Tips to keep the kitchen tidy and organized

I love to have company, but then before they arrive I’m always running around, tidying up. It is exhausting specially if the company is over in the morning and I don’t have my husband’s help.

Couple of weeks ago in the middle of my running around, I decided , Ok I can’t almost do anything about the kids and their toys, but I can eliminate my work by keeping my kitchen ship shape all the time. I asked my friend who was over that how she does it. (Her house is always impeccable)

Here is what she said:

“I don’t bring out too many dishes, the ones I bring out in the morning I use through the day. Each time I wash them quickly and use them again.”

Although I thought this should be time consuming and I would spend all my day in the kitchen washing dishes I decided to keep this in mind and create a step by step plan to tackle this challenge and keep my kitchen clean and tidy all day long all the time.

Here is the list of things I did that helped me:

• Bring out as many dishes as you need just for breakfast
• After each meal time quickly put things away, wash the dishes and wipe the counter
• At each mealtime use the dishes already washed and in the dish rack or put them in place and then bring another set out.
• At cooking time, quickly wash the pots and pans while waiting for something to cook or boil or…
• Every night before bed put all the dishes in the dish rack away and quickly organize the counter tops

These all, seem like very simple steps, that I guess many apply in their daily life.  Well I didn’t; my work and kids were number one priority, I would just leave the kitchen as is and do other stuff until later that I had time for it. The kids still have number one priority but the kitchen is number one too. So while the kids are having a quite time after the meal or when they are doing drawing at the kitchen table I do my kitchen chores.

After trying this method, I figured that my biggest problem was dishwasher. I would bring out dishes for every meal and then load them in the dishwasher. Because I am energy conscious, I didn’t turn it on until it was full, that called for more dishes to take out. Emptying the dishwasher was another time consuming task that is out of the way. I still use dishwasher when I have a company or failed to follow my new technique thoroughly. Then I put the dishes, pots, and pans and whatever I have to wash in the dishwasher and turn in on at a quick or low energy cycle, but I wash them that day to have clean start the next day.

So far so good, it may look like I’m always in the kitchen and cleaning but in reality I’m spending less time in the kitchen and more with my family and on my work.

If you have any tips and like to complete this list please fill free to leave a comment.

Until later,

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