This is somewhat embarrassing, isn’t it?

Elevate Your Living Space with a Clean Kitchen

Introduction

Living in a clean and organized home is not just about aesthetics; it is essential for mental and physical well-being. Whether you reside in a compact apartment or a spacious house, daily cleaning rituals are crucial to maintaining a sanctuary that promotes healing and relaxation. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the importance of a daily cleaning routine and delve into specific tasks to keep your kitchen, the heart of your home, in pristine condition.

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, maintaining a tidy home can be challenging, but with a well-thought-out daily cleaning routine, you can transform your living space into a haven of tranquillity.

The Therapeutic Home Environment

Before diving into the daily cleaning tasks, let’s reflect on the importance of a therapeutic environment. In nursing, we emphasize the significance of creating spaces that encourage healing and well-being. Your home should be a place where you find solace, not chaos.

Whether you live alone or with a bustling family, the state of your home influences your overall mood and health. With a daily cleaning routine, you can turn your home into a safe, welcoming space that nurtures your physical and mental health.

The Hoarding Challenge

Admit it or not, we all have a bit of a hoarder within us. Without a cleaning routine, even the most organized among us could end up on a reality show for hoarders. To combat this, a well-structured housekeeping routine is essential, breaking down tasks into daily, weekly, monthly, semi-annual, and annual cleaning sessions.

Daily cleaning plac
A sample of a daily cleaning schedule

In this article, we’ll delve into the nitty-gritty of daily cleaning, starting with the heart of the home – the kitchen.

The Daily Cleaning Routine Solution

To tackle the challenge of maintaining a clean home consistently, a well-structured cleaning routine is essential. Breaking it down into daily cleaning, weekly cleaning, monthly cleaning, semi-annual cleaning, and annual cleaning tasks ensures that no area is overlooked.

When you have been at work, busy with school runs or just having been out with friends, do you look forward to returning home with relief or dismay?

It doesn’t matter if it is the housekeeper or you are doing the cleaning, there are some simple things you can implement daily to keep your home from looking like a tornado touched down.

Nobody can think of everything all the time so often certain jobs get missed. How to clean your home

Kitchen Cleaning Wisdom

  • Wash Dishes After Each Meal:
  • Delegate the task – if you’re cooking, someone else should be washing.
  • Clean as you go – wash dishes while waiting for water to boil or pasta to cook. Or load the dishwasher if you have one.
Daily Cleaning Routine Part 1 1
  • Minimize post-dinner cleanup – ensure most dishes are washed during meal preparation. No one wants to wash loads of pots and pans after dinner, this is when you want to relax, if most of it is washed during meal preparation then there should only be one or two left to clean along with the tableware.

I remember my late grandmother used to wash up her dishes and then set them on the drainer, she didn’t pack them back in the cupboard as it was only her and she was going to use them the next meal. If the dishes are washed, packing away can wait. Packing away the dishes is a good way for children to earn a little extra pocket money or treats.

No stacked sink to face.

Wipe Kitchen Counters:

Use an all-purpose antibacterial cleaner. I wipe down my counters after I finish cooking with an all-purpose anti-bacterial cleaner and first thing in the morning my helper will do the same when she comes in. We have cats and even though I don’t allow them on the counter, cats will do what cats do and who knows if they are on the counters during the night.

  • Utilize a scrap bowl for easy composting (if this is something you do) and cleanup. This is how I keep counters clean.
  • Use warm, soapy water for utensils used during meal prep. Depending on what I am making I keep a mug with warm mildly soapy water on the counter to put small knives, spoons and peelers in after I use them to reuse them more than once. This means less water is used when peeling multiple items or cutting up different vegetables. I take some of that water for my large knife, wet a small cloth, and clean the knife.

Clean Stove and Oven After Each Use:

  • Wipe spills immediately to avoid hardened messes. You can easily wipe it up using a cloth or sponge with ordinary dishwashing liquid. Once it hardens, however, you will need proper cleaners to get the job done.
  • When cleaning your oven the same principle applies
  • Be cautious with oven cleaner – follow instructions diligently.
  • You would be wise to wear the hated face mask, especially if you have something like asthma.
  • Before using harsh cleaning products, check that your oven is not self-cleaning!

