Tips For Speed Cleaning Your Kitchen

Here are tips for speed cleaning your kitchen, so that it looks great for you, your family, and guests, without taking up too much of your time and energy.

The kitchen is one of the most frequently used rooms in your home, and also one that needs cleaning the most often because of the messy activities which go on in there.

Because it's got to be cleaned frequently, it's helpful to become efficient at it, using these tips below, so the job gets done and then you can move on to other more enjoyable tasks.

Speed Cleaning Works Best If Area Is Frequently Cleaned

Speed cleaning is a great concept, but it doesn't work well if you only clean infrequently.

The idea behind cleaning up quickly is that you're able to work in a focused and quick manner to remove dirt and mess that hasn't been there for a long time.

If you've got several days worth of mess to clean up it will not be a quick process, but if you're cleaning up after one meal it can be.

So for places like your kitchen it is best to do a quick speed clean daily so things don't get out of control.

Below I've listed the steps you should do daily in your kitchen to quickly keep it clean.

Speed Cleaning Doesn't Have To Be Done Alone

The more people in your household you can involve in the cleaning process the faster it will be too. After all, many hands make light work!

In addition, although I've listed these steps in order below, if you have multiple people helping several of the steps can be done simultaneously and that sure makes it speedy!

Gather Your Kitchen Cleaning Supplies

Further, because you'll be doing these tasks daily in the kitchen it makes sense to keep all cleaning supplies and equipment used for kitchen clean up either in the kitchen itself or close by, so that at the beginning of the process you can gather everything you need all together to get the job done quickly and efficiently.

For the kitchen you'll at a minimum need microfiber cloths (a different one for each surface to avoid cross-contamination), dish towels, dish soap and/or dishwasher detergent, disinfecting all purpose cleaner, cleaning gloves, broom and dustpan, floor cleaner, and a mop and bucket (or other equipment to clean the kitchen floor).

If you keep these items in the kitchen (such as your dish soap and dishwasher detergent), you can just keep them together somewhere, such as inside a kitchen cabinet, like the one under the sink.

However, if some of these cleaning supplies are also used elsewhere in your home I suggest a cleaning caddy to hold these items so it is easy to keep everything together.

Cleaning Caddies {Referral Links}

Make sure to check out these kitchen cleaner reviews to find the best products for the job.

Step 1: Fill Your Sink With Hot Soapy Water

The thing that needs to be cleaned in kitchens most frequently are the dishes, so when doing your kitchen speed cleaning that's where you should start.

Ideally you'll actually employ the practice of cleaning as you go. Before you even begin to cook or prepare food in your kitchen go ahead and fill your sink with hot soapy water.

Then, as you are doing your meal prep and cooking tasks you'll be able to put items into the sink to soak, or to even wash some of them as you go along as time permits.

Also, clean up as you go involves cleaning up your trash and refuse as you cook, to the extent possible, such as throwing away peelings, packaging, etc.

Even if you (or whoever used the kitchen last and left it a mess) didn't clean as you go while cooking, the first step in kitchen speed cleaning is always to presoak dishes, pots and pans.

As they sit out they get dried and crusty and aren't easy to wash so soaking them while you work on other cleaning steps will make dishwashing easier (and quicker).

If you've got a lot of dishes place them in the soapy sink water and fill up pots and pans with more hot soapy water and sit them on the counter to soak if the sink itself is too full.

Use a good dish soap so that this step works as well as possible. You can check out lots of dishwashing soap reviews here.

Step 2: Clear Flat Surfaces To Allow Cleaning

The next step, while dishes, pots and pans are soaking in your sink, is to clear the flat surfaces in your kitchen so you can clean them.

The two main flat surfaces I'm referring to are the kitchen countertops and kitchen table.

Throw away (or recycle) any trash, and put away any items that belong in the kitchen but don't need to be washed or cleaned that are sitting out.

In addition, gather up all the items that have been placed on a flat surface in the kitchen, but don't belong in that room, and put them where they belong.

This helps you clear the clutter from your kitchen countertops, and your kitchen tabletop, which make these surfaces easier to use, and also easier to clean.

If, when clearing off these surfaces, you notice a dried on sticky spill go ahead and spray it down with some all purpose cleaner to wet it and get it loosened up and ready to be wiped clean in a couple of minutes during a later step of the clean up process.

Step 3: Wash Dishes

While you cleared the flat surfaces in step 2 your dishes were soaking, making washing them much easier.

Now the stuck on food should be easier to wipe off, and instead of scrubbing you let time do the dirty work for you.

In step 3 if you've got a dishwasher it is time to fill it and then run it once it is full.

To the extent necessary then wash by hand any additional dishes, and pots and pans that can't go into a dishwasher.

After washing dishes it is best to go ahead and dry them and put them away.

If you leave them out to drip dry in a dish strainer, for example, it is more difficult to do the next steps listed below.

Once the dishes are washed and dried make sure you change out your kitchen towels, putting the used and dirty ones in the laundry to be washed, and put out fresh clean ones for use the next day.

Step 4: Clean Flat Surfaces And Sink

Once the dishes are done it's time to clean the flat surfaces in your kitchen.

Again, this refers to the countertops and kitchen table, but it also refers to the top of appliances, such as your stovetop, that may have gotten dirty during cooking.

This step is also where you clean your sink to remove the evidence after washing your dishes.

You can get tips for cleaning all of these major flat surfaces in your kitchen here:

If you do this daily this is really more of a wipe down instead of a long scrubbing session. You're removing drips, spills, and major crumbs.

Step 5: Clean The Floor

As part of your daily cleaning tasks I don't believe a full scrub or thorough mopping of the floor is necessary.

However, crumbs and dirt do accumulate in your kitchen quickly. Therefore, a quick sweeping is definitely required at the end of the day, and depending on the age of your kids, you may want to sweep at least under the table and chairs after each meal.

During your kitchen speed cleaning you should at a minimum sweep the floor (or vacuum it), but also clean up any spills or drips.

A quick run over the floor with a Swiffer mop, or a similar product can also be helpful (I personally use a Libman Freedom Mop because I can use my own cleaning products, and the cleaning pads are washable).

Then, on a weekly basis, or perhaps twice a week depending how much traffic you have in your kitchen, I suggest a more thorough floor cleaning using floor cleaner and a mop.

Step 6: Take Out The Trash

The last step of speed cleaning your kitchen is to take out the trash.

You want to do this last because during the entire cleaning process you'll discover more things to throw away.

Once you're finished though taking out the garbage just completes the job!

So do you speed clean your kitchen? If so, tell me your own tips below in the comments.

If you enjoy speed cleaning, also make sure to check out these tips for speed cleaning your bathroom.

In addition, get more tips for how to clean just about anything here, in the site's room by room guide.

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CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.