Ways to Keep Your Kitchen Clean AS You Cook
After a really long day of work, taking care of kids, or whatever it is you keep yourself busy with all day, the last thing you want to do is spend an extra hour in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. I really enjoy cooking, but I think I am like many people that occasionally avoid cooking altogether because I don’t want to deal with the mess afterward.
Today I wanted to share some tips on how to keep a handle on cleaning up the kitchen as you go so you don’t have an overwhelming mess to clean after you are done making dinner.
Start With An Empty Dishwasher.
Making sure the dishwasher is empty and is ready for you to load dishes as you go is one of the best ways to keep a handle on things and have less crusty dishes to scrub after your meal.
Keep a Sink or Big Bowl Full of Soapy Water Handy.
You save yourself a ton of time and water from having to soak a crusty pot when you start with some hot soapy water to either wash the dishes and put them away as you go, or just let them soak while you are cooking. You can let those degreasers in the dish soap do the work for you while you are busy elsewhere.
Use a Garbage Bowl.
A lot of people (chefs included) swear by keeping a good-sized bowl nearby to keep all your garbage like plastic packaging, carrot tops and other scraps, etc. It saves you a bunch of trips to the garbage can instead of carrying and often dripping things on the floor as you go.
Clean Up Your Spills As You Go.
Keep a soapy dish rag handy, or even keep a dish towel over your shoulder so you can clean up those sticky messes as they come. This is much easier to do when it is fresh and avoids anything staining your countertop as well.
Use A Splatter Screen.
I made Chinese food recently and started with a spotless kitchen, but learned the hard way that I really need to purchase a splatter screen because little oil droplets were ALL over the floor, stove, surrounding countertops, even the microwave above the oven. As great as our wontons were, I had a really big mess to clean up after and wasn’t too thrilled about it. Apparently you can even look for a splatter screen at the dollar store.
Spray Cooking Oils over the Sink or Dishwasher. Another way to not get oil all over the place is to spray your sheet pans and casserole dishes with cooking spray over the sink, or even better--the dishwasher. The dishwasher will wash out any residual oil during the next load rather than that overspray of oil getting all over your countertop.
Start With a Clean Sink and Kitchen Countertops.
If you are already overwhelmed by cluttered countertops and a full sink, that feeling will only exponentially grow as you dirty more dishes by making dinner. It’s not very funny when you have a pot of noodles to drain, but nowhere to put a colander. Try to take a few minutes to clean up the kitchen a bit before you start--or put your kiddos and/or spouse to work to help you.
Keep a Little Bowl Out for Measuring Spoons While Cooking.
One cool idea I read to do as you are cooking so you don’t lose track of your measuring spoons while cooking or baking is to have a designated little bowl to corral all of the measuring spoons, spatulas and ladles you use while preparing a dish. This makes you more efficient and gives you less dirty dishes to clean up at the end.
Work During the Cooking Time.
As much as you want to relax during the 30 minutes your casserole is in the oven, push yourself to load those dishes that have been soaking and try to clean up anything you can so there are no dishes to do after dinner besides dinner plates and serving dishes and utensils.
Listen to Good Music, Book, or Podcast As You Are Cooking and Cleaning. This might sound silly and this is more for motivation rather than actual cleaning, but listening to my favorite podcast or jamming out to my favorite songs in my headphones does wonders to give me energy and be more excited about cooking and the cleanup after. I often save my favorite podcast episode I have been looking forward to all day for dinnertime to give me a boost to cook and cleanup.
Do you have any tips you’d add to the list to make cleanup after dinner easier or more manageable? Please share your tips in the comments below.
Today I wanted to share some tips on how to keep a handle on cleaning up the kitchen as you go so you don’t have an overwhelming mess to clean after you are done making dinner.
Start With An Empty Dishwasher.
Making sure the dishwasher is empty and is ready for you to load dishes as you go is one of the best ways to keep a handle on things and have less crusty dishes to scrub after your meal.
Keep a Sink or Big Bowl Full of Soapy Water Handy.
You save yourself a ton of time and water from having to soak a crusty pot when you start with some hot soapy water to either wash the dishes and put them away as you go, or just let them soak while you are cooking. You can let those degreasers in the dish soap do the work for you while you are busy elsewhere.
Use a Garbage Bowl.
A lot of people (chefs included) swear by keeping a good-sized bowl nearby to keep all your garbage like plastic packaging, carrot tops and other scraps, etc. It saves you a bunch of trips to the garbage can instead of carrying and often dripping things on the floor as you go.
Clean Up Your Spills As You Go.
Keep a soapy dish rag handy, or even keep a dish towel over your shoulder so you can clean up those sticky messes as they come. This is much easier to do when it is fresh and avoids anything staining your countertop as well.
Use A Splatter Screen.
I made Chinese food recently and started with a spotless kitchen, but learned the hard way that I really need to purchase a splatter screen because little oil droplets were ALL over the floor, stove, surrounding countertops, even the microwave above the oven. As great as our wontons were, I had a really big mess to clean up after and wasn’t too thrilled about it. Apparently you can even look for a splatter screen at the dollar store.
Spray Cooking Oils over the Sink or Dishwasher. Another way to not get oil all over the place is to spray your sheet pans and casserole dishes with cooking spray over the sink, or even better--the dishwasher. The dishwasher will wash out any residual oil during the next load rather than that overspray of oil getting all over your countertop.
Start With a Clean Sink and Kitchen Countertops.
If you are already overwhelmed by cluttered countertops and a full sink, that feeling will only exponentially grow as you dirty more dishes by making dinner. It’s not very funny when you have a pot of noodles to drain, but nowhere to put a colander. Try to take a few minutes to clean up the kitchen a bit before you start--or put your kiddos and/or spouse to work to help you.
Keep a Little Bowl Out for Measuring Spoons While Cooking.
One cool idea I read to do as you are cooking so you don’t lose track of your measuring spoons while cooking or baking is to have a designated little bowl to corral all of the measuring spoons, spatulas and ladles you use while preparing a dish. This makes you more efficient and gives you less dirty dishes to clean up at the end.
Work During the Cooking Time.
As much as you want to relax during the 30 minutes your casserole is in the oven, push yourself to load those dishes that have been soaking and try to clean up anything you can so there are no dishes to do after dinner besides dinner plates and serving dishes and utensils.
Listen to Good Music, Book, or Podcast As You Are Cooking and Cleaning. This might sound silly and this is more for motivation rather than actual cleaning, but listening to my favorite podcast or jamming out to my favorite songs in my headphones does wonders to give me energy and be more excited about cooking and the cleanup after. I often save my favorite podcast episode I have been looking forward to all day for dinnertime to give me a boost to cook and cleanup.
Do you have any tips you’d add to the list to make cleanup after dinner easier or more manageable? Please share your tips in the comments below.
Sources:
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- www.commons.wikimedia.org
- www.pixabay.com
- www.eater.com
- www.cleanmyspace.com
- www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com
Mary Richardson
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
Email the author! mary@dvo.com
