A kitchen rarely gets dirty all at once. It gets dirty because small jobs are deferred until they become one large job that nobody wants to start.

This routine takes under ten minutes and, done daily, removes the need for the two-hour version almost entirely.

The order that works

Clear the surfaces first, then wipe from the far side towards the sink so crumbs travel in one direction. Hob, then worktops, then sink, then floor — always in that order, because each one sheds onto the next.

The two-minute rule

Anything that takes under two minutes gets done now, not later: a spill, a single pan, the crumbs under the toaster. It sounds trivial and it is the entire difference between a kitchen that stays clean and one that does not.