How do you keep your kitchen clean

[Getting2me]

Everyday the sink and counters are full of dishes and mess, the cooker is caked all over in dried up food, and I've got to wipe everything down and brush and mop the floor thats covered in all sorts. I'm going through a bottle of washing up liquid every couple of weeks, sounds excessive but there isnt much obvious foam and the water gets dirty and dishes dont get cleaned unless I douse them. Also have to fill up the sink several times before everything gets washed. There is nothing going on besides ordinary cooking and I'm fed up with it.

All the people saying you need a dishwasher might not realise you don't have space. I don't have space - actually that's not quite true - I have a space that is three inches wide! That's it. No dishwasher for me!

Clean as you go is definitely the answer though. And insist whoever you live with does this too. My husband used to occasionally wash up but he wouldn't dry up or wipe down the surfaces/draining board. I started calling him Arfur. As in "is your name Arfur? you've only done arfur (half a) job!" He eventually got the message and now washes, dries and puts away, cleans the surfaces and dries the drainer.

The rest of the basics get cleaned once a week and I do a deeper clean every six weeks.

I dont have the space right now. We had a dishwasher before and it made a big difference

We clean/tidy as we go along. And having a dishwasher really helps.

Who is making this much mess so regularly?

Just tidy as you go then. How many people live there to cause such a mess?

Why aren't you answering the questions?

Who is making the mess, what is the history and why is it only you clearing up?

Why aren't you answering the questions?

likely as she is cleaning the kitchen.😃

I don't have a dishwasher or the space/money for one & manage just fine. I clean as I go, so whilst something is cooking on the hob spray down the rest of the kitchen/mess, wash any dishes & by the end of cooking/serving I usually only have have the pots & our plates to do. I steep the pots while we are eating then wash them all at the end. Sometimes I'm later to eat as I like to get the majority done before I sit down. However, disclaimer I am not a fancy cook at all so don't have loads of things cooking at once. I'm a shepherds pie/lasagne/roast dinner kind of person so not overly time consuming! But yes, clean as you go, when waiting for things to boil etc. (I also put music on my phone so I don't waste time scrolling!)

I lived in apartments without a dishwasher for seven years, during which I had three DCs.

I made a lot of one pot meals and also casseroles that only required assembling ingredients in a big pyrex dish and putting it all in the oven, during those years.

We had microwave porridge or cereal/ toast/ banana/ muffins (fruit, savoury) for breakfast on weekdays, and sometimes pancakes/ waffles/ clafoutis on weekends.

Lunch was often sandwiches (deli meats, cheese, tuna, sardines, etc), or toast and scrambled egg/ beans, or microwaved leftovers, and obv weaning foods for the DCs went on their high chair tray. The only thing that I used the hob for at lunchtime was scrambled egg.

When I finally moved into my house, the dishwasher there resulted in branching into new recipes, as I could use several pots to make a dinner and bung them into the dishwasher afterwards.

If you used to have a dishwasher and now don't, maybe consider adjusting your usual meal offerings to save on pot and hob use.

We moved and didn't have space for dishwasher so took out one of the units (did have to carefully cut it out as old kitchen). Half size dishwasher went in. Cut out holes in adjoining unit for the pipes, connected to existing water and drain with splitter parts from Screwfix. Currys own brand around 100 quid plus 30 odd quid on fittings, half day off work. I love the dishwasher. Some days it runs 3 times. But the quick cycle is only 40m or less so no issues. Half size means it never gets overwhelmingly full. Takes literally less than the time to boil the kettle to put it all away. Do it OP.

I sympathise OP.
If I had a car, I'd genuinely consider ditching the washing machine and using the launderette just to have a dishwasher instead.

Every time I get the kitchen straight I promise myself I'll clean as I go, and sometimes it is lovely for a few days but it only takes one morning to go a bit wrong for me not to have time to wash up from breakfast before I leave for work, and so it begins again!
Barely any work top space.. I fall over the bin trying to get to the freezer as it is so no space for trolley type thing to try and free up counter space either.. so it very quickly looks worse than it probably is too.

I know the answer is to just not leave a mess, I just don't know how to find the time and space to do that consistently!

