9 Simple Kitchen Tips For Cleaning & Organization

1. Soften butter fast

Do you ever get butter out of the fridge and realize you need it to be soft? Nobody has time to wait around for it to get soft on the counter.

Try grabbing a cup, filling it with water, and microwaving the cup, so the water gets really hot. Next, dump out the water and place the cup directly over the butter. It will soften up your butter in a minute or two. 

Check out how easily the knife spreads through it.

2. DIY ice pack

Do you ever need an ice pack? You don’t want to use frozen veggies and you don’t want that clunky ice pack that leaks so much water when it defrosts. Take out a sponge, saturate it in water, put it in a baggie, and freeze it. 

Now you’ve got yourself an ice pack that’s not going to drip. Kids love this kitchen hack, because you can use a fun-colored sponge too.

3. Sharpen knives without a sharpener

This kitchen tip keeps your knives sharp. Who has trouble with dull knives in the kitchen? It’s the worst, right? Well, I’ve got a kitchen hack for you.

Take a ceramic bowl or mug, flip it over, and use the bottom of it to sharpen your knife. Scrape both sides of the edge of your knife on the bottom of the bowl or cup. Do this at an angle, so it creates a sharp edge.

I can already feel the difference in the sharpness. Once, I sharpened this knife, it literally sliced right through that grape.

Here’s a close-up of the grapes showing the clean cut made by the sharpened knife versus the jagged edge produced by the dull knife. There is a clear difference. This is not a kitchen hack you are going to want to forget. 

4. Store your cereal without spills

Do you ever wonder how to store the last little bit of cereal? Do you wish there was a way to easily fold it, so it doesn’t unravel as soon as you put it back in the cupboard? 

Fold both corners in.

Flip the bag over. Roll it. Then, take those corners and fold them over the bag. 

This creates a great seal, so great that you can tip the bag over with the cereal spilling out.

5. Make your blender clean itself

Who else has been guilty of not cleaning the blender after using it? Now the food or drink is hard and stuck to the sides. You just earned yourself a lot of hand cramming to get the blender clean…until now. 

Take that messy blender, pour some dish soap and water inside, and clean it the same way you made it messy. Then, rinse out the remaining soap by hand.

This is literally such a simple kitchen tip. It gets the blender really clean, really quickly. If the food is really stuck, using warm or hot water works better. 

Look how clean it is.

6. Get the perfect, icy cold, refreshing drink

Have you ever wondered how to get the perfect, icy-cold water? If you freeze it, it’s too cold, and you can’t drink it until it melts. If you put it in the fridge, it might not be cold enough, and it will warm up to room temperature pretty quickly. Well, I have the trick for you.

Take a water bottle, fill it about halfway with water, and freeze it on its side.

When you pull it out of the freezer, the water will all be frozen on one side. The lid might even be a little frozen shut, but running it underwater will help it pop open. Fill it the rest of the way with cold water and you have the perfect, icy-cold water bottle. 

7. Reheat pasta without it drying out

If you need to reheat pasta and you are worried about it drying out, the best way to reheat it is to put a wet napkin over the top of the bowl to create steam while heating it. 

8. Multitask your microwave

If you ever find yourself running one microwave cycle after another, try this simple kitchen tip. Place a cup under one of your plates, to create more space in the microwave. Now, you can get more done, in less time.

9. Make your microwave clean itself

Does your microwave seem to get messy so quickly? Before you have the chance to clean it, food is caked on? Well, save yourself some time with this kitchen hack. Have your microwave steam clean itself. 

If you notice, there’s a trend here. I like to have my household items clean themselves when they can, like my microwave, my blender, my coffee pot. It’s really satisfying. 

In order to put your microwave to work, you're going to boil a cup of water in the microwave. Add vinegar to the cup if there’s a lot of stuck-on food. It will help to loosen the food and will provide a natural disinfectant. 

Then, take a warm, soapy dish towel and wipe up all the mess with ease. I usually start on the outside and work my way in. While I clean the inside, I take out the microwave plate and let it soak in warm water. 

After using warm, soapy water, I use a microfiber cloth and wipe it down, so I can enjoy that brand-new-looking shine. This takes the headache out of cleaning my microwave every time.

Kitchen tips and tricks

These kitchen tips and tricks can save you so much time. How do you keep your kitchen clean? Drop a comment and let us know.