A messy kitchen is a working kitchen and there is nothing as lovely to see as that, or as daunting.
But we must have a clean, sanitary kitchen free of bacteria and healthy. Once a month I like to do a
deep cleaning; taking apart the stove and cleaning the oven, going through the refrigerator.

A place for everything, and everything in its place. The key to an efficiently run kitchen is how you organize yours. To have your utensils a short reach from the stove, is an obvious one. Have your spices and oils grouped together on small trays or a lazy Susan. Use crocks and oversized jars for utensils. It should not cost much to organize. An organized area does not have to be matchy-matchy, but an organized kitchen will speak for itself. Groupings in their working areas. These areas show their respective duties when you see things in their place. Groupings of things can be decorative in a functional way: Hang things that you use often; put a nail in the wall and hang your colander to have at arm’s reach. I love cork boards, I will tack up recipes, lists, pictures, quotes and meal ideas. Another favorite of mine is post-it notes, they are all over my kitchen and my house, I don’t know what I’d do without them.

Arrange your kitchen for accessibility. Keep knives and utensils near the stove; spices and oils
by the stove; glasses by the refrigerator. If you don’t have very much cupboard space, display
your dishes and show your ingredients in bowls or small trays on the counter.

Cleaning is part of keeping your kitchen organized. Cleaning up as you go should be a constant when you’re cooking. Filling the sink with hot soapy water is one of the first things I learned. Put in used utensils and dishes as you work, or load the dishwasher. Doing dishes after the meal is one of those things that make it more enticing to cook the next meal. Cleaning up is part of the life of the meal.
Daily cleaning up after preparing each meal should be part of the circle of creating the meal.
Clean-up is just a given and you should have a system in yours that makes it easy and thorough.
To go back into the kitchen for the next meal and see the remains of the previous meal in the sink or on the stove does not do much to inspire us or make for a healthy appetite.

Showing love and appreciation for the kitchen by keeping it clean is healthy and just a part of
cooking the meals.