Kitchen: Shine 清掃
Clean, and use cleaning to inspect.
Build a cleaning rhythm for your kitchen — daily tasks take under 5 minutes when Sort and Set in Order are in place.
Shine tasks for the Kitchen
- Daily: Wipe counters after cooking
- Daily: Load dishwasher and run if full
- Daily: Clear and wipe the sink
- Daily: Return misplaced items to their zone
- Weekly: Clean hob and oven exterior
- Weekly: Wipe cabinet fronts
- Weekly: Check fridge for items near expiry
- Weekly: Empty and sanitise bin
- Monthly: Deep clean oven interior
- Monthly: Check pantry for expiry dates
- Monthly: Clean inside fridge
- Monthly: Descale kettle
What is the Shine phase?
Shine (清掃, Seiso) is daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning — but in 5S it means more than cleaning. Cleaning is inspection: you notice when something is running low, when something is broken, when a zone is drifting. A well-maintained space gives constant feedback about whether the system is working.
Common questions about the Kitchen
How do I keep my kitchen counter clear?
Apply the weekly-use rule: only items used at least four times a week earn counter space. Everything else lives in a cabinet. A coffee maker stays. A stand mixer goes in a lower cabinet. A bread maker that has been used twice this year leaves.
How do I organise kitchen cabinets?
Group by workflow, not by category. Items used together live together: cutting board next to the chef's knife, pots next to the hob, mugs next to the kettle. Store at the point of use and by frequency — daily items at eye level, monthly items up high or at the back.
How often should I declutter my pantry?
A quick expiry check monthly (5 minutes) and a full pantry-out sort quarterly. Most pantries contain 20–30% expired or abandoned items that built up without a regular purge cycle.
What is the best way to organise a small kitchen?
Ruthless Sort first — small kitchens cannot afford anything unnecessary. Then vertical storage: wall-mounted knife strips, hooks for pans, a shelf above the counter. The constraint of a small kitchen forces the clarity that larger kitchens let you avoid.
Common Kitchen mistakes
✗ Mistake
Too many gadgets on the counter
✓ Fix
Apply the weekly-use rule: if it hasn't been used this week, it doesn't live on the counter
✗ Mistake
Deep cabinets with no organisation
✓ Fix
Turntables, pull-out drawers, and stacking shelves make deep cabinets fully usable