The best hack for a cleaner home is applying rules, not finding loopholes to messes, and reducing waste while cooking. Enforcing good hygiene rules in the kitchen creates a more hygienic environment that poses no risk of making someone sick. Find out more about these different procedures to add to your everyday cleanliness routine.

Always Wash Your Hands

The easiest rule to employ for all house-dwellers is handwashing. Cleaning your hands fights off germs, and touching raw meat is another reason to keep your hands clean so that you don’t contaminate other surfaces with the raw meat’s bacterium.

Store Food Properly

Food needs to be stored properly for dishes to stay fresh, not grow mold, or go bad. Different foods, sauces, and drinks need a proper storage container to maintain their freshness, including raw foods.

For example, if you go to the store and buy eggs from a cooler, they need a proper place to rest before they’re ready to be used. Since you didn’t pick them fresh from a chicken coop, eggs that were in a cooler—but don’t make it to your fridge—go bad.

You also need to consider the type of storage you have. For instance, dry goods should go into cabinets and the pantry, while cold items need a fridge or ice box. Other things like raw meat need to go in the bottom of a refrigerator or freezer to avoid cross-contamination.

You can easily store leftovers with cling wrap, aluminum foil, a container, or a zip bag. Keep these things in mind when saving something for later. Additionally, to control waste, mark dates on the items to know how old the food is before eating.

It’s Better To Clean as You Cook

Try cleaning while you cook to mollify your cleaning process. Not only will you encounter fewer messes to clean up later, but you’ll no longer feel tense. This is a great rule of thumb, especially around special occasions.

Feel less stressed while cleaning up your messes as you prep and cook your meals. While you can’t see bacteria, it’s better to overclean your cooking space instead of leaving a big mess to deal with later.

Always Maintain Your Appliances

Even while cleaning as you go, you need to remember to maintain your appliances as much as your counters and cutting boards. Everything from the range hood to stovetops to the fridge needs cleaning. You can use stainless steel cleaners for range hoods when cleaning out the collected grease from the filters.

Regular cleaning is a general rule you need to enforce in the kitchen. Keep your home life more structured by employing guidelines that prevent illness while cooking, and make eating in your favorite place better.