Light a candle One of the most comforting and relaxing things I can do in the kitchen is light a candle or plug my small crockpot in with scented wax in it. If I am home all day, I love to keep something burning all day to keep the kitchen area smelling nice and inviting. It also makes it seem more cozy.
Keep the sink empty There is nothing worse than walking into a messy kitchen, especially if you are about to spend some time in the kitchen cooking. Be sure to keep the sink empty and clean. When you walk in, you will be greeted with a clean kitchen and you will feel welcomed because you won't have to clean before you can even get started.
I like to keep a sinkfull of hot, soapy water while I am cooking so I can toss things in as I cook. Then if I need to reuse something I can easily wipe it off and re-use it, and it is clean, and then when I am done, I can take the rinsed dishes and put them in the dishwasher. In many cases, the dishwasher fills up before I can get everything in, so I already have soapy water to handwash the remainder of the dishes with so I don't leave my sink full of dirty dishes waiting to be washed. Many times I let my boys come in and finish up the handwashing of the dishes.
Keep a clean stove/oven Our stovetop was in a disgusting state and it took me nearly 2 hours to get it clean, but I did. I used the wire pads with soap in them to scrub it with until all the caked on cooked on grease and crud was gone. It is so much nicer to walk into the kitchen now and use the stove when it looks nice. It's easy to maintain too. You already have a sink full of soapy water (hopefully you used a dishsoap that cuts through grease), so just grab a washcloth and use it to clean the stove after you are done cooking.
