7 Tips For Cleaning Your Kitchen As You Go
Does this sound like you? You’ve just got dinner started and now it’s on to dessert. There’s about a square foot of counter space left to even begin and so it’s full steam ahead. Then you sit down to dinner and when done you think wow that was nice only to take the dishes to the kitchen where it now looks like someone has removed each and every dish from your cupboards and put them on the counter, on the stove or in the sink…UGH!
I used to cook this way and always dreaded returning to the kitchen to clean it after our meal was done. Adopting the “clean as you go” approach to cooking has been fabulous. Here are some tips to keep in mind tonight as you cook your family’s meal.
Clean as you go
1. A bowl for waste. This is my favorite clean as you go tip. Set a large empty bowl on the counter near your prep area and use it for all garbage. As you peel potatoes or carrots put the peels right in the bowl. As you chop onions or celery put the end bits in the bowl. Paper towel, plastic produce bags–all in the bowl. If you compost consider 2 bowls one for regular waste and another for organic waste. When you’re done take the bowl to the bin or compost pile and voila!
2. Warm soapy water. Fill your sink with warm soapy water. As you finish using something, a knife or measuring spoon for example, wash it immediately. Leave it on a drip tray to dry or on a clean tea towel. This way if you need another knife you don’t need to reach in the drawer and dirty another one, it’s already out and ready to go.
3. Dishwasher. If you have the luxury of a dishwasher, start your cooking expedition by making sure it’s clear of clean dishes. If you don’t have little ones about, leave the door down during prep and as you’re done with an item pop it directly in the dishwasher. As soon as it’s full and can’t take any more start it up. Done.
4. Wipe down. Use a damp soapy cloth to wipe down your work area periodically. Wipe up spills, crumbs and other bits and pieces so you stay on top of it. This is particularly important after you’ve been working with meat. Prevent contamination and possible food poisoning by cleaning the counter, cutting boards and utensils well after handling meat.
5. Shine your sink. This is a great habit to get into. If you are at all familiar with Flylady you’ll know that this is the first household chore you will do and the one you will return to daily! Cleaning as you go in the kitchen helps you get to shining your sink without dreading it or thinking…”Oh I’ll just do it tomorrow”. Don’t procrastinate on this one, do it! When I wake up in the morning if I have a shiny sparkling sink I feel great!
6. Sweep. As food bounces, rolls or squirts onto the floor pick it up immediately–don’t think “oh I’ll get that later”. Inevitably you end up stepping on it, squashing it into the floor and your sock. Pick it up as soon as you notice it and wipe up any spills immediately so they don’t have time to dry and become really difficult to clean up.
7. Purge the fridge. As you’re cooking and you reach into the fridge have a quick look around for anything you know has been in there a while or you think might be past due. Take action throw it out. Also have a quick look for crumbs or spills and do a bit of a spot clean. If you do this everytime you open your fridge when it comes to doing a thorough clean next month it’ll go a lot quicker!
So next time you’re in the kitchen prepping a meal and you’re waiting for the water to boil do something that gets you a little closer to the clean kitchen state you started with. I’m a sucker for new ideas on cleaning as you go in the kitchen so if you have any other tips please share! Happy cooking!
See also:
Quick Clean Your Home In Under 20 Minutes
Spring Cleaning Food: Use Up The Old, Make Way For The Fresh
A Simple and Effective Meal Plan In 3 Easy Steps
7 Money Saving Ideas From The Kitchen
Photo courtesy of: chotda
13 Responses to “7 Tips For Cleaning Your Kitchen As You Go”
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Great tips.
This idea of cleaning as you go could be applied to other areas of the house. In our house we tend to tidy the bedroom each and every morning as soon as we get up. Likewise for the lounge before going to bed. That way we don’t have any of those shock moments when we get home from work or get up in the morning.
Garry – thisimprovedlife’s last blog post..Slowly Decreasing Debt
Great tips, Sherri! Thank you for sharing them.
The best advice for this that I ever got came from my brother, who is definitely NOT the cleaning type. However, because he hates cleaning, he became very proficient at it, so he could get it over with quickly. His best piece of advice is something you touched on here: Clean up spills as they happen. Liquids can usually be wiped up in a matter of seconds, but if they dry, you have to scrub them and do 3x the amount of work.
I mention this not because it’s unusual or groundbreaking in any way, but rather because of the vaguely pornographic way he phrased it:
“Get it while it’s wet!”
Jay Schryer’s last blog post..The First Swim of Summer
Excellent, Sherri.
I’m battling the habit of leaving dishes in the sink for later. I love the idea of filling the sink with water beforehand so that the dishes are technically already started by the time I’m done making a mess. A clean kitchen really clears the psyche too.
Clean-as-you-go is the way to do it, I think. I love waking up to a clean house.
David Cain’s last blog post..Get Up, Stand Up
These are great tips. I do many of them myself. One thing I do differently though is number one. Instead of using a bowl for waste, I just use one of my produce bags or a plastic grocery bag to put the garbage in. It actually works really well. This way all I have to do is chunk the bag – one less bowl to wash.
Amanda @ Mommy’s Idea Book’s last blog post..Tips for Family Vacation Planning, Part 2: Budgeting
I spent so long being OCD back in college that now I’m really averse to the idea of spending any dedicated time on cleaning. So, for me, the clean-as-you-go approach to the kitchen (and the whole house) is a way of life. It really is a major time-saver.
Lisis | Quest For Balance’s last blog post..Homeschooling and Other Big Decisions
Clean-as-you-go is definitely the best way to do it. When I wake up and have dirty dishes in the sink, I cringe. My rebellion against the dishes gets me nowhere!
Some really great tips here. I do some of them already, but I particularly like the idea of washing up as you go, and also purging the fridge – there’s nothing worse than reaching in there only to find a piece of mouldy cheese..yuk!
Thanks for sharing.
@ Gary – Absolutely! It can be applied to every part of your house you’re right! Even a 5 minute reset at the end of a day can make waking up in the morning a little stressful.
@ Jay – You’re welcome. Thanks for sharing your brothers cleaning mantra it made me chuckle!
@ David – You’re right filling the sink before you start gets rid of that little bit of friction and helps you to get started and just do it. Shining your sink every night might sound a bit odd but it really is a great place to start!
@ Amanda – That’s a great way to use/dispose of produce bags AND it saves cleaning a bowl I love it!
@ Lisis – That’s great I’m glad you do it too and it works really well for you!
@ Mary – “My rebellion against the dishes gets me nowhere!” That’s funny! I cringe as well if I see dishes on the counters or in the sink in the morning nothing beats tidying up right away and waking to a clean home.
@ Melanie – Welcome! I’m right there with you with the moldy cheese! Purging the fridge as I go is something I just started doing. It works really well and is a huge time saver when it comes to doing a thorough clean! Thanks for leaving a comment!
that bowl for waste should not go into the trash, but into the compost.