Kitchen Cleaning Tips For The Time-pressed

The kitchen is one of the busiest and most cluttered parts of the house.  There are just too many things to clean, arrange and organize that if one does not have a system of cleaning, she (or he) would be overwhelmed and simply give up on the task.  Yet the kitchen is where cleanliness should reign supreme for the simple reason that it is where food is prepared.

It does not matter how much or how little time you have.  You can do something no matter how busy you are.  Just because you don’t have an entire day does not mean you cannot make some cleaning.  Better do a few cleaning than do no cleaning at all.

What you can do in 15 minutes:

Clean the sink and countertops.  Spray disinfectant all around the sink and let it stand for some time.  Next, move countertop gadgets to another spot and spray disinfectant on all countertops.  Go back to the sink, scrub it with either a brush or a sponge, rinse well and dry.  Go back to the countertops, wiped dry with a microfiber cloth and return the gadgets to their proper places.

Sweep the floor.  An electrostatic mop or cloth quickly and efficiently sweeps the floor clean by picking up dirt, hair and dust.

Disinfect the refrigerator handle.  To keep your ref-peering kids safe from germs, spritz disinfectant on ref handles and wipe dry.

What you can do in 30 minutes:

On top of the above chores, you can add the following kitchen clean-up acts if you have half an hour to spare.

Wet-mop the floor.  Skip the dirty water bucket and just spray all-purpose cleaner on the floor and finish with damp microfiber mop.

Wipe appliances.  Wipe the exterior surfaces of your kitchen gadgets.

What you can do in an hour:

Add this chore if you have a full hour.

Wash fronts of cabinets.  Using a sponge and a solution of liquid dish soap, wipe the fronts of kitchen cabinet, working from top to bottom.

What you can do if you have half a day:

Deep-clean the appliances.  Freshen up the insides of the ref with a solution of 4 tablespoons baking soda in 4 cups water.  To clean the interiors of ovens, wipe down with an all-purpose cleaner.  Wondering how you could safely scrape oven racks clean?  Use an old credit card or plastic ID card.

Deep-clean kitchen cabinets.  Gut cabinets of all contents, vacuum-clean or wipe with damp cloth and rearrange contents.