Fed up with your kitchen always looking like a disaster zone? Save time with these 9 shortcuts to get the cleanup done and out of the way.
The kitchen.
If organized properly, it can be the favourite room in the whole house.
But for most busy families?
We dread it.
There are crumbs everywhere. Stray homework assignments. Dirty dishes piles higher than Mount Everest.
We cook in our kitchen, take an hour to clean, and repeat the whole process a little while later. Every. day.
So there’s a definite need to find practical shortcuts to keep the kitchen clean.
Let’s start with how a quick cleaning system is your best way to make the job as easy as possible.
The kitchen cleanup system that will save you time (and what not to do)
Back in the day when I was a newer parent, I had no idea how to manage my home. But I’ve slowly learned ways to consistently keep it clean so I wake up to a tidy kitchen (most) mornings.
trial 1. no system
As I said, at the beginning of my parenting journey, I didn’t have a system.
It took hours to clean, find things, cook…and consequently, I hated being in my kitchen.
There were times, I’d honestly buy paper plates and we’d eat in the yard just so I could avoid being in it.
When people came over, I’d panic. It would take a full day to tidy – afterwards, I’d love it and resolve to keep it that way….but without a cleaning system, it reverted back to being a disaster zone within that same week.
trial 2. CLEAN A boatload when we’ve run out of dishes
So, I half got better.
Instead of avoiding the kitchen mess or buying paper plates, I’d do a “good” cleaning of my kitchen once a week…
– when I couldn’t cook because there was no counter space left
-when I heard crunching on the floor from all the cheerio crumbs (ew)
-when the dishwasher was full AND the sinks AND the countertops of all the dishes.
This half-system left me exhausted and still dreading my space.
So, like my successful laundry system, I heaved a deep (deep) sigh and started doing little cleaning spurts every day.
trial 3. the 1-touch rule + daily consistency (darn it)
When I had a newborn, my best friend stayed over to help and was a whirlwind of activity in my kitchen. As soon as she was done with a dirty spoon, an appliance, a meal – she’d either wash it or put it away.
At first, I thought, “what a lot of extra work!”
…but then I noticed how my counters looked tidy throughout the day and how she didn’t need to do a big, annoying, soul-sucking clean anymore….because it was already done!
So once she left, I tried it myself.
The one-touch rule has saved me SO MUCH TIME.
If it’s already in my hands, why NOT put it away…instead of leaving it for another time to clean (where it can be harder and longer to clean)?!
I finish tidying my kitchen each evening as the kids are getting ready for bed.
So now that you have an idea of a daily cleaning system, let’s move on to the cleaning shortcuts:
9 kitchen cleanup shortcuts I use on a weekly basis to slash the workload
reserve counters for things you use daily
Cluttered counters take more time to clean.
Things get splashed and need to be wiped down, crumbs hide behind them…
Conversely, if your kitchen countertops only hold what you use every single day, it becomes so much faster to do a 1 min. wipe down after a meal.
use prime real estate for most-used items
For items that you use on a weekly basis, I keep them where it’s easy to reach, pull out, and put away.
I keep the toaster and blender near the front of my cabinet and put the waffle maker and rolling pin near the back.
Your setup will look different, but follow the rule of thumb to keep items you use most often at middle height, where you don’t need to squat and reach, or get a chair or stand on your tiptoes.
Everything else you use once in a while can be placed in the more difficult places to get to.
declutter (or move) what you don’t use regularly
Before Christmas and Mother’s Day, I usually go through my appliances and kitchen gadgets and purge things that I don’t use (making space for the next round of kitchen items that may come my way).
I keep these items, like the cake pop maker my kids won’t let me donate, in the least convenient space in my kitchen. If I want it, I’ll go to the trouble to get it.
Otherwise, I prefer to keep my prime kitchen real estate free and clear. This makes daily cleaning much faster and easier.
keep a small kitchen laundry basket
I keep a small basket near my kitchen so it’s easy for me to swap out dirty towels and keep them fresh.
It also makes laundry day easier, where I can grab the basket and head to the laundry room.
store cleanup tools in one spot so you can grab & go
Make sure to keep all your cleaning supplies in one handy place in your kitchen (usually under the sink). Things like your dishwasher tabs, washcloths, paper towel, etc.
If you have to travel to the bathroom and reach a high shelf to get the disinfectant spray, it’s usually not going to happen.
But if it’s quick to grab, it’s quick to do. Make a small bin of all your daily cleaning supplies and store it somewhere close by.
clean while you’re there
Like I mentioned with the 1-touch rule, if a cleaning job takes you less than 2 min. to do, do it right away.
If you’re already holding a dirty spoon, it saves time to put it straight in the dishwasher instead of the countertop right beside the dishwasher, right?
If you’re waiting for your coffee to brew, do a quick wipe of the space while you’re there.
batch your kitchen tasks
I prefer to batch all my kitchen tasks in one go.
So as I’m making lunch, I’m also prepping supper in the Instant Pot, unloading the dishwasher, and cleaning the countertops and dishes at the same time.
It’s a bit busier, but so much faster because I’m doing the cleanup for 3 meals at the same time.
Tidying the kitchen in the evenings doesn’t take long at all, because I’ve already done most of the work.
set the table early
My big family of 7 keeps our dishes on the table.
We cut down on dirty dishes in the sink or dishwasher because my kids wash their dishes after each meal and put everything right back on the table for the next meal.
We never run out of clean spoons or pile the countertops with dishes because everything’s all ready to go at the table each time.
make your space small-helper friendly
So. My kids help with dishes during the day, right?
The best organization hack I’ve ever done is to make sure the cleaning job is easy for them.
I lowered the dishes and cups to a shelf they could reach and moved the heavier appliances to a higher space that I could reach.
Unloading the dishwasher is a breeze because they don’t need to cart a chair over to put things away!
Biggest kitchen cleanup time saver of all? Sharing the load (the easy way)
SURO is all about teaching practical and internal life skills to kids. The best way to start is by teaching kids to pitch in with chores.
The first chore I taught my toddlers was how to bring their dirty dishes to the sink, wash & dry them, then wash the table.
Now they cook breakfast, lunch and sometimes supper – and part of that job is the clean-up afterwards!
I now love to be in the kitchen again because it’s consistently tidy and cleaning it up is NOT a chore – it’s so quick to do!