Kitchen cleaning schedule: daily, weekly and monthly
A kitchen cleaning schedule splits the work into four layers. Daily: dishes, counters, the stovetop, the sink and a quick sweep. Weekly: clear the fridge, wipe the microwave and appliance fronts, mop, and wash the towels. Monthly: the oven, the hood filter, the cabinet fronts and the dishwasher filter. A few times a year: the inside of the fridge, the cabinets and behind the appliances.
Why follow a schedule?
- Nothing builds up. Grease wiped weekly is a quick job. Grease left for six months is a scrubbing job.
- It's less overwhelming. You don't have to decide what to clean; the list tells you.
- It's easier to share. Put it on the fridge, and anyone in the house can see what's due and take a job.
- The kitchen is ready. Guests, holidays, a last-minute dinner: there's less to catch up on.
What do you clean every day?
| Job | Why |
|---|---|
| Wash or load the dishes | Dried food takes longer to wash off |
| Wipe the counters and backsplash | Crumbs and splashes |
| Wipe the stovetop once it's cool | Grease sets as it cools and builds up |
| Scrub and rinse the sink, wipe the faucet | Food bits and water spots |
| Quick sweep or vacuum | Crumbs underfoot |
| Trash out if it's full | Smells |
About ten minutes at the end of the night. Our post on how to keep your kitchen clean every day goes through the habit.
What do you clean every week?
- Clear out old food from the fridge, the night before trash day
- Wipe the microwave inside and out
- Wipe the appliance fronts and handles: fridge, dishwasher, oven
- Mop the floor
- Wash the dish towels and swap the sponge
- Wipe the trash can lid and rim
- Wipe the light switches and cabinet handles
What do you clean every month?
- Oven: wipe it out, or do a full clean if it needs one. See how to clean an oven.
- Range hood filter: soak it in hot water with dish soap and baking soda, scrub and rinse.
- Cabinet fronts: wipe them with warm soapy water, paying attention to the ones near the stove.
- Dishwasher: pull and rinse the filter, and run a cleaning cycle.
- Drain or disposal: see how to clean a garbage disposal and kitchen drain.
- Small appliances: the toaster crumb tray, the coffee maker (descale it as the maker directs).
What do you clean a few times a year?
- Inside the fridge: everything out, shelves and drawers washed. See how to clean a refrigerator.
- Inside the cabinets and the pantry: empty a shelf at a time, wipe, check dates.
- Behind and beside the appliances: pull the stove or fridge out if you can do it safely, and clean the floor and the sides.
- Walls and the top of the cabinets: grease and dust settle where nobody looks.
- The fridge coils: vacuum them, following the maker's directions.
Spring and the run-up to the holidays are natural times for the big ones.
How do you make the schedule stick?
- Print the list and put it on the fridge.
- Tie the weekly jobs to a day.
- Split the jobs in the house, and swap them each month.
- In a small rowhome kitchen, keep the counters clear so the daily wipe goes faster.
Want help with the bigger jobs?
Book Deep Cleaning for a reset, or Recurring House Cleaning to keep up between your own cleanings. If a specific job, like the oven or the fridge, is a priority, ask about it when you book and put it in your booking notes.
FAQ
What should be cleaned in a kitchen every day? Dishes, counters, the stovetop, the sink and faucet, and a quick sweep of the floor where you cooked. Take out the trash if it's full or will smell by morning.
What should be cleaned in a kitchen every week? Clear out the fridge, wipe the microwave inside and out, wipe the appliance fronts and handles, mop the floor, wash the dish towels and swap the sponge, and wipe the trash can lid.
What should be cleaned in a kitchen every month? Clean the oven, soak the range hood filter, wipe the cabinet fronts and handles, clean the dishwasher filter, run a cleaning cycle on the dishwasher, and flush the drain or disposal.
Why follow a kitchen cleaning schedule? A schedule spreads the work out, so nothing builds up into a big job. It also makes it easy to share the jobs in a household, because everyone can see what's due.
Book a cleaning
Our service area: every Philadelphia neighborhood, plus the Pennsylvania suburbs within about 30 miles of Center City, in Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Chester counties. Book online at phillyscleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (215) 798-7576, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day.
