Okay, so I’ve been struggling to keep my kitchen clean. It’s like, I clean it, and then two meals later it’s a disaster zone again. Dishes piled up, crumbs everywhere… you know the drill. I finally decided I needed a system, a real schedule, to get a handle on this.
First, I brainstormed all the cleaning tasks I could think of. Big stuff, little stuff, everything. This included:
- Wiping down counters
- Cleaning the stovetop
- Washing dishes (obviously!)
- Emptying the trash and recycling
- Cleaning the sink
- Mopping the floor
- Cleaning out the fridge
- Cleaning the oven
- Wiping down cabinet doors
That felt… overwhelming. So I broke it down into frequencies. Like, some things I need to do daily, others weekly, and some just monthly or even less often.
My First Draft
My first attempt was pretty ambitious. I thought I could do it all, every day! It looked something like this:
- Daily: Everything listed above, except the oven and fridge.
Yeah, that lasted about two days. I was spending more time cleaning the kitchen than actually cooking in it! Total fail.
My Second, More Realistic, Draft.
Then I got real with myself. What could I actually maintain? I created a tiered system:
- Daily: Wipe counters, wash dishes, clean stovetop (if used), empty trash/recycling, quick sink clean.
- Weekly: Mop floor, more thorough sink clean, wipe down cabinet doors (quick wipe), clean out fridge.
- Monthly: Deep clean oven, deep clean fridge, check pantry for expired items.
This was WAY better. I printed it out and stuck it on my fridge. Having the visual reminder really helped.
Putting it into Practice
I started following the schedule. The daily stuff became a habit pretty quickly. It’s amazing how much difference just wiping down the counters and doing the dishes right away makes. The kitchen felt so much better, even if I hadn’t done the weekly or monthly tasks yet.
The weekly tasks were a little harder to stick to at first, but I found that doing them on the same day each week (Sunday for me) made it easier. I put on some music and just powered through.
The Monthly clean, isn’t fun, but is now doable.
It’s Still a Work in Progress
It’s not perfect. Some weeks I’m better at it than others. But overall, having this schedule has made a HUGE difference. My kitchen is cleaner, I’m less stressed about it, and I actually enjoy cooking more. I might even tweak it further as I go, but for now, this is working for me!
