How to Clean a Small Apartment Kitchen Fast

That Cleaning Girl · Apartment Cleaning

A small kitchen gets dirty faster than a big one. That sounds backwards, but with only a few feet of counter, everything lands in the same spot: the mail, the coffee maker, the cutting board and last night's pan. If you want the bigger picture for the whole unit first, start with The Complete Apartment Cleaning Checklist, Room by Room. This one is all about the kitchen.

The goal here is a full kitchen clean in about thirty minutes, done in an order that stops you from making a mess of something you just cleaned.

Clear before you clean

You cannot clean a counter you cannot see. Start by moving everything that does not need to be on the counter to the table or a basket.

• Put away food, spices and anything that has a home in a cabinet.
• Move small appliances you do not use daily into a cupboard if there is room.
• Load the dishwasher or stack dishes to one side of the sink.
• Take out the trash if it is more than half full, so it is not in your way.

Most small kitchens look twice as clean with nothing but the coffee maker and a utensil crock left out. Fewer things on the counter also means fewer things to wipe around every day.

Start high: cabinets, microwave and backsplash

Work from the top down. Wipe the cabinet fronts and handles first, since that is where sticky fingerprints build up. Then do the microwave. Put a bowl of water with a splash of white vinegar inside, run it for three or four minutes and let it sit with the door closed. The steam softens dried splatters so they wipe right off.

Next, the backsplash. In a small kitchen the stove is usually close to the wall, so grease spatters there more than you would expect. A warm cloth with a little dish soap cuts it better than most sprays.

The stovetop

Apartment stoves are often older electric coil models or a smooth glass top.

• Coil burners: lift the coils out, pull the drip pans and soak them in hot soapy water while you work on everything else. Wipe the surface under them.
• Glass tops: wait until it is completely cool, spray with a glass top cleaner or a paste of baking soda and water, and use a flat razor scraper held low for burnt-on spots.
• Gas grates: soak them in the sink with hot water and dish soap.

Do not forget the knobs and the front edge of the stove. That strip collects drips that run down from the pots.

Counters and small appliances

Now that the high stuff is done, wipe the counters. Go back to front so the crumbs come toward you and into your hand or a dustpan, not onto the floor. Get the strip behind the faucet and the gap along the wall.

Give the toaster, coffee maker and kettle a quick outside wipe, and empty the toaster crumb tray over the trash. If you have a cutting board that lives on the counter, wash it and stand it on its edge to dry.

The sink and faucet

Scrub the sink basin with a little baking soda or a soft scrub cleanser, then rinse. Clean around the drain and the base of the faucet where gunk hides. If you have a disposal, run it with cold water and a few ice cubes to knock off buildup.

Here in North Texas the tap water is hard, so the faucet and the sink edge get white water spots almost daily. Dry them with a cloth after you rinse and they will stay shiny much longer.

Fridge front and the floor

Wipe the fridge door, the handle and the top edge of the door where hands grab it. If the top of the fridge is in reach, dust it too. Small kitchens often store cereal boxes up there, and it gets surprisingly greasy.

Finish with the floor. Sweep or vacuum first, getting the toe kick under the cabinets and the gap beside the stove. Then mop. In a galley or corridor kitchen, start at the far end and back out toward the door so you are not walking across the wet floor.

Habits that keep it clean

A small kitchen stays clean with small daily moves, not big weekend scrubs.

• Wash or load dishes right after dinner, even if it is just the pan.
• Wipe the counter and stovetop every night. It takes two minutes when it is fresh.
• Empty the dish rack each morning so it does not become a permanent storage shelf.
• Take the trash out before it overflows, especially in summer when it gets smelly fast.

Do those four things and your weekly clean becomes a quick wipe-down instead of a project. Whether you are in Waxahachie, Midlothian or anywhere in the south DFW area, those habits work the same.

If you only have time for one habit, make it the nightly counter and stove wipe. Grease and crumbs that sit overnight get sticky by morning, and sticky messes take three times the effort. A fresh spill comes up with one pass of a damp cloth. Give yourself that two minutes after dinner and the rest of the kitchen almost takes care of itself.

For the full list of what we do in a small unit, see our apartment cleaning page. Your next step is the trickiest layout of all, the long, narrow galley kitchen.