Kitchen cleaning is probably not top of mind when you start planning your new kitchen design, but maybe it should be. Once your gorgeous new kitchen is in place, it will be in use—and that means keeping it clean will be a priority. Imagine that first day in your new kitchen with everything sparkly and spotless. The only way to keep it that way is to keep up with cleaning!

Yet kitchen cleaning is a chore many of us dread. It seems you can’t do anything in the kitchen without causing some kind of mess, even if it’s just a dirty glass after a drink of water.

But hang on: If you plan your new kitchen to minimize cleanup, it will be easier from the very first day your new kitchen is ready for you! The preparation in the design phase can lighten the load. To help you get started, try this advice:

• Keep your kitchen clutter-free: When you’re designing your new kitchen and shopping for semi custom cabinets, think about ways to avoid clutter. Look around your current kitchen: What items take up space on the countertop or island? How can you design your new kitchen storage so these items can be put away? When you have well thought out kitchen cabinets and storage, it’s much easier to keep your countertops free of clutter. And when you clear away clutter, you have more workspace plus it’s just easier to wipe down the countertops after meal preparation. The result? Easier kitchen cleaning!
• Have a place for everything and everything in its place: Like thinking “clutter-free” in the design stage, seriously thinking through kitchen storage is also critical as you’re looking at cabinets. Get specific. Today’s built-in storage options can meet just about any need. When you’re thinking about a place for everything, we really do mean everything. This includes mail, keys, purses and other things that tend to get dropped wherever when someone walks through the door, as well as charging stations for phones and other non-kitchen items that seem to end up in the kitchen. Also plan for storing cleaning items close at hand, because you’ll be more likely to wipe down a counter or stovetop when it’s convenient to do so.
• Choose high quality kitchen cabinets: High quality kitchen cabinets will stand the test of time, faring well despite the daily use of your kitchen. Kitchens get a lot of wear and tear and poorly built cabinets can quickly look worn—and never clean.

If you’re planning for a new kitchen, congratulations! It is one of the most important rooms in a house, and you and your family will enjoy it more when it’s designed to meet your specific needs. And when one of those needs is to cut down on kitchen cleaning, that’s possible too!