Cleaning expert and author Melissa Maker, known for her clever Youtube tutorials, shares kitchen cleaning tips from her new book, Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster — And Loving Your Home Every Day. 

When you’re not looking to give your kitchen the royal scrub-down but still want to spruce it up, there’s certainly a happy medium. You can fake it, just a little. Here’s how to get your kitchen looking clean in about 14 minutes.

As always, we’re going to work our way around the room, top to bottom, pretreating when we can to allow the product to do the most work for us.

Air it out. Open windows or crack open the door a bit, weather permitting, to let in fresh air.

Deal with the dishes. Start by unloading and reloading the dishwasher. Quickly hand-wash anything that needs it.

Clear counters and pretreat. Moving right along, spray down your counters and sink with an all-purpose cleaner that is safe for your countertops. If you feel extra sassy, sprinkle baking soda into the sink on top of the all-purpose cleaner (you’re going to love the results). Do not wipe just yet!

Spot-clean. Quickly glance around your kitchen; are there any glaring grimy spots that you can quickly remove? Don’t skimp on your scan: I want you to actually nod your head “yes” and really look top to bottom and find those grotty little spills, stains (like a dried smear of ketchup on the cupboard door), and fingerprints (all over your stainless fridge). As you see them, wipe them up with a microfiber cloth dampened with all-purpose cleaner, sprinkling with baking soda for extra abrasion as required (test first that it won’t wreck the finish). Buff each area with a dry corner of the cloth to ensure you’ve removed all debris and moisture.

Clean counters. Now that the product has had time to soak, you can wipe the counters with ease. Use a microfiber cloth in an S-pattern, tossing crumbs onto the floor. Then take your sponge and agitate the baking soda around the sink a few times; this will help scrub out dirt and stains. Rinse well with hot water and buff dry with that same microfiber cloth. Wow, did you know your sink could look that good, that fast?

Deal with garbage. Empty the trash if needed and change the bag. There, that was easy.

Finish up with floors. Quickly sweep your kitchen floor or vacuum. Start at one corner and sweep like you were an Olympic curler all the way to the end of the room. Dustpan up that dirt and then guess what, you’re done!

PRO TIP: SAVE THE SINK FOR LAST! The kitchen requires “wet work,” as we call it in the cleaning industry, so it is important to clean your sink last because you’re going to use it again and again. For this reason, use the sink as your 12 o’clock starting point; you’ll end here.

Photographer: Janis Nicolay

Designer: Denise Ashmore, Project 22 Design

Source: House & Home August 2015   https://houseandhome.com/rooms/kitchens/quick-easy-kitchen-cleaning-tips/#