7 Habits People With Clean Kitchens Always Follow

They Minimize Counter Clutter

Counter clutter doesn’t just makes your kitchen look messy—it also makes it much harder to clean away messes and spills when you have to scrub around (or under) canisters and appliances. (And honestly, it looks so much cleaner in general when you can easily see the pretty backsplash and countertop, and not just an unbroken row of coffeemakers and air fryers.)

People who keep a clean kitchen regularly pare down and declutter their countertops, and ensure that everything that doesn’t make the cut finds its way to a new home.

Common things to declutter from your counters include:

• Small appliances you don’t use daily
• Extra spices, oils, and sauces
• Dirty dishes
• Purely decorative items
• Pantry items

They Have a Spot for Everything—and They Label It

If you don’t have a home for your small appliances or baking supplies, they’ll likely end up cluttering your countertop or getting stuffed into your cupboards, creating chaotic places where it’s hard to find anything. (And if you live with other people, they may not heed your careful kitchen organization and make a mess of your cupboards anyway.)

The solution? Start by finding a good home for everything in your kitchen—then label each spot. Hopefully, a good system and a very clear set of labels can help keep everything on track.

They Clean as They Cook

This is one spot where multitasking has its benefits. If you can put away ingredients, toss dirty dishes in the sink (or better yet, the emptied dishwasher), and toss out trash as you’re cooking, you may just have a quick wipe down and a few dishes left to do after dinner is over—so you can kick back for the night.

If you’re type A like me, turn it into a bit of a competition, to see if you can have the kitchen as clean as possible once the dinner timer sounds.

They Get the Dishes Done Every Night

This may be the most common clean-kitchen faux pas I face in my house. After a busy day, the last thing I want to do after dinner is scrub pots and pans. But waking up the next morning to a sink full of dirty dishes isn’t exactly the best start to the day, either.

This one kind of goes hand in hand with the cleaning-as-you-cook tip—because if you do that, you’re likely almost there for the empty sink at the end of the evening.

They Take Care of Messes as They Happen

Yeah, taking time out to clean up dropped berries on the floor or a tomato sauce spill may get you out of your cooking groove—but it’ll take you a lot more time to deal with dried-on stains on your countertops or squished berries that stained your grout or your hardwood floor. (Ask me how I know!)

It’s much easier to clean a fresh spill than a set-in stain, and so take the time to cross clean it up in the moment.

They Clear the Tabletop at the End of the Evening

Large, flat surfaces can be irresistible magnets for clutter—and like dust bunnies, clutter tends to multiply while you sleep. Clearing away any items that don’t belong from your tabletop or kitchen island before you go to bed leaves you with a really fresh start to your day.

They Keep Cleaning Products Handy

When messes happen, you don’t want to have to head off to the bathroom to collect the all-purpose cleaner or end up fumbling for a kitchen towel. Keeping the proper cleaning products right at hand can make dealing with messes fast and easy.