Putting the Kitchen to Bed - 6 Simple Habits for a Beautiful Kitchen Each Morning

If you've been following me on socials then you'll have seen we've recently had a kitchen upgrade. We've knocked through into the utility room and created one large open space full of long countertops and a beautiful double pantry - it is honestly my favourite room in the house at the moment, and I'm spending the majority of my time in there. That means though that I'm a little more precious about how I care for it, and creating an evening 'put the kitchen to bed' routine has been a God-send for keeping it clean, tidy and useable every day. 

In previous times I was very relaxed about the kitchen. I wanted my evenings to be about me and about resting, because the days were filled with non-stop cooking, cleaning, and caring for children, but recently I had a perspective shift and I realised that looking after myself (self care, if you will) also looks like investing some time into systems and routines that will benefit me and help me in the day to day running of the house. They may require a bit of discipline and a touch of effort, but the effect of coming down to a useable space that feels ready to go is a blessing I didn't know I needed. It makes my morning a little easier, shaves time off of my cleaning routine, and ultimately blesses our entire household. 

Here's everything I do each evening to keep on top of the kitchen - 5 simple steps that anyone can do - enjoy! :)

1. Finish the dishes

Gone are the days of leaving dirty dishes in the sink to tackle in the morning. There is something so relaxing about coming down to a kitchen sink that is empty and shiny. It really perks my mornings up. I get it though, I'm currently on three dishwasher loads a day if I'm making all my meals, and sometimes spending that 20 minutes finishing the pots and getting the sink wiped is the LAST thing I want to be doing at 9pm at night, but every time I invest in it I thank myself the next day. I stack the dishwasher, wash any remaining pots and put them away, spray the sink down and leave it totally ready for the morning - it has changed my life.

2. Wiping Crumbs Away and Clearing sides

We have three counters in our kitchen, and one of them is almost 3m long, which means stuff regularly gets dumped there as a 'hold all' space. Not only does it wind me right up - since when did handbags need to be in the kitchen? (you'd think how much it irritates me would stop me from doing it) - but it ends up leaving my countertops cluttered and unusable. Spending a few minutes putting everything away in its correct place and giving them a spray and wipe down with some anti-bac spray makes a world of difference.

3. Empty the bins

We all hate it and, I'm not going to lie, this is one of those jobs that I regularly try to pawn off to someone else, but when I push myself to actually get it done, and subsequently come down in the morning to bins that are ready to go and fully useable, I feel in my element. Emptying them regularly stops smells, keeps the kitchen fully accessible and avoids the awkward (and messy) jenga pile of rubbish that builds in an effort to avoid going outside to the disposal. 

4. Sweep and mop

This is a full reset and, trust me, you'll want to get into this habit because this just ELEVATES your cleaning routine. I am a busy Mum of 4 young kids - I don't have time to sweep and mop in the day, which means more often than not my kitchen isn't getting a floor clean for DAYS (read: weeks. *gulp*). Getting into the habit of a quick sweep and mop each night will not only save you time (if you're doing it regularly there ends up being less that needs to do - no hands and knees scrubbing on areas that have really stuck themselves in!), but will ensure the floor is actually getting cleaned. You'll thank yourself for it.

5. Clean your hob

This is one of those jobs that seems massive, but the more often you do it the easier it is to do. You know the thing that really irritates me when I look at my kitchen? The hob being greasy and dirty, with splodges of the week's meals crusted into the edges. Getting into the habit of cleaning it daily brings me so much joy when I come to use it again - a space that is fresh and ready to go is very pleasing on the eye! Save the deep cleaning for another day (nobody is asking you to scrub it every night), and do a simple wipe over. Spray it with a hob cleaner, leave for 5 minutes and wipe with a microfibre cloth - bliss.

6. Fill the kettle

Come down in the morning, flick the switch and you're done. Congratulations mama, you've nailed a full 'put the kitchen to bed' routine and you can reward yourself with a beautiful kitchen and a hot cuppa in the morning. I'm proud of you.

Of course, as with any routine you can make this as complicated (or not) as you'd like. Have favourite scents? Spray them around the room and walk into fragrance heaven in the morning. Enjoy a regular deep clean? Get the cloth on the cupboards whilst you're at it and make sure they stay clear of any food splatters and dust. Want to clean windows and polish chrome? You do you girl. The important thing with any routine is consistency - and not consistency that is rigid and holds no space for grace or dropped balls - but consistency that looks like regularly doing something so that the times where it doesn't get done don't pile up and become a problem. ANY routine is good routine, so work out what you want yours to look like, tweak and adjust as you go, and enjoy a more peaceful, organised life!

Until next time...