Get “SOSD”: It’s the 20-Minute Secret to a Clean Kitchen, Forever

Forgive my hyperbole, but I firmly believe the very best thing you can do for your home is to clear the kitchen each night. It’s the heart of your home—and the place you’ll make your coffee in the morning—so you want to keep that heart healthy and happy. Sometime after dinners have been made (and a few bites of ice cream have been taken straight from the freezer), but before you turn in for the night, take a quick 20 or so minutes to clear your kitchen of its daily mess.

To keep things simple, your nightly kitchen clean only needs to focus on a few big areas, which conveniently spell out a memorable acronym: S.O.S.D., which I like to pronounce like “sauced.” Makes it easy to remember when I pour myself a glass of wine and tidy up after dinner. If only these four spots are tidy before bed, you’ll wake up ready to take on the day without the overwhelm of a messy kitchen.

Clear dinner-related clutter from your countertops—put them into the sink, dishwasher or laundry pile if they’re dirty, or back into cabinets and drawers if they’re pantry items or clean utensils. Then give the surfaces in your kitchen a quick wipe-down.

Clear pots and pans from the range top and give it a good wipe down with a damp cloth or cleaning wipe. Take the time to clear crumbs from the cooktop, too, while you’re at it—if you make it routine, your range will stay spotless forever. Wipe down the oven handle and neatly fold your towels. If you haven’t used the oven or range today and they look pretty good, you can always skip this step.

Now that the crumbs have been wiped off of the counter and cooktop, take a minute to sweep or vacuum the kitchen floor and leave your kitchen barefoot-ready for tomorrow morning.

The very last thing you need to do before turning in for the night is to clear your sink of dishes. If you have a dishwasher, load everything you can into it (and run it for the night, if it’s full). If you don’t have a dishwasher (or you have lots of hand-wash only items), I promise it’ll be worth the time to tackle the mountain of dishes every night before bed.

After you’ve put the pots and pans away, grab yourself a glass of water for the nightstand and marvel at your sparkling clean and SOSD’ up kitchen.