A common saying about tidying up is this: “Cleaning house is a full-time job.” Sadly, and with much frustration, our actual jobs would already suffice in tiring us out to the point of neglect. Maybe, even indifference. Besides, not everyone can afford a maid, butler, or, well, house-bound spouse.
So you’re left there, after a long day or night’s work, staring at the dirty dishes, greasy floors, as well as your food-encrusted ovens and pans. You can’t deny that, in the home, your kitchen is one of the most difficult rooms to clean.
Although maybe you’re just lazy, because you’re incredibly hectic work schedule has taken a toll on you. Or you’re lazy and would rather put your feet up to a beautiful song and a cold drink.
On the other hand, you just might be too pressed for time to bother with the cleaning. Fret not. Here are 21 clever kitchen cleaning hacks for lazy people; or busy people. Again, we won’t judge.
Hacks To Cleanness
Let’s start these hacks with the preemptive measures you can take as well as the cleaning hacks with tools or solutions you’d easily find at home without the need to run to your nearest grocery store
Prevention
You won’t have to clean up what you don’t dirty.
- Avoid dumping anything down your sink that can clog or build up. These culprits include but are not limited to, meat and fish parts, oils, coffee grounds, tissue paper, left-overs, food scraps, and so on.
- Cover pots and pans as much as possible to avoid spills and oil splatters.
- Fully utilize your exhaust hoods. You can easily avoid foul kitchen odors by routinely turning up your hoods when cooking.
- Use the takeaway box. Takeaway comes ready to eat in its containers. Hence, avoid the need to wash plates by eating right out of the takeaway boxes or food containers!
- Clean as you go. This mantra is one of the most important things for a chef. However, chef or not, it will go a long way in kitchen maintenance by striving to tidy up one thing at a time as you go around the space. Instead of sitting down while you wait for aldente pasta, wipe a counter, wash the used dishes, or scrub that chopping board. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at all that you can accomplish, and the time you can save, lazy or not.
Lemons
- Keep your metal fixtures shining by polishing them with extra lemons. The acid in lemons makes quick work of any marks and stains while leaving you with a mirror shine on your brass fixtures.
Baking Soda
- Arm & Hammer’s “baking, cleaning & deodorizing” slogan for their baking soda is not an exaggeration. Remove odors by placing baking soda in problem areas such as trash bins, fridges, musty cabinets, as well as kitchen drawers.
Vinegar
Return your microwave to its old clean self with a vinegar solution. First, pour the 4:1 ratio solution of water and white vinegar, respectively, into a microwave-safe bowl. Second, place the solution in the microwave. Then, turn on for three minutes or until the solution steams sufficiently inside the microwave. Finally, wipe the interior clean.
Sanitize your overused coffee maker by running a 1:1 ratio solution of vinegar and water through one brew cycle. Afterward, run two cycles with plain water to remove the vinegar smell.
Ammonia
Does your oven look like the place where grease goes to harden and die? Use ammonia. First, shut off oven completely, let cool, and close the gas line completely. Second, leave a bowl with about ½ cup of ammonia in the oven overnight. Eventually, the fumes from the ammonia will soften all that crusted food and grease. Then, it’ll be easy for you to wipe these stains out of your oven and out of your memory.
Plastic Wrap & Aluminum Foil
Line your refrigerator’s shelves with clear wrap. Then, you’d never have to clean or wipe those shelves again! When you need to clean up the shelves, just remove the plastic wrap then replace them with a fresh batch. That means no more smells or unsightly shelves from dried-up spills!
On the other hand, you could apply the same principle to foil by using it as a lining in ovens as well as toaster ovens.
Good Buys For Dirt
- Wear your chenille socks. You know those fluffy comfortable socks you always get on holidays but are too embarrassing to wear? Turn them into cleaning superstars by wearing them while you’re in the kitchen; or placing them over a Swiffer. In fact, these socks are surprisingly effective at lifting dust and dirt!
- Hang plastic bags nearby, especially during cooking, so you can aquickly dispose of any trash as you prepare your food. Hence, you can easily bag up and dispose of them.
- Get stove liners. Too lazy to wash and scrub all that food and grease build-up on your stovetops? Get some handy stove liners, and you’ll seldom need to pick off those disgusting food crusts on our stove.
- Keep scum and grime from collecting by using liquid soap instead of bar soap. Liquid soap washes down much easier as opposed to the filth and scum left behind by bar soaps. This advice is also invaluable for shower tiles!
Lifestyle
- Clean your blender by running warm soapy water. You could save the time dismantling and then cleaning the individual parts of your blender by blending soapy water right in the jar. Usually, you would repeat this process once or twice then rinse.
- Use time-saving kitchenware, such as pasta pot. In fact, if you’re a pasta lover, you’ll wonder why you didn’t buy a pasta pot in the first place. In short: boil, cook, drain and mix your pasta all in one pot.
- Use a timer. Starting is half the battle. So, on your journey to a neat, shiny, and clutter-free kitchen, try to set aside a specific amount of time each day for cleaning. You can, for instance, start with a very doable five minutes per day, then slowly work your way up from there. Chiefly, forming these kinds of habits will be the hack you never knew could work so well.
- Be a minimalist. Take advantage of the fact that a minimalist yet elegant home is currently in vogue. And this type of lifestyle seems like it’s here to stay. Besides, less stuff will mean less clutter as well as fewer surfaces where dust and grime can collect.
Ultimately, it’s an easier system to clean and keep tidy. Easier said than done, I know. However, as soon as you experience how much more natural cleaning gets with less stuff, you’ll most likely agree with the inherent benefits of a simpler life.
- Watch Hoarders. Believe me; there are a few things as motivating than seeing a single episode of this show. You may just instantly feel all the clutter and mess you need to address. Afterward, you’ll be up and about cleaning your kitchen in no time.
Conclusion
We really can’t stress the many unusual yet practical uses of vinegar, baking soda, bleach, salt, toothpaste, borax, and others when it comes to quick cleaning hacks.
Conversely, a change of lifestyle may be the most useful hack of all. Forming healthy habits, as well as developing the right attitude towards cleaning, and a minimalist way of life will make sure your kitchen is always neat and tidy.