How To Clean Your Kitchen In Just 15 Minutes

15 minute timer on a phone and a before and after image of a messy kitchen

There are few things I find as disheartening as seeing my kitchen in state of serious disarray. And even though I know the mess is only going to get worse the longer I put off cleaning it up, I don’t usually have a lot of time to spend on any one particular task!

Lucky for me (and you!), it only takes about 15 minutes to speed clean a messy kitchen. I’ll show you how to do exactly that in this post, in a kitchen cleaning routine I’ve broken down into 7 quick and easy steps.

The next time your kitchen is in a state, you’ll know exactly how to whip it back into shape fast!

before and after images of a messy kitchen

How To Clean Your Kitchen Fast: A Step-By Step Guide

You’ll need:

Sink stopper
Dish soap
Basket or other container
Sponge or scrub brush
All-purpose cleaner
Microfiber cloth or dish towel
Broom or vacuum

Step 1 – Put Dishes In Soapy Water To Soak

Put a sink stopper in the drain and fill your sink with hot, soapy water. (If you have a double sink with a garbage disposal on one side, fill the side without the disposal.)

Determine which dishes around the kitchen are going to give you or your dishwasher the most trouble and put those in the soapy water to soak. If you have large dishes like pans and bowls that need to soak but won’t fit in the sink, fill those with hot, soapy water as well and set them near the sink to soak.

Step 2 – Gather Trash And Discard It

While the dishes are soaking, do a lap around your kitchen to gather trash. Don’t worry about clutter at this point—just pick up anything that qualifies as garbage from the floor, countertops, and cabinets and throw it away.

Step 3 – Collect Misplaced Items In A Basket

Next, grab a basket (or a plastic bin, empty box, or whatever container you have handy) and do another lap of your kitchen. This time, gather up anything that doesn’t belong in the kitchen and place it in the basket.

Then either set the basket aside for the time being, or recruit a helper to return the items to their rightful places.

Step 4 – Put Away Kitchen Items

After addressing everything that doesn’t belong in the kitchen, you can deal with the things that do belong there! Take anything that isn’t in its rightful place and return it to wherever it goes, which may include putting clean dishes back in the appropriate cabinet or drawer.

(Do your best to stay focused on simply putting stuff away, and not on organizing cupboards or rethinking your storage. Those are tasks for another time!)

Step 5 – Load The Dishwasher

Next, get the dirty dishes off the countertop and load them into your dishwasher, including the ones that have been soaking in the sink. If you have dishes that don’t fit in your dishwasher, wash and dry those by hand. Then once the sink is empty, drain the dirty water.

(If you don’t have a dishwasher, tackling dirty dishes is probably going to take a bit more time. If possible, recruit a helper or two so you can focus on washing and rinsing while they handle the drying and putting away.)

Step 6 – Wipe Down Your Sink, Countertops, And Appliances

Use your preferred all-purpose cleaning spray and a microfiber cloth or dish towel to quickly clean kitchen countertops and appliances. (Focus on visible messes, and don’t get sidetracked by things like wiping out the microwave or getting crumbs out of the toaster!)

Wipe out the sink as well, then rinse out your cleaning cloths. If needed, put them with your dirty laundry so you can wash them later.

Step 7 – Clean The Floor And Finish Up

Finally, grab your broom or vacuum and use it to get crumbs, dust, and debris up off the floor. If the trash is full, take it out and line your trash can with a clean bag. Done!

Remember The Speed In Speed Clean!

This might sound like a lot to tackle in just 15 minutes, but give it a try! I think you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish if you focus on completing each step quickly rather than perfectly.

So the next time your kitchen looks like a bomb went off in there, set the timer on your phone for 15 minutes and follow these steps to clean your kitchen fast. It will look so much better when you’re done, and you’ll feel better too!

You might also enjoy this post: How To Clean Grimy Kitchen Cabinets With 2 Ingredients

What’s your best tip or trick to clean your kitchen fast?