In the kitchen, you prepare warm, nutritious, filling meals for you and your loved ones—with love and effort. In a way, it is the heart of your safe haven.
However, you can ensure good health with your cooking only with regular and consistent cleaning. In terms of cleaning, the kitchen is the most demanding area. Without regular cleaning, you’ll end up with heaps of dirt.
Maintaining a hygienic kitchen without investing much time lies in following a structured daily deep clean kitchen list.
But if you’re uncertain how to build one, here’s everything you must know!
1. Understand the importance of a daily kitchen cleaning checklist
Before building a daily kitchen cleaning checklist, you must understand its importance. This will motivate you to build an achievable and effective checklist. Here’s every reason you need this checklist:
- Daily cleaning, according to a checklist, eliminates germs, bacteria, mold, and pest infestation from your kitchen and promotes hygiene. Thus, all the ingredients and food will be safe to consume.
- When you follow a checklist, you won’t miss cleaning any area. It’ll prevent creating clutter or grime or the frequent need for deep cleaning.
- A well-devised checklist will make the overall cleaning task more manageable. You can break them down into smaller chunks. This saves time and prevents feeling overwhelmed during tasks. Moreover, you won’t have a heap of cleanup during weekends if it’s cleaning daily.
- A dirty space can make you feel frustrated and stressed. In fact, 54% of Americans feel overwhelmed by clutter. However, a reliable kitchen daily cleaning checklist keeps the kitchen clean enough. This makes meal preparation and other tasks more pleasant.
- A kitchen checklist cleaning also ensures regular maintenance for all appliances, making them run smoothly in the long run!
2. Know what your kitchen needs
Not all kitchens have the same cleaning needs. Take, for example, the kitchen of a three-person family kitchen. It requires washing dishes, cleaning counters, and wiping down appliances. However, a single-person kitchen mostly needs dishwashing and slight tidying.
So, to build a helpful kitchen cleaning schedule, consider the exact needs. For this, find the answers to these queries:
- How regularly do you use the kitchen? You can scale the cleaning up and down accordingly.
- Which areas of the kitchen are mostly used? You must pay more attention to these areas than others.
- Do you have any appliances or surfaces that need special attention? Clean them using appropriate cleaning tools.
- Do you do any activity frequently that causes more mess than others, such as baking? Then, you must clean more vigorously after these activities.
3. Divide the cleaning tasks into different zones
Break down the kitchen chores list into multiple zones. When you clean a single zone, do it all together. This will make the overall cleaning activity much easier and more efficient. You can undertake one zone at a time without feeling overwhelmed.
For instance, divide them according to the following zones.
- Food preparation and cooking zone, including countertops, desks, stoves, and ovens
- Washing zone, including sinks and dishwasher
- Storage zone, including pantry, cabinets, and refrigerator
- Ground zone, including the kitchen floors and trash bins
4. Create the kitchen sanitation checklist based on the essentials
Here’s a step-wise list of cleaning your kitchen according to daily essentials. This can also serve as a kitchen cleaning list template. You can use this template and tweak it as required.
Note: You can also add or remove tasks from the list based on what’s relevant to you.
This will help prepare your kitchen for the entire day’s use.
Morning Cleaning Tasks
Approximate Time Needed: 15-20 minutes
- Wipe the countertops and other food preparation space for any leftover crumbs from the previous day.
- Unload the clean utensils from the dishwasher. This will prepare space for the used utensils in the dishwasher throughout the day.
- Take out the trash to prevent germ and pest infestation and odors.
- Rinse the sink to keep it fresh.
- Check for expired food or ingredients in the fridge and dispose of them.
Post-Meal Cleaning Tasks
These include cleaning tasks that pile up after having meals. Perform them after every meal throughout the day.
Approximate Time Needed: 10-20 minutes or longer, depending on the load
- Immediately wash the dishes instead of letting them dry in the sink. Or, load them in the dishwasher.
- Sweep the countertop with a hand broom dustpan and the floor with a standard broom. This will prevent pest infestation.
- Wipe the food preparation areas, including the countertop and stove. Get rid of spills and splatters to avoid long-term stubborn stains.
Evening Cleaning Tasks
These tasks include cleaning tasks to prepare the kitchen for the entire day.
Approximate Time Needed: 15-25 minutes
- If you use a dishwasher, run the load.
- Wipe all surfaces, including cutting boards, gas stove knobs and top, oven insides, and countertops.
- Clean all accessible surfaces of appliances, including the microwave, oven, and refrigerator.
- Dust off any spices from the storage space and organize them. Tidy the pantry and refrigerator.
- Scrub the sink with sink cleaner or dish soap.
- Clean the floor with a mop or steam cleaner.
5. Tailor the checklist to your lifestyle
Every individual leads a different life. So, a standard kitchen deep cleaning checklist can’t work for everyone. So, here are a few ways to tailor it depending on your lifestyle.
- If you’re a busy professional, you must do only the basics, including trash disposal, countertop cleaning, and dishwashing. You can save precious time by hiring professional cleaners instead.
- If you like to host guests and arrange get-togethers, add quick cleaning sessions before every meal preparation for guests and after guests leave.
- If you are a baker (by profession or passion), clean your baking utensils and oven, wipe any flour or mixture spillage, and sanitize all baking tools.
- If you have a home with children, focus on disinfecting high-touch zones in the kitchen to prevent germ growth.
- If your kitchen is extra small, take extra measures to prevent untidiness. Return utensils and containers to their respective places after every use.
6. Make the checklist more efficient
Creating a kitchen deep clean checklist isn’t just about writing what needs to be done. It must also include additional details to help you save time. Here are a few of them:
Time Frame
Mention a time frame for each task, just like in point 4. However, add a time limit for every smaller task. While cleaning, use a timer to ensure all tasks are finished on time.
Tools
Mention the exact cleaning tools you need for every task. For instance,
- Highlight using a microfiber cloth for dry wiping any dust on the countertop in the morning, as you already cleaned it the previous evening. However, mention using sponges and scrubbers at night for a deeper clean.
- Write that you’ll rinse the sink with plain water in the morning and use dish soap or sink cleaners during evening cleaning.
- For cleaning the kitchen floors, mention using a dry broom after every meal but a mop/steam cleaner during the evening.
Conclusion
Remember to input your specific tasks and needs in the checklist. Follow the checklist diligently, and never skip a cleaning day. If necessary, multitask and delegate responsibilities.
However, if you ever need help, contact us at MaidforHaven. We hire the top, hand-picked professional cleaners, vetted by our unique system, and use eco-friendly cleaning solutions to ensure a thorough cleanup and your satisfaction. So, claim a free cleaning now!
