Kitchen Care: Hints for Cleaning That Flawless Brand-New Look

Friday, January 30, 2009
Of the many parts of the home, the kitchen deserves a close attention. Although it is just one room, it is where at any given time you can find a family eating, working on homework, talking on the phone, or simply hanging out with buddies. So it’s no big surprise that the kitchen, as the centerpiece of the home, is also one of the dirtiest and toughest rooms to clean. Many experts have even said that not the bathroom bowl but the average kitchen sink contains the most concentrated combination of harmful microorganisms in the house. Now, isn’t it yucky?

Well, getting a spotless kitchen can seem like an overwhelming task in the first place, but it doesn’t have to be. As what the former director of engineering for the Good Housekeeping Institute, Mark Kalinowski, once said, a clean kitchen can be attained if routine and streamlined tasks are performed in the kitchen on a regular basis. Every home owner or housekeeper can particularly achieve this by using time saving tactics, coupled with proper cleaning tools. These can no doubt significantly lessen the time spent completing the dreaded kitchen responsibilities.

Now below is some of the most recommended time saving tips to ensure that the hub of your home will remain spotless. Just sit back, relax, and read on.

Tips Before You Clean

Make a Clean-Up Checklist

Most experts often recommend forming a clean-up checklist before you consider actual cleaning. According to them, this will help your kitchen shine. Well, one particular reason behind this idea is that taking stock of your cleaning needs and supplies before you start the task will make sure that you will have everything on hand and ready to go. So, consider mapping out the chores you want to accomplish as this will further help in keeping you organized, so nothing is overlooked.

Teamwork is a Great Idea

Why don’t you think teamwork? Yes, that’s it! Teamwork is also vital when considering kitchen or home cleaning in general. So you don’t have to do everything yourself, it is best to enlist the help of your family, including your children. It is worthy to note after all that a good work ethic can be easily learned at an early age. Moreover, it’s a great opportunity for you and your family to spend time together and get some work accomplished.

Be Organized

Also, set aside a certain day every week to take care of the household chores that needs to be done. Having an organized system in fact will allow you more energy to sit back, relax and enjoy the time with your family and friends.

Tips During Cleaning

Get Motivated

One particular great idea here is to get motivated. I know that most of the time, you should restrict the limit of the number of distractions as you clean, but note that it is also necessary to use certain motivators that could pump up your cleaning routine. Speaking of motivators, why don’t you consider a bit of music? It’s great to work while music is on the air, right? Many experts in fact agree with me when it comes to setting up “music” as a cleaning motivator, as it can transform the drudgery of kitchen cleaning into an almost enjoyable experience. As you may know, one of the fastest and perhaps easiest ways to make the tedious duty of spring cleaning less taxing is to pop in a CD while doing your chores. You can even sing or dance with the beat of the music, and that’s enjoyable. Now, I’m motivated!

De-Clutter the Kitchen

Tossing away every mess in place before you begin the heavy duty scrubbing is the first step to cleaning a room. This is most applicable to the kitchen where papers and mail can pile up quickly on countertops. Note that by de-cluttering the kitchen, you will have less mess to sort through while cleaning. It will even be much easier and quicker to wipe down surfaces. So, simply tackle every clutter first.

Consider Cleaning Vacuums

Another time saving tip commonly suggested by home experts is to throw away that old straw broom and dustpan. There are a lot of cleaning vacuums in the market these days that could help you finish the task easily and quickly. To mention, the new Dirt Devil Sweeper Vac with Swiffer is what most of the experts commonly suggest as this combined two innovative technologies into one easy to use and convenient cleaning tool. As noted, the Swiffer allows you to sweep and dust your floor free of dust and allergens. And, if you encounter some large debris, like cereal pieces or cookies crumbs, you can just press a switch on the handle and suck up the mess with its rechargeable vacuum. Great, isn’t it?

Top to Bottom, One Side to the Other

Probably you’ve heard someone telling you to always clean from top to bottom and from one side of the room to the other. Well, my Mom often told me to do this when I was younger and I know that this is worth noting. What I’ve personally learned from this approach is that if taken, there won’t be any time wasted in criss-crossing the room or wiping down the same counter twice. When you’re finished, you’re finished. But still, look critically to see what you may have missed.

Watch What You Are Doing

Perhaps another best tip to save time when cleaning is to be aware of what you are doing. The main idea here is not to waste time cleaning something that isn’t dirty. As commonly noted, the vertical surfaces like walls are almost never as dirty as the horizontal surfaces, like the cupboards and countertops. The upper shelves as well as molding have less dust then lower ones. So, if you find that the entire area doesn’t truly need it, then why spend some time cleaning it?

Tip After Cleaning

When you’re done with all the cleaning tasks, it is best that you take all the kitchen items that you don’t use. You can donate them to a local charity of your choice, or you can open a garage sale for them. Always note that permanently cutting down on any kitchen mess will make it much easier for you to keep this known centerpiece of the home clean and neat.

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