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How to clean and organize a kitchen

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Immad Amir
Written by
Immad is a talented home cook and editorial director at Specially Fried. With his culinary expertise, love for gadgets and creative flair, he brings a fresh perspective to the world of food blogging.
Reviewed by

Harper is an appliance and kitchen cleaning expert. With a passion for spotless spaces, she meticulously reviews and ensures that the content on Specially Fried maintains the highest standards of cleanliness.

How to clean and organize a kitchen
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Out of all the house chores, cleaning, and organizing the kitchen is my favorite task of all time. There’s this guilty pleasure of stacking everything in the pantry. Refilling the jars on the shelf top. Especially if you’ve invested your life in getting the nicest kitchenware possible.

Some families have their dining room and kitchen combined in one place. Entertainment and dinner both happen in the kitchen which means you can’t have your pots and pans lying around. For such a setup you need to make space for guests too. The same rule applies to smaller kitchens as well. You need to put everything away from the main area.

Why we love organizing the kitchen

There’s this satisfaction of organizing everything neatly. The happiness that comes from cleaning the kitchen is unlike any other. Even though I have a love-hate relationship with cleaning the dishes but cleaning the countertops with the latest cleaning supplies is another level of euphoria. To further spread the love here are some of my top strategies to reorganize and clean your kitchen.

Irrespective of the size of your kitchen, minimalism is the future. The lesser the better. Keeping everything tidied away from the eyes can solve half your kitchen problems. Don’t believe me? Here are a few things you can learn on how to clean and organize a kitchen.

These kitchen hacks are not only simple but easily doable as well. They can help you maximize your kitchen space. Apart from organizing your kitchen, I’m also going to throw in some cleaning tricks that will give your kitchen get that final glow. These hacks will save you some time too while making your kitchen look squeaky clean.

A clean kitchen is a chef’s priority and motivation to bring out the best in his/ her kitchen.

What is the best way to clean and organize a kitchen?

The most basic idea behind kitchen organization is to keep your cooking and baking items closer to your stove. Utensils should be set neatly in the drawer below. Glassware needs to be kept in the cabinet above the sink or near your fridge. Coffee mugs and related items should be stored in cabinets closer to your coffee machine.

1. Assorted spice rack gives a clean look

Spices and herbs are the spines of every functioning kitchen. The kitchen is like a chef’s laboratory and the laboratory needs its chemicals (spices) assorted. These spices play a huge role in putting together a dish that is finger-licking good. There are numerous spices found especially in an Asian kitchen.

So, if you happen to be Asian or a spice enthusiast in general then you must invest in a spice rack. Choose one that matches your kitchen’s aesthetic and uses the least possible space. These days minimalism is the core idea behind home interiors. The lesser the things found on a countertop the cleaner it looks.

If you have a cabinet right above your stove, then try fitting it there. Or somewhere it is easily accessible. These racks come in various designs. Some are magnetic while others can be fixed onto the cabinet doors to minimize space.  These give you more room to fit in your other utensils.

There are multiple DIYs available to make your spice rack. You could use various recyclable products to build your own if you don’t feel like spending.

clean and organized spices

2. Aesthetic labels help organize all items

Purchasing a spice rack is the easy part, remembering which jar stores what spice is the tricky part. Using labels is a great way to store your spices. These labels can go over any containers that are insightful. Labels give this clean and organized vibe without even doing much. Most of all, it saves you time looking for ingredients as well. So, surf the internet and look for some aesthetically pleasing label designs and get them printed. You could even get creative and make one that suits your needs.

3. Secret pantry

The grocery clutter is like none other. Having a kitchen cabinet designated for groceries can prove to be a smart idea. Smart kitchens offer a roll-out pantry which is much more organized. It comes with pre-made shelves for canned items and separate ones for boxes and pouches. Just roll it out and you are ready to bake.

If buying one seems like a hefty task, then build one yourself!

4. Sink cover chopping board to keep the kitchen clean

One thing that I hate is looking for a chopping board. Some people don’t have much counter space to place one. So here is a bright idea of what you can do. Place it above your sink. This hides the dishes that need to be done and saves your counter space.

For this to be successful, you need to buy a chopping board that is just the right size to fit above your sink. These boards also prevent vegetable and fruit peels or their juice spillage over your counter. This is rather a very tidy way to cook in your kitchen without making any huge mess.

This is a great alternative if you are entertaining your guests in the kitchen.

Also, read this article on how to clean a microwave oven.

5. Drawer organizer

Utensils take up a lot of drawer space if you are not using any organizers. The haphazard placement of these utensils can take up a lot of time when looking for the right one. Look for creative drawer inserts that are right for your utensils. Trust me this will make your life much easier.

6. Makeshift freezer organizer

Freezers tend to get messy with loads of items just stacked inside. It takes so much time to look for a specific item just because of the stacking. Recently I came across this cool idea to use my file holder as a makeshift freezer organizer. These serve as great shelves to keep all the frozen items neatly.

7. Kitchen freshener

Preparation of some food items can leave awful scents behind. For example, the smell of garlic after cooking Indian curry or if you are making butter at home then chances are your kitchen smells funky. To get rid of this smell you could make your kitchen freshener with ingredients from your pantry.

If you want your kitchen to smell like grandma’s kitchen when she’s been baking, then grab some vanilla essence and turn on the oven. Place two caps of it into your oven dish and set your oven to heat up to 300 degrees. Your kitchen will start smelling like a bakery in no time. The scent lasts for a whole day.

You could try the same with your favorite essential oils. My personal favorite is lemon as it adds freshness to my kitchen.

Wrapping up

You can avoid the chaos that ensues when whipping up an emergency dinner for a guest by keeping it clean and organized. All of the organization’s ideas stated above are perfect for anyone who hates making a mess or has a limited-sized kitchen.

If you are someone who is always on the run, then it is essential that you try these hacks. Even if you are a professional or a beginner having an organized kitchen is the most basic skill you can learn. This guide on how to clean and organize a kitchen will surely save you a lot of time.

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Immad Amir
Written by
Immad is a talented home cook and editorial director at Specially Fried. With his culinary expertise, love for gadgets and creative flair, he brings a fresh perspective to the world of food blogging.
Reviewed by

Harper is an appliance and kitchen cleaning expert. With a passion for spotless spaces, she meticulously reviews and ensures that the content on Specially Fried maintains the highest standards of cleanliness.

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