My 5 Best Tips for Keeping Your Kitchen Clean and Tidy

The kitchen is definitely one of the rooms that can become chaotic and dirty the fastest – it's clear that where there's cooking, there will be spills. 😀

This can be quite annoying when the dishes pile up after a meal and there's so much stuff lying around that it totally demotivates you. The bigger the chaos, the more energy you need to tackle it.

However, there are a few strategies to prevent kitchen chaos from becoming overwhelming and to keep your kitchen clean and tidy with minimal effort!

Here are my 5 best tips:

• #1 Clean Up While You Cook
• #2 Take Out the Trash on Time
• #3 Have a Designated Place for Utensils and Food
• #4 Store Rarely Used Tools in Cabinets (Even Outside the Kitchen!)
• #5 Leave the Kitchen Tidy in the Evening

#1 Clean Up While You Cook

Get into the habit of putting away unused ingredients and kitchen utensils while you cook: used bowls, knives, and so on go straight into the dishwasher, and flour, spices, and the like return to the pantry. This way, you won't accumulate too much clutter, and you'll simply have more space on the countertop.

Mixing bowls and their sticky friends will appreciate it if you wash them right after use. It goes quickly and saves you a lot of frustration over dried-on leftovers.

Sometimes you also have a bit of “downtime,” for example, when you're waiting for the water to boil or the oven to reach temperature. Use these gaps in time to wipe down a countertop or take out the trash: you'll be amazed at how many annoying little tasks you can accomplish almost effortlessly without extending your kitchen time.

#2 Take Out the Trash on Time

Taking out the trash can be annoying. There’s a strong temptation to cram everything into the bin (even though in 99% of cases, it will fall out the next time someone gives it a sideways glance) – or to stack waste “temporarily” next to the bin.

Don’t do that. Trash lying around is unpleasant and demotivating – and it magnetically attracts more chaos!

Did you know that this effect has even been scientifically proven? Okay, it’s not about trash, but about broken windows. But the principle is the same: the Broken Windows Theory states that a broken window that isn’t repaired promptly radiates neglect. This, in turn, leads to more things breaking in the neighborhood, trash being left behind, and so on, simply because it seems “okay.”
If you get used to seeing trash next to a full bin in your kitchen, the stacks of dirty dishes won’t stand out as much...

The same principle applies to empty bottles and glass waste: don’t hoard, just get rid of it!

#3 Have a Designated Place for Utensils and Food

This trick helps not only in the kitchen but throughout your entire home: think of a designated spot for all items and food. This way, you always know where something belongs – believe me, this makes tidying up and maintaining order so much easier!

In fact, the tiring part of tidying up isn’t so much the physical act of lifting things, carrying them from A to B, and placing them somewhere: it takes much more energy to consider where something could or should go. Since our brains are lazy and energy-efficient, we tend to postpone this annoying thought and just place items somewhere. This quickly leads to them staying there in a makeshift manner (I love that word! 😀 ).

Make your life easier and organize things so that it’s practical. The more frequently you need something, the easier it should be to access. Don’t stuff cabinets and drawers so full that it’s cumbersome to fish something out. Otherwise, you’ll definitely not put it back neatly for pragmatic reasons because it seems “not worth it.” 😀

By the way: even groceries are much quicker to put away with this trick!

We have specific shelves in the pantry for certain types of food (for example, for pasta, canned goods, juice, breakfast items, and so on). This way, putting things away is quick, and you can always see at a glance what supplies you still have.

#4 Store Rarely Used Tools in Cabinets (Even Outside the Kitchen!)

It’s tempting to leave kitchen appliances and the like out on the countertop. After all, they’re ready to use when you need them.
The interesting question is: how often do you actually use them?!

You might find it more beneficial to take the toaster out of the cabinet once a month for a family breakfast, but have more space on the countertop for the other 29 days. All those items like soda makers, kettles, coffee machines, toasters, and food processors take up a lot of space and make it cumbersome to wipe down the countertops. Rarely used appliances will appreciate a spot in the cabinet.

By the way: kitchen utensils that you only need once in a blue moon can also live outside the kitchen! For example, in the basement or in a dresser in the living room.

This gives you more space in the kitchen.

#5 Leave the Kitchen Tidy in the Evening

If you know the FlyLady method, you’ve probably heard about one of her basic routines: the sink gets wiped clean in the evening.

No dirty dishes piling up for days. Going to bed with the good feeling that nothing has been left undone. And being greeted by a tidy kitchen the next morning!

I love waking up to a clean and tidy kitchen!
It simply starts the day off relaxed. While the kettle heats up, I unload the dishwasher, and the kitchen is ready for the day in no time.

But I confess: I’ve really struggled with the evening kitchen clean-up for a long time. Especially since we eat together in the evening and then like to continue watching a movie or series with a glass of Hugo in hand. That creates a certain heaviness, and I’m just glad when I’m tired enough to fall asleep. #TeamSleepDisorders I don’t want to drag myself into the kitchen and wake up again while washing the dishes.

What works quite well for us now: we clear the table right after eating and start the dishwasher at that opportunity. Much other stuff doesn’t lie around in the kitchen anymore because we usually stick to Tip No. 1 and keep things tidy during food preparation.

It goes quickly, and then we can relax and continue watching the series.

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These were my 5 best tips for a tidy kitchen – I would be very happy if they help you! 🙂