Clean up after every meal, including clearing and wiping surfaces and cooker. Everyone washes their own mug and plate if they have snacks (age appropriate)
Everyone helps out with the cleaning.

Every time you go into the kitchen do 1 thing, it will save your kitchen getting into a state that you just don’t want to go in at all.

Every so often I print out an A4 sign and stick it on the dishwasher that says the magic white box is on receive today.

Works a treat.

I clean it before bed, or in the morning before work. Mopping and more thorough clean at weekends. I’m not at home when DC get in from school and I want them at least to come home to a clean kitchen & house.

What army sized family are you feeding that the cooker is caked all over in dirt every day and the floor needs sweeping and mopping every day? Or do you do all your cooking in boxing gloves? I can't imagine what you're doing in there to make that much mess every single day.

What are you doing to it?
Clean as you go is the easiest way. I don't have a dishwasher either
So if I'm making cottage pie, by the time the mince is in the pan I have washed the prep stuff, when it's in the oven I wash the potato pan/mince pan etc and wipe surfaces so it comes out the oven with just the dish to wash

Clean spills as soon as they happen, same with the fridge and the floor
I peel potatoes/carrots onto something I was going to bin like a bread wrapper and keep it altogether so it can just be picked up and binned and nothing goes on the floor or sides

I try not to even put a dirty dish down on the counter if I can just put it directly in the dishwasher. Wipe as you go - nothing should ever get caked or dried.

One pot meals are great.

So is cooking extra so you can have it the next night (or alternate it with something else and have it the night after that instead). Re-heat in microwave, or in one pot.

I don't. Bain of my life.

I don't even have a dishwasher. It's a constant task and I'm not up to it.

It's tricky for a reason, clearly, and it'll likely be down to how many people share the space, their ages and the expectations around what gets cooked when, which you'll probably fill us in on when you get back to the thread.

We have no dishwasher. Family of 4. Small kitchen. Policy of 100% clear surfaces (apart from drainer) when not in use.
We use utensils and the hob in the morning to prepare breakfast and packed lunches. I wash up (but leave on the drainer) and wipe surfaces before I go to work.
When we get in from work, we put away the morning's dishes before starting to prepare dinner. We have never wrapped our heads around batch cooking, so use a lot of utensils to prepare the evening meal. I can never be bothered to wash as I go, but DP does.
I wash up after dinner. I make it a bit of a 'golden time' by putting on a podcast. I leave dishes on the drainer over night. DP, who is an early bird, puts away when he gets up at 5ish.
At weekends, we cook for lunch as well, so just wash up straight after. The odd mug can be left next to sink through the day, and get washed in next batch of hot water. I always empty washing up bowl and clean it inside and out, as well as the sink, after use. I don't want luke warm or cold washing up water that's been standing around being used to wash anything.
Our hob rarely gets stuff on it; I second getting some mesh covers for pans and pots to prevent splashing.
I definitely don't sweat the kitchen tidiness, but like the surfaces clear and only store things in cupboards, never on the counter tops, apart from a fruit bowl and two pot plants. As the kitchen is small, I avoid clutter and keep utensils and 'stuff' to a minimum.

I don't have a dishwasher. There's 2 adults and 2 kids here and I very rarely leave any dishes to be done overnight. I wash them as I go, wipe down the sides after every meal. It really isn't hard.

I would have a packet of baby wipes on the side. Every time something spills - on the floor or surface, get a baby wipe or two and get it straight up and off the floor/counter. Even a 4yo can take a wipe and wipe up something small. This way, you don’t get the floor dirty. Just make sure you don’t have baby wipes with lotion as it’ll make the floor slippery.

also keep kitchen bins open - then people can drop litter into them without any hassle.

I think this is a big factor.

I do quite a lot of cooking from scratch and find it creates a lot of mess that is just constant.

I have friends with immaculate kitchens but they are more microwave meal/stick a pizza in the oven/take away type people.

Disclaimer: Yes I know there are some of you out there who cook everything from scratch and have very clean/tidy kitchens. I'm just speaking from personal experience.

I honestly think the smaller the kitchen, the more you need a dishwasher. I have a tiny galley kitchen, couldn't live without mine, it keeps everything tidy and hidden away. You don't have the counter top space to spare to keep stuff hanging around on it.