So Fresh and So Clean Clean

Spring is here!! FINALLY!!!! And of course all I can think about is cleaning and yard work. I started my Spring cleaning last weekend, but all of that hard work wouldn't do me much good if I didn't maintain some level of cleanliness throughout the rest of the year. I have read on a lot of cleaning blogs that you should daily clean your kitchen. This always sounded like a ton of work to me. I mean, who wants to clean EVERY DAY??? Well, about a year ago I started doing a small tidy up in the kitchen when I got home from work every afternoon.... and you know what? It works!!

I'm not on of those ladies who cleans the counter top and sweeps the floor every single day. I do those maybe once a week. The kitchen isn't in a perpetual state of spotless, but if company comes over it's usually pretty decent. My routine is: every day after work I hand wash any dishes that aren't dishwasherable (that's totally a word), unload and reload the dishwasher, and do a general pickup/putting away of things. It doesn't take more than 20 - 25 minutes and it keeps the kitchen looking really great most days! And it makes deep cleaning sessions so much easier! If it is a day I have a few minutes extra, then I wipe down the counters or wipe out the microwave or the exterior of the fridge or whatever needs it at the moment. So far this plan is really working for us. I know my husband is so much happier cooking delicious meals for me with ample counter top space. And if the man is happy cooking for me, then I am a happy lady!!

Of course from time to time there comes a day when we just don't feel like doing even a quick kitchen tidy up. Maybe we were off work that day. Who wants to clean on a vacation day??? This happened to us recently, and since everyone (including me) loves photos of peoples messy houses, here's what our kitchen looked like after one day of neglect.

And after a super swift tidy up (maybe 15 minutes), the much better After!

A clean kitchen feels so good!