Twenty Minute Tuesday: Kitchen Blitz

Cleaning the kitchen is such an overwhelming task. There are dirty dishes to wash, clean dishes to put away, surfaces to wipe down, and all kinds of other stuff seemingly all over the place. Making the space clean is at best a daunting task.

I recently developed a system that is working for me--and it brings my kitchen from disgusting to presentable is twenty minutes or less. So, in the Spirit of Twenty Minute Tuesday, I'm going to share it with you today!

The key to this process is using a timer. In this instance I used the timer on my microwave but anything that will give you a countdown of 5 minute blocks will work. The timer keeps you on task and moving quickly, which can cut the time it takes to do this in half or more. Make sure everyone else in the house is either occupied or asleep so you don't get distracted; Go ahead and put on some Dora for the kids. Having a clean kitchen will be worth it!

You will be doing four sets of 5 minutes tasks. The rules are simple: if you finish a set of tasks, you may go ahead and get a jumpstart on the next set with your remaining time, or restart the timer for a new five minute block. However, if you don't finish a set of tasks, don't continue with it--push ahead and move on. You can go back at the end or just save it for another time. This is a blitz, not a deep clean.

To prove it can be done, I'll show you the 20-minute blitz I did last night as we go. First, the before pictures:

 

 

 

First Five Minute Set: Empty any clean dishes from the dishwasher and your sink drying rack. This is essential to the process, but my urge is often to leave these for the end since they're not "dirty". But, if you have clean, dry dishes in these spaces, where will the dirty or wet ones go?  If you can't put away all of the dishes in five minutes or less, practice with your timer each day until you can. I bet you can do it in 4. Make it a game!

...If you have extra time before the 5 minutes is up, clean the area around your clean dish rack. Gunk can collect under there. Today I already had an empty dishwasher so I had time to give this area a good scrub.

As you can see, my kitchen doesn't really look much cleaner after this step. But the prep will pay off soon!

2nd Five Minute Set: Clear the counters.

1. Throw out or recycle any obvious trash on the counters. (banana peels, tin cans, little bits of plastic wrap, etc)
2. Put away any food. (put leftovers in containers and in the fridge, put cereal boxes back on the fridge, etc)
3. Move all of the dirty dishes right next to the sink for washing, but don't wash them yet.

--If you have any extra time, sweep the floor quickly.


Now, you can start to see the progress. It's less cluttered in here now but still quite dirty:

3rd Five Minute Set: Do the dishes. First, stuff everything you possibly can into the dishwasher. That's what it's for. Stuff it all in! Then, take whatever is left and wash it by hand.

--Don't bother drying anything unless you have extra time. If you do, start with the things that will live on the counter such as a butcher knife--putting it back in its slot will make everything look more put together.

Now, things are really looking better in my space!

I even lit a candle for the occasion.

 

4th Five minute Set: Clean. 

1. First, wipe down the counters. I use a  spray bottle filled win a water, vinegar, and orange oil solution and a microfiber cloth, which is a cheap and environmentally friendly way to take care of kitchen messes.  
2. Next, wipe down the cabinets, starting from the top down. This is an easily neglected part of the kitchen, but if you have little kids running around, I guarantee there is some gunk to wipe off. Again, don't obsess too much. If you start doing this every day, it won't take much effort at all to touch these up.

--If you have extra time, wipe out the sink and faucet with a dry cloth, shining them up!

Here is how clean my kitchen was at the end of this exercise, and how it greeted me this morning:

Again, here is what my kitchen looked like before:

And then twenty minutes later:

Not a bad use of twenty minutes, huh?

So, what are your kitchen cleaning rituals? Do you ever use a timer? Share any tips or links you have in the comments!

Do you have a project that takes about 20 minutes to complete? Would you like to be featured on Busy at Home's Twenty Minute Tuesday? Please email me at BusyAtHome ~AT~ live ~DOT~ com!  I'm looking for all types of projects--DIY, homekeeping, kid crafts, anything that will enrich a home!