14 Easy Habits to Keep Your Indian Kitchen and Home Always Clean
Keeping an Indian home consistently clean is not about long weekend cleaning sessions — it is about building small habits that handle the spots most people forget. The video walks through the hidden corners and ignored surfaces in a typical Indian home, and shows how a few minutes a day can replace a full festival-cleaning marathon.
Why does my home still feel dusty even after daily cleaning?
Daily dusting and mopping cover the visible surfaces — tabletops, floors, kitchen counters. But dust accumulates fastest in places you never look at: the underside of the dining table, the top of curtain rods, the area under the mattress, and the top of the microwave. Because windows stay open most of the day in Indian homes, these flat hidden surfaces collect a thick layer of dust that is invisible from a normal standing position. The home only feels fully clean when these forgotten zones are touched too.
Which hidden spots collect the most dirt in an Indian home?
Four zones almost always go uncleaned in normal routines:
- Under the dining table — crumbs, sticky residue, and cobwebs build up on the underside of the table itself, not just the floor below.
- Curtain rods — a thick layer of dust settles on top because windows stay open and you never see it from below.
- Under the mattress — pencils, erasers, rubber bands, and paper pieces collect here, especially on children’s beds.
- Top of the microwave or oven — used as extra storage, this surface gets greasy and dusty very fast.
None of these need daily attention. Each only needs a quick wipe once a week or whenever you have a few free minutes.
How can I build cleaning into my daily routine without extra time?
The key habit is to use the time you are already spending in a room. You cannot leave boiling milk unattended, and you cannot set an alarm and walk away while cooking. That standing-around time is the cleaning time.
Here is a simple daily plan:
- While milk is boiling or sabzi is simmering, wipe two or three counter-top dabbas with a damp cloth.
- When you change the bedsheet, lift the mattress and quickly dust or vacuum underneath.
- Each morning, sweep and mop under the bed if it is open from below — this prevents the pile-up that takes real effort to remove later.
- Once a week during your normal dusting round, run a cloth along the curtain rods.
- Whenever you walk through the dining area with a free minute, wipe the underside of the table.
- Use the washing machine’s built-in drum-clean cycle on a regular schedule.
None of these tasks need a separate “cleaning day”. They slot into time you are already standing in that room.
How do I stop dust from coming in from the balcony?
Most people keep a doormat at the main door but forget the balcony. Every time you step out to the balcony — to water plants, hang clothes, or check the weather — your slippers pick up dust that you then walk back into the house.
Place two mats at the balcony door: one on the balcony side, one on the inside. Wipe your slippers on both whenever you come back in. This single habit dramatically reduces how often the indoor floor gets dirty.
What is the easiest way to remove shoe odour at home?
Roll up old newspaper and stuff it inside the shoes. Within a few hours, the newspaper soaks up the moisture and smell. This is especially useful for walking shoes and sports shoes in two situations: hot summer days when feet sweat heavily, and the rainy season when shoes never dry fully between uses. No deodorant sprays or expensive inserts required — just newspaper you already have at home.
How do I keep my small kitchen counter from looking cluttered?
In a small Indian kitchen, counter space is limited and many jars and bottles end up sitting out. The problem: open bottles collect dust quickly and have to be re-washed before use.
The fix is to separate daily-use items from occasional-use items:
- Items you use every day (your everyday masala jars, oil, salt) stay on the counter and get wiped during cooking time.
- Items you rarely use go inside one larger covered container, stored together.
This keeps the rarely-used bottles clean inside the bigger container, removes visual clutter from the counter, and saves you the time of re-washing dusty bottles before each use.
Why should I clean the top of my microwave regularly?
The top of a microwave or oven is almost always used as extra shelf space in an Indian kitchen. Because the items sit out openly and the surface is near cooking steam and oil splatter, it gets dirty very fast. A quick wipe every few days prevents the sticky-greasy build-up that otherwise needs scrubbing later.
Do I need to clean my washing machine?
Yes. Even though the machine washes clothes, the drum itself collects detergent residue, lint, and hard-water deposits over time. Almost every modern washing machine has a drum-clean cycle built in — use it on a regular schedule. It runs on its own and takes none of your active time, but it keeps your laundry genuinely hygienic.
📺 About this video. This post draws on Jasmine Choudhari’s YouTube video 14 बेहतरीन Tips से रहेगा आपका किचन/ घर हमेशा साफ़ चमचमाता. Watch the full video for visual demonstrations of every tip.
The pattern across all of these tips is the same: small, frequent attention to hidden zones replaces big, exhausting cleaning sessions. None of this needs to wait for Diwali or a festival — built into a normal week, your home stays clean year-round.
Watch the video
Frequently asked questions
How do I keep my Indian home clean without spending hours every weekend?
Build small cleaning tasks into your daily and weekly routine instead of saving everything for festival cleaning. If you wipe a few containers while milk boils, sweep under the bed each morning, and check curtain rods once a week, you never face a huge cleaning day. The trick is consistency in small efforts, not occasional deep-cleaning marathons.
Why should I clean under my dining table even if the floor looks fine?
The underside of the dining table collects food crumbs, sticky residue and cobwebs that you cannot see from above. Daily dusting of the tabletop and mopping the floor never reach this hidden area. Whenever you have a few free minutes, wipe under the table — you will be shocked at the dirt the first time, and it stays clean easily after that.
How often should I clean my washing machine drum?
Clean the washing machine drum regularly using the built-in drum-clean cycle that almost every modern machine has. Clothes come out clean, but the drum itself collects residue from detergent, lint and hard water. Running the drum-clean option takes very little of your time and keeps your laundry actually hygienic.
What is the easiest way to remove smell from shoes at home?
Roll up old newspaper and stuff it inside smelly shoes for a few hours. The newspaper absorbs moisture and odour, which is especially useful in summer and during the rainy season when sports shoes and walking shoes do not dry fully. No sprays or special products needed.
Should I clean under the mattress when I change the bedsheet?
Yes, lift the mattress whenever you change the sheet and quickly dust or vacuum the surface underneath. This is where pencils, erasers, rubber bands and paper bits collect, especially on children's beds. It takes only a minute if done every sheet change, but builds up into a big job if ignored.
How do I keep kitchen containers clean when my counter is full of jars?
Wipe a few containers each day while you are already standing in the kitchen — for example, while milk is boiling or food is cooking on the gas. You cannot leave boiling milk unattended anyway, so use that time to clean two or three jars. Over a week, every container on your counter gets wiped without any extra effort.
Can I stop dust from settling on bottles I rarely use?
Store rarely-used bottles inside a larger covered container instead of leaving them open on the counter. Open bottles collect dust quickly and need to be washed again before use. Grouping them inside one big container keeps them clean, reduces counter clutter, and saves you the repeated washing.
Why do I need a door mat on the balcony side as well?
A lot of dust enters the house from the balcony through your slippers, not just the main door. Place one mat outside the balcony door and one inside, and wipe your slippers on both whenever you come back in. This single habit cuts down how often your indoor floor gets dirty.
About Jasmine Choudhari
Jasmine Choudhari shares practical, no-frills ideas for organising small Indian kitchens and homes. Follow her on YouTube (600K+ subscribers · Silver Play Button), Instagram and Facebook. For collaborations: collab@jasminechoudhari.com.