Making dinner hour possible doesn't just involve quick and easy ways to get it ON the table, it also involves quick and easy ways to get it OFF the table (getting the table and kitchen cleaned up so you can carry on with the rest of your evening). Most likely, your dinner isn't the last activity of the night begging for your attention, so it's a smart idea to have some habits in place that will make the post-dinner operation smooth sailing.

This said, here are 3 things you can do to make your after-dinner clean-up quick and easy:

1) During meal prep, clean as you cook (not new news, I know, but it's good to be reminded of this efficient habit). Keep the sink full of hot soapy water and wash the "big stuff" along the way. Then after dinner, you'll have less to fiddle with and your dishwasher will be easier to load.

2) Have some criteria for how the table is cleared. For instance, do you want everyone to clear their own places? If you do want all diners to clear their own places, what then? Should they rinse and stack their plates, or rinse and put them in the dishwasher? There are a lot of ways to handle the table-clearing; thinking it through and offering clear instructions is the point.


3) Have some criteria for how the kitchen is to be cleaned. There are a lot of ways to handle the after-dinner kitchen clean-up. Again, thinking it through and making assignments is the point. There are loads of ways to handle it, but whether it's just you, or just you and a partner, you might divide the work this way:

• Diners clearing their own settings
• Rinsing and stacking
• Loading the dishwasher
• Taking care of leftovers; (this is where I would pack a work-lunch for the next day-leftover in refrigerator keepers would go straight into a lunch bag)
• Putting placemats, salt and pepper, butter dish, etc., away; wiping the table
• Wiping the stovetop, counter tops, and fridge door; swabbing out the inside of the microwave
• Sweeping the floor (and quick-mopping, if necessary)

You may have other things to add to the list, or you might combine some of these steps. The idea is to decide what needs doing and assign helpers (if you're lucky enough to have them) to the various chores.

To make the after-dinner clean-up fun, we have an under-cupboard CD player in the kitchen that we listen to while cleaning up. There's a lot of "kitchen dancing" goin' on! By and large, we get the kitchen tidied in short order and generally speaking, everyone comes away from the experience fairly unscathed and truly better for having helped.

So, however you approach it, put an after-dinner routine in place. You'll find the clean-up will be a breeze and you can easily get out of the kitchen and on with the rest of your evening.