Monthly maintenance checklist for your kitchen

Messy breakfasts, weeknight meals, and food-centric get-togethers all take a toll on kitchens. As a result of daily tasks, crumbs, spills, and splatters quickly collect on kitchen surfaces, making cleaning difficult. If you put off cleaning your kitchen for too long, it can become a time-consuming and overwhelming task. There is a lot of surface area to clean and scrub on countertops, cabinets, appliances, sinks, and floors which requires time. If the kitchen is not maintained on a regular basis, you will have to invest more to get a kitchen renovation done. 

More in-depth monthly kitchen cleaning is less daunting with a little manual cleaning and daily maintenance. Creating a kitchen cleaning checklist that fits with your schedule and priorities is the secret to sticking to a routine. Create your own kitchen cleaning checklist using these tips as a roadmap and a routine that works for you. Depending on how often the kitchen is used, you can need to do certain chores more regularly or less frequently. This checklist will help you minimise kitchen renovations cost when you do decide to get one.

If you plan on cleaning your kitchen once a month, it’s going to be overwhelming. So we have created three checklists to tick off every day, every week and every month. 

Daily Kitchen Maintenance Checklist

• Spray and wipe the countertops and range top
• Don’t forget to clean off splatters from the vent hood, too.
• Sweep the floor and wipe up spills
• Scrub the sink with a general-purpose cleaner and wipe dry
• Wash dirty dishes as they happen or load them in the dishwasher
• Set out a clean rag for the next day

Weekly Kitchen Maintenance Checklist

• Sort through leftover items in the fridge
• Clean outside of appliances
• Clean inside the microwave and fridge
• Spot-clean cabinets to remove fingerprints and smudges
• Thoroughly disinfect the sink and clean faucets
• Sanitise sponges
• Mop floors

Monthly Kitchen Maintenance Checklist

• Take a look at your pantry items and throw away what's beyond the expiry 
• Take inventory of freezer items that need to tossed, eaten soon, or restocked
• Clean out the refrigerator and wipe down shelves and drawers
• Clean inside of the dishwasher if necessary
• Clean the oven
• Sort through and organise cooking tools, like utensils and pans
• Declutter duplicates and give away anything you don’t need/use anymore 
• Take a look at spices and supplements and take note of what needs to be purchased again
• Look at all your dishware and repair or repurpose anything that’s chipped

Make a printed version of your kitchen cleaning checklist to help you stick to your schedule. The visual presence of a kitchen duties checklist is a good reminder and having something to check off feels like a success. But keep in mind that this cleaning routine isn't fixed in stone. Still, clean up spills and messes right away and thoroughly. Spilled milk or juice, for example, that splashes over the counter and onto the floor, has a habit of finding its way into tiny cracks. To assess the extent of the mess, don’t forget to open drawers and cabinets to check.

Keep a spray bottle of your favourite homemade cleaner or all-purpose cleaner ready for fast and easy cleanup to make ticking off your kitchen cleaning checklist easier. As a DIY cleaning substitute, lemons, baking soda, or distilled white vinegar can be used. In the kitchen, keep a broom and dustpan for cleaning up after meals and cooking sessions. Knowing what supplies you have in your kitchen would also make the task go more smoothly. What works for laminate countertops might not work for granite or quartz. Your kitchen surfaces can remain sparkling with the use of material-appropriate cleaners. Also make it a habit to keep clutter under control since this will go against your kitchen cleaning goals.

Feel free to delegate, or divide and conquer, and make cleaning a collaborative effort by assigning tasks to your partner or kids. It's a never-ending challenge to keep the kitchen organised, clean, decluttered, and well-stocked. You just have to think about what needs to be completed and when after you've written down the tasks. Breaking down all of the chores into regular, weekly, annual, and quarterly activities saves the work from being daunting and ensures that the kitchen is still spotless. You have the time and mental energy to enjoy the creating and togetherness that is meant to happen in the heart of your home when the kitchen is clean and maintaining it that way is second nature. If your kitchen is old or beyond salvageable, get three no-obligation kitchen renovation quotes. 

Further Reading

• 6 Must-Have Kitchen Appliances for Families
• 4 Things to Remember for Your Next Kitchen Renovation
• 5 Things to Avoid When Renovating Your Kitchen
• Doing a Kitchen Renovation on a Budget