As much of a challenge as it is to purge, organize, and deep clean a room how do you maintain the clean after putting in all of that hard work?

Re-evaluate your daily schedule, take 15 minutes a day (my favorite chunk of time) and you can keep your home in tip-top, company ready shape.

Maintaining Your Kitchen

Daily, put your dirty dishes in your dishwasher or dishpan under the sink after you are done with your meal or snack.  When either is full, it’s time to do the dishes.  If you run your dishwasher while you’re asleep at night, you’ll pay lower utility rates and the dishes will be cool and clean in the morning and ready to be put away.

Wipe down your countertops after use. Have cloths in your kitchen just for this and use  one dampened with the cleaner of your choice over the countertops and tabletop after preparing a meal.  This will take you just moments, yet will help keep your kitchen organized and neat.  You don’t have to scrub or take everything off the counters, just wipe where you’ve cooked or eaten.

Clean your sink daily.  This one can take some getting used to but makes a big difference in having a clean kitchen. Scrub your sink down with some scouring powder or something that won’t scratch your sink. If your sink is clean, you’re less likely to let dirty dishes pile up in it.  And a clean sink can make the whole kitchen look clean.

Sweep your floors each night and mop them once a week. This was my chore as a child.   Each night just sweep up the crumbs before shutting down the kitchen. And once a week get out your damp mop and go over it to get the week’s dirt washed off—you don’t have to shine it, just a damp mop (I use a microfiber for this).

It doesn't take much.