How to Clean a Very Messy Kitchen

How do you clean a very messy kitchen?

My Story

If you have read my “about page”, you will know that this journey that I call Living by Littles began with a very messy kitchen.

A very messy kitchen is probably an understatement.

Long story short, we had four kids and a perpetually messy kitchen. And honestly, the solution eluded me.

And then, one evening, the whispered prayer; “How will I ever clean this mess up?”

Followed by the whispered answer, “Start with one countertop.”

And I did. As Brian played on the floor with the kids, I cleaned off one countertop. I didn’t veer from that one countertop until it was completely clean.

After finishing the first countertop, they were still playing so I moved on to the second countertop.

By the time everyone was ready to quit, I had a clean kitchen. And surprisingly, it didn’t take that long.

Have you ever looked at your kitchen and simply wondered where to begin?

Then hopefully you will benefit from what I refer to as my “How to clean a very messy kitchen method”.

The beauty of this method is that it works not only in a very messy kitchen, but in maintaining a clean enough kitchen. Years later, this is still how I clean my kitchen.

Disclaimer: Any of my friends, family and neighbors can attest that my kitchen is not perpetually clean. I simply have a method that works for getting it there.

Where do you begin when your kitchen is a mess?

Start by decluttering the kitchen floor

Stick with me for a second.

When you are trying to clean your kitchen and you are tripping over toys and shoes, your progress is going to be hindered. Take two minutes and clear the floor clutter. (You truly had to live this life to know to start with the floor!)

Put away all dry dishes

Empty the dishwasher, the dish drainer and any dry dishes lingering around the sink.

Choose a countertop where you want to start

For some weird reason I always work from left to right going clockwise.

Completely clean off that countertop. Dirty dishes get loaded into the dishwasher or stacked in one consolidated area to wash later. Carry stuff to where it belongs and put it away.

Here is your laugh but I promise it works. When your countertop is extremely messy and you get overwhelmed just looking at it, grab three things and put them away. Repeat until everything is cleared from the countertop.

Take a wet dishrag and wipe down the countertop. You are ready to move on.

(An alternative is to consolidate everything going to another room on the table or island, so you don’t make multiple trips to the same room. The problem with this is if it is necessary to quit prior to finishing, you have moved the mess from one place to another.)

Move on to the next counter-top

Repeat this process for every single horizontal surface in the kitchen. Don’t forget the top of the fridge and microwave.

Run the dishwasher and /or wash the dishes

Once the horizontal surfaces are clear and wiped down then you are ready to run the dishwasher and wash any dishes that couldn’t be loaded. If you don’t have a dishwasher, it’s time to start washing the dishes.

If there are so many dirty dishes that it’s overwhelming, employ the exact same tactic as clearing the counters. Wash three items, put them in the drainer and repeat.

When the drainer is full, grab a towel, dry and put away the dishes.