping
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- Now is the time to get the crumbs and dirt off the kitchen floor by sweeping or vacuuming. Pay attention to the areas that collect the most dirt, such as the oven’s sides or in front of the sink. Once the dirt is gone, it’s time to for the streak-free-shine with the mop.
Don’t Let it Pile Up, Take it Out
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- Don’t forget to take out the trash! It’s okay to take the bag out if it is not full, the food waste in the bag will start to rot, smell bad, and attract flies and other bugs. Emptying your trash often will keep it from smelling or attracting pests.
Enjoy the Gratification of a Clean Kitchen
With this routine, all you need is fifteen minutes to keep your kitchen clean every day. The more regularly you clean, the less you will have to clean. This is a quick, everyday kitchen clean; to deep-clean of your kitchen, set aside at least thirty to sixty minutes.
