Cooking: Ways to a cleaner kitchen

There are a few  ways to keep your kitchen clean and organized.  I'm going to list some of them for you here.

1. Color coded sponges- I use two different-color sponges in my kitchen.  I use yellow sponges for my dishes and other items related to food.  I use blue sponges for cleaning, especially stove tops and the floor around the fridge and any other nasty areas that might be a bit more grungy. This ensures that you do not get cleaning chemicals on to anything that touches food.
2. Cheap paper plates - I use the cheap paper plates that are very thin as disposable cutting board liners.  This ensures that you do not cross-contaminate food because you have a clean surface under each food item that you cut.  You cannot leave some of the wetter items on the plates, like tomatoes, but it's worth the peace of mind that comes from a germ-free surface.
3. Proper use of the garbage disposal - the name is misleading.  The garbage disposal was mainly invented to clear your drain of the bits of food and crud that comes off your dishes after normal washing.  You are NOT meant to peel a ten-pound sack of potatoes and try and stuff all the peelings down there.  Use a compost pile or a wood chipper for that.
4. Smaller garbage can - If you are living in an apartment building or other area prone to infestation problems, it's wise to use a very small kitchen garbage can and empty it frequently.  A large can is just a bug-buffet... starve the little bastards out.
5. Shelf-lining - My apartment has cheap, particle-board shelves in all the kitchen cabinets.  I bought two yards of oilskin (that rubbery plastic some diners use for tablecloths) for about four dollars and cut pieces to fit all my shelves.  The rubbery underside keeps it from slipping around, and the top is easily cleaned by a damp (blue) sponge.  And buying oilskin by the yard is cheaper than that shelf liner they charge an arm and a leg for at Walmart.