Clean the kitchen sink

  • Recognize items not suitable for the dishwasher, such as wooden utensils or antique dinner sets.

Even if you do have a dishwasher, there are some items that are not dishwasher safe, items as wooden spoons and chopping boards, chef-quality knives (the heat can damage the blade), and utensils with separate handles or wooden handles.

For antique dinner sets, the heat of a dishwasher can not only crack the porcelain/chine but also fade any patterns they have on them.

Cheap plasticware will lose shape from the heat and metal baking trays develop rust. Combat residue around the drain with proper cleaning techniques.

You use your sink all the time, to rinse herbs and wash fresh produce, wash your cookware and dinnerware too. I am sure you have noticed that around the drain the sink often gets black and has a residue if you have washed something with fats or oils in it.

Adopt a washing routine for a healthier family – scrape, soak, use two basins, maintain hot water, wash from least to most dirty, and rinse properly.

  1. Scrape – Using a plastic pot scraper, scrape as much left-over food as you can into the bin, if you don’t have a pot scraper a plastic spatula works. Using a knife to do this can damage your plates. This should also be done when using a dishwasher as this is not a garbage disposal unit. Scraping prevents the drains from getting blocked and in hand washing it means you don’t have things floating in the water.
  2. Soak – pots and dishes with food baked on or stuck should be soaked for around 15-20 minutes.  Just fill with warm water and dishwashing liquid and leave till the last load of washing. Pour out the water and then wash as normal, this should help with washing up. If something has burnt into the pot, use a paste of bicarb and water on the bottom and leave for 10 minutes spray with spirit vinegar and then wash as normal.
  3. Use two basins – One basin filled with hot soapy water for washing and the other filled with cold water for rinsing.
  4. Make sure your water is hot enough- Dishwashers use a higher temperature than our hands can handle, but hot water is needed to clean your dishes properly along with soap. Water of a heat of around 25C is hot enough to wash your dishes without drying out or burning your hands. At that temperature, it will dissolve the grease and loosen foods.

Using sponges is great but please remember these harbour bacteria and should be changed regularly. (I change mine every month). Dishcloths should be changed and washed 2x a week.

  • Wash from least to most dirty – Baby bottles and drinking glasses must be washed first. Then your knives, forks, spoons, etc. This is followed by your plates and bowls. Lastly your serving dishes and your pots, this means that they have had time to soak and should be much easier to clean. Remember that sharp knives shouldn’t be dropped into the soapy water as you can end up getting cut by them.

Change the water when it becomes greasy, too cool or the suds disappear.

5. Rinse – Depending on how much space you have and if you have someone helping you with wash up, rinse as you go, either by placing them in the cool clean water in your second basin or just running them under the tap (this uses a lot more water), remember to rinse the inside of your cups and glasses.

6. Dry – you don’t have to dry all the dishes and pots, they can air dry fine, but your knives, forks and spoons do need to be dried to avoid developing watermarks.

7. Clean up whether you choose to pack away the plates and cutlery or not is up to you but once the washing up is done you will need to wipe down the sink, drainer surface and around the drain itself.

In Conclusion: A Fresh Start Every Day

    With these daily kitchen cleaning tips, you can ensure that your home remains a haven rather than a headache. Whether you have a daily helper or you’re the designated cleaner, incorporating these habits into your routine will keep the chaos at bay. A clean kitchen sets the tone for a harmonious home

    If you are teaching children to do chores and dishes are one of them, have a piece of paper or sign up on the order of washing and possibly a picture of how to stack a dishwasher (this comes with your manufacturer’s manual).

    Daily Cleaning Routine Part 1 2

    In the next part of this series, we’ll explore additional daily cleaning tasks for different areas of your home, ensuring that each space contributes to the therapeutic environment you deserve. Stay tuned for more tips on transforming your daily cleaning from a daunting task to a rewarding ritual!

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