What level of tidiness is your kitchen usually maintained at?

[Mub]

I have a tidy husband. He likes to keep the house tidy but the kitchen is his particular focus. I mean so do I but I think he’s a tad overboard. He says he finds a messy kitchen depressing and puts him off cooking (he cooks a lot) and it reminds him of his house growing up (hoarder parents).

Dh maintains the kitchen at a 8 or 9 / 10. Which seems overboard. The counters are always clear and wiped, sparkling taps and a clear sink. Everyday he will wipe down bins and fronts of cupboards/fridge/kettle etc (I see this as too much). The hob is properly wiped after every use (even if we only fried eggs and not too much of a mess was made).

The worst that ever needs doing is a sweep and a mop (we have large dogs). He’s not annoying with it as he gets on with it himself. But it’s exhausting to watch! He’s always washing down the sink with the hose attachment.

for example we deep cleaned yesterday as we had people over for the evening. He’s got up and given downstairs and the kitchen a tidy. Sure it got a little messy - glasses, crumbs etc but it’s mostly still fine. He streams the floor every day. I would just use the flash mop personally

Am I crazy?

A messy kitchen does make me feel quite stressed tbh, I can't relax. I don't clean the hob that frequently though, the cleaner will do it thoroughly once a week and I probably do it once more during the week.

Mine is usually an 8/9. Crumbs on the worktop drive me mad and I have been known to clean the floor on my hands and knees. It will be his childhood which will have influenced his need for it to be spotless. I’m the same and can’t rest until it’s clean. My parents didn’t care.

You thought your stovetop wss suppose to be messy? Crumbs catching on fire and drawing vermin and food splatters all over?

I find that hard to buy.

a fireplace being sooty is no where near the same as a hob having grease and food remnants on it,

i also don’t buy you actually think that, if you just don’t care , then at least own it instead of pretending you think hobs are supposed to be disgusting.

I would LOVE it if my partner did that!

God your dh sounds great!
I’m pretty clean too, we have a large white sink so I like it to be clean. I do the hob and worktops a couple of times a day.
Robo vac keeps on top of the floors. I don’t mop much I’m afraid. Should do more!
Cleaning down cupboard doors everyday is probably ott but I’d let him at it. And he cooks too! Do you have the perfect husband??

I am similar to your husband but know our expensive floor won’t last as long if I mop and steam everyday (learnt the hard way) so we now sweep every evening and hoover and mop once a week. Other than that, I have clear sides and polished surfaces at all times x

Probably a 6 on your DH’s scale. The floor gets mopped weekly, and the cupboard fronts are wiped if they look like they need it. The rest is wiped/ washed/tidied as we go along.

I’m with your husband. I find a messy/grimy kitchen very depressing. As a minimum, everything has to be put away, the sides and hob clean and the sink clean.

My husband has a terrible habit of smearing a damp sponge over (just) the hob, leaving grease smears all over it and not cleaning any of the worktops after he’s cooked. He also doesn’t rinse any mess out of the sink. Drives me bonkers.

With your husband on this one. It is a place where you are preparing food. In our house it's the only room that gets thoroughly cleaned every day, at least once, depending on how many times we've cooked.

Basic hygiene but often messy

I prefer pristine but DH DS and DD are
all mucky puppies

and I’m not willing to constantly clean up after them

My kitchen is spotless.

not very - but I’d happily borrow your husband lol

My kitchen is immaculate. I do most of the deep cleaning whilst baking and don’t make a mess. DH is very tidy but as you can’t see germs they are not there. Will empty the bins and recycling then not wash his hands.

Our kitchen is always tidy, but not especially clean - they are two different things. Same as the whole house - always tidy, but we don't clean very often, because it's just such a boring thing to do.

Ours is clean but messy. I wipe the kitchen surfaces about 8 times a day, clean the hob every night and make sure all washing up is done in the evening, bleach the sink once a week. But I only sweep up once a day and mop every few days.

The mess comes from the fact it is the hub of where we live, so the kitchen table currently has several plants in pots on it that I grew from cuttings and can't go outside as it's too cold, a big bunch of flowers from a friend, the weekend newspapers, a wooden bowl full of cat toys the cat ignores, despite being bored out of his mind on stormy days, some candles given to me by DFiL, a recipe book, a dictionary for DH's cryptic crossword.

I don't mind that sort of mess. To me these make the house feel lived in - plants, flowers, pet toys, books and papers. To some people this would be too much.

Youre not crazy. You are lucky.

It's an 8. I wipe it down every day including the floor. I never clean the oven and I don't always clean inside the microwave. There are sometimes a few non dishwasher proof bits and bobs waiting to be washed. My eldest son leaves just enough of a mess (crumbs, a bit of cutlery in the sink) that I feel a bit obsessive if I get cross.

I’m with your DH, I like the kitchen to look and smell fresh and clean. I don’t leave mess at night when I go to bed, it’s usually an 8-9 in terms of cleanliness.

We wipe the hob after every single use.

It's literally spray and wipe.

Takes seconds.

⬆️😊, mine similar.
I hate cleaning & tidying & washing up, luckily have dishwasher, but apparently I’m the only 1 who can load it or make it come on during cheap electricity times?
I now have a fridge freezer that defrosts itself & the oven interior cleans when heated up.
My kitchen sink usually has a bottle/tin/jar or 2 waiting transport to recycling & some peelings in a bag for compost heap. But I’ve run this kitchen like this for over 40yrs & nobody has ever had even an upset stomach, so I’m probably not gonna change now.

I’m the same as your husband. I find unsanitary kitchens antithetical to good nutrition, and clutter/mess scrambles my brain. My family are like you and it’s difficult not to secretly find them a bit gross - but I accept that I’m abnormal and they’re probably more average (and not as bad as “gross”). People cook amazing food and stay alive and healthy in war zones, after all. Let him at it, and just don’t watch.

Exactly! Crack on, mate.

Can he come to my house & have a go at my bomb-site kitchen?

A messy bedroom just means clothes not hung up, make up left out, etc.

However a messy kitchen generally means a dirty kitchen 🤢

I wipe the hob down multiple times a day as you can guarantee the minute I've cleaned it, someone else will appear and decide to make a bacon sandwich 🤨 you do it once or twice a week???!!!

I think he sounds quite normal and I don't consider myself tidy