Ideally, the place where you lovingly prepare dishes for the entire family should be a haven of cleanliness but in reality the kitchen tends to become the most unhygienic place in the house if a regular tidiness regime is not followed. However, it is never too late to start a routine to clean and maintain your culinary space perfectly. Here are a few tips to start off with:
Garbage disposal: No place amasses garbage with more rapidity than a kitchen. Vegetable and fruit peels, plastic and paper packets, eggshells, seeds and other whatnots start making their appearance from the morning and by noon the room is teeming with organic and inorganic waste. Keep a dust pan and a small brush/broom on the ready for periodic collection of garbage and throwing into the dustbin. Make sure that you clean and rinse the dust pan, brush and bin every week. The items must be allowed to dry in the sun before reuse, so keep an extra set handy.
Line the dustbin with garbage bag and make sure you dispose the garbage bag every day to prevent breeding of bacteria and germs.
Clean countertops: The next delinquent on the dirt accumulator list is the countertop which bears all the weight of your cooking. Hot dal, cold milk, breadcrumbs, spices and oil kept on the countertop from time to time will cause wear and tear.
Besides, the food particles stuck in between counter tiles and in the cracks can cause further harm making your top a safe haven for all kinds of microorganisms. Just washing the top with water may not be enough to ensure 100 per cent cleanliness.
Stubborn stains and marks will demand extra care. Scrubbing with a dishwashing solution diluted with a little water and vinegar will help the top to regain most of its lost sheen. This routine followed twice a week will ensure that your top stays in top condition.
Follow the same cleaning procedure with the sink and watch it sparkle forever. Also, once a week, pour some vinegar-baking soda solution down the drain to keep it unclogged and clean. While, in the case of sinks you can use semi strong cleaning solutions, in the case of countertops, make sure you use only mild solutions.
Cutlery, crockery and containers: Most homemakers usually tend to use the same set of vessels, cutlery and crockery continuously while stashing away the rest for special occasions. This results in the ones which are overused to become faded, chipped and cracked while the ones in the cupboard lose their shine eventually due to lack of use. Dinner sets packed away for future use become discolored due to the same reasons.
Rotate your set of utensils, cutlery and crockery every few months so that they get an equal chance at breathing outdoors and resting indoors.
Pay due diligence to the containers on the shelves as well. Periodically clean the shelves, change the newspaper lining on them (if any) and rearrange the spice, provision and other containers according to functionality and utility.
This will also prevent the growth of unwanted germs.
Pest control: Pests are the bane of any kitchen, in any season. The hot and humid conditions of the kitchen coupled with the generally humid climate of our country makes it easy for pests to breed and multiply in Indian kitchens. Go for herbal pest control of the kitchen twice a year and that of the house annually to keep pests and rodents at bay.
Personal protection: No kitchen would look and feel clean if you as the empress of the space do not feel safe and satisfied in it. Small measures to protect you will go a long way to improve the cooking conditions. Make sure you wear a thimble while chopping vegetables and disposable gloves while doing the dishes and cleaning the sink and countertop.
Aprons will protect your dress from unwanted stains and marks. Aprons do not have to be dull and boring. Go for flowery patterns, neon colours and psychedelic prints. You can even make one from old clothes. Bring a burst of colour into the kitchen and it will perk up things. Keep a hand wash and hand towel handy to keep your hands clean and germ-free.
