Save time and effort on cleaning tasks so you can get on to what you really want to do. Here's how.
"It's a rare bird that actually enjoys cleaning; you won't find that plumage on me," says Cynthia Townley Ewer, editor of the award-winning www.OrganizedHome.com and author of
Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos (DK, 2006). Because Ewer would rather be relaxing with her husband, dogs, or a good book, she's learned to stick to a simple cleaning schedule. Here's how she suggests you do the same.
Note the magic minimum. Because you can't do it all every day, draw up a short list of the essential tasks necessary for your kitchen to run smoothly. "If you keep up with each meal's dishes, scour the sink, and wipe kitchen counters each day," says Ewer, "you've conquered about 70% of kitchen cleaning battles already."
Enlist the troops. Post your Magic Minimum list on the refrigerator and spread the chores around to your family members. After all, it's their kitchen, too, and more hands means less work time. What's more, notes Ewer, "Family members are more reluctant to mess up a clean house when they have been part of the cleaning effort!"
Clear the clutter. Knickknack collections pick up the oily mist of kitchen cooking and flour coatings. Decorative hanging copper pots and countertop canisters likewise grow grime, which means more scrubbing. To save time, Ewer recommends you tuck pots and pans into cabinets, and foodstuffs into airtight containers. That'll leave your counters bare for easy wipe-downs.
Clean as you go. Ewer learned the hard way that big dream kitchens aren't so dreamy when it comes to cleanup. But large or small, what's the best strategy? Clean as you go. As soon as your angel food cake hits the oven, wipe the counters and wash the dishes. Otherwise those beaters, scraper, mixing bowl, and countertops will be covered with stubborn white cementlike spatters instead of easy-to-clean cake batter.
Reign in the refrigerator beast. "When it comes to the refrigerator, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of fuzzy green whatever," says Ewer. "Instead of an irregular all-out assault, do a simple weekly toss-sort-and-wipe session the night before you shop for groceries." In five minutes you'll have tossed the outdated products and unused leftovers, made an inventory, wiped the smears, and now are ready to unload groceries into a clean, fresh fridge the next day.
Use the right tool for the job. Professional cleaners tote everything they need to the job (multisurface cleaner, heavy-duty degreaser, tile cleaner, powdered abrasive, rags). Do the same and save time tracking down cleaning components. Stick with the tried-and-true multiuse tools. Remember, says Ewer, "A vacuum isn't just for floors—its crevice tool and expansion hose make quick pickup of spilled coffee grounds, toaster crumbs, and baking ingredients."
Stay on task. You'll get those gnarly seasonal jobs (oven cleaning, deep-cleaning appliance grime) done quicker if you make a cleaning appointment, stay on task, and get motivated. Upbeat music or an audiobook can "take the bore out of the chore," says Ewer. "If the book is really good I'll tackle some extra chores just to hear how the story turns out."
