It’s pretty easy to let our kitchens turn into a mess, especially if they’re used frequently.
Little things keep piling up one on top of another, and before you know it, you have a disaster of epic proportions on your hands.
Once you’re done with the day’s cooking, you’ll take one look around the kitchen and curse the moment you decided to leave that bowl and those spice containers on the counters.
Is there a way to keep your kitchen from becoming a giant mess at the end of the day?
The short answer would be yes, but the longer answer is that you’ll need to change the way your kitchen is organized and the way you navigate it so you can avoid messes in the future.
Keeping your kitchen clean isn’t hard though – all it takes is some work, and we can help you figure out where to get started on it.
Don’t Hesitate to Call in the Experts
Old kitchens are somehow messier than new ones, and it might be because of overdue maintenance.
Maybe it needs some drain cleaning if the sink keeps getting blocked repeatedly, despite you cleaning it every time, or maybe some parts of the kitchen even need replacement.
For example, if one of the doors for your cabinets isn’t closing properly or a shelf inside is broken, you won’t be able to use it like you usually would.
In this case, the kitchen will end up looking messy because the storage equipment is just not working how it’s supposed to, and you need to replace those parts.
Be Smart About Kitchen Organization
Organize your kitchen in a way that everything you need is within arm’s reach.
Now, you may be wondering how that would be possible in some larger kitchens but it’s really not that hard.
Think about the different areas in the kitchen and what you’d usually be doing there, and it will be a lot easier for you to organize around that.
For example, you probably have that favorite kitchen counter where you like to prep for your dishes or mix all your ingredients together for whatever you’re baking.
It’s only logical to make sure that the mixing bowls, spatulas, cutting boards, and knives are all within arm’s reach of that particular counter.
The same applies to your stove – you need things like vinegar, soy sauce, cooking oil, spices, and other items you would need to pour into the pan while cooking something on the stove.
This makes it easier for you to keep putting things back in their place as you use them, and prevents the end-of-day mess from being any bigger than it has to be.
Keep Putting Things Away
You might have some trouble with this one at first, but with time it might become a habit.
When you’re done using something while cooking, don’t put it down. Instead, put it away.
If you use some cooking oil while you’re cooking at the stove, don’t put the bottle down after pouring some in the pot.
Take an extra second to put the lid back on and put it away where you got it from. The same goes for any condiment jars and frozen items you’d pick up from the fridge.
This way you won’t even have a lot left to clean up at the end of the day.
Clean While You Cook
This advice is almost like our advice to keep putting things away, but a step further than that.
If you’re cooking or baking something, chances are there will be moments when you need to wait around for the water to boil or the cake to be ready in the oven.
Don’t wait around in those moments – instead, use them as an opportunity to get some cleaning done.