Facilitator: “Welcome to Cleaning Haters Anonymous.”
Me: My name is Jeff and I totally abhor cleaning.
Crowd: “Hi, Jeff”
Yeah, really funny idea. A support group for people who hate cleaning. Honestly, I’m pretty sure that’s one group I’d join. I hate cleaning everywhere, not only in the kitchen. I love how things look after they’re organized and cleaned. I just don’t like doing the work. Part of it harkens back to my teenage Saturday mornings when Mom would organize our family and we’d spend the morning doing household chores. No breaks. No shirking. No excuses. We cleaned the entire house in a few hours. We did the real thing. Spotless, deep-cleaning everywhere. The entire house got a treatment every week. And frankly it showed. The house was always immaculate…I don’t remember a mess lasting more than a short time.
Apparently my rebellion against that kind of cleaning is in full swing though. There are times when I think we ought to simply rename Hectic Manor to Disaster Manor. If you follow me on social media, you know that on the rare occasions when I get an area really cleaned I must post it on social media. It’s that rare.
Of course, around Hectic Manor it seems that state of clean lasts for a nanosecond. Then we’re back to Disaster Manor. It’s definitely not motivating when things deteriorate that quickly.
As I’ve so often said though, you can certainly use me as an example of what not to do. If you do follow my advice though, you can get spectacular results. In fact, when I follow my own advice it works out great. So I know this stuff works…I just have to gather the wherewithal to actually do it. Read on to find some tips on cleaning your kitchen…and feel free to nag me as to whether I’m following them.
Ditch Your Expectations
One of the biggest things you need to do is to ditch expectations of perfection. We’ve all got our challenges, whether a pack of rambunctious toddlers rampaging through the house, a gaggle of pre-teens needing constant transportation to a zillion events, or a herd of eye-rolling teenagers who would rather die than do any housework. I mean like totally die! Yet if you’re like me, you’ve got a role model in your Mom who kept the house spotless. I’ll admit that there were only two of us kids, so we didn’t have quite the resources that my eight have…but still, that’s more of an excuse than a reason. I know in my heart that if I really applied myself I could keep Hectic Manor pristine. I just choose not to. And as the sage Albus Dumbledore noted, “It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”.
So I need to embrace the choices I’m making and realize I’m not going to be perfect. It’s time to embrace that imperfection but also recognize that I can do better. So can you. Look around and imagine what it would be like if things were better organized. It’s possible, but it’s not going to happen overnight. And the House Elves that live in your cupboards aren’t going to do the work…it falls to you.
Know that it’s going to take a while. The mess and clutter didn’t appear in a single day; it’s going to take as much time to regain a sense of orderliness. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try. A tiny bit of progress every day adds up over time.
I’m going to make thing better around here because I want to, and I’m going to embrace that it’s never going to be perfect. But as Voltaire said, “Perfect is the enemy of good”. It’s time to realize that good is acceptable. Then I’ll work towards making it gooder over time. I may never achieve perfection like Mom did…but we’ll all be better off.
Strategies
There are several ways to attack the clutter and disorganization in your life. I’m going to focus on the kitchen, but these work everywhere in the house. One thing that I’ve learned is that the Hectic Clan doesn’t have huge blocks of time. There is never an entire day we could dedicate to anything, especially cleaning. And if we did encounter a day like that, cleaning would be the last thing on our minds.
Then again, some folks might have big blocks of time. So it really boils down to how to approach the act of cleaning. As I see it, there are three different ways to approach cleaning:
- The Big Clean
- Speed Cleaning
- Rotational Cleaning
In The Big Clean you attack the entire kitchen. Everything needs to be cleaned, so everything is addressed. This is the one that my Mom abided by and bluntly it’s the one that everyone dreads. It’s easy to build up The Big Clean into this horrible, everlasting, dreadful endurance test. It takes time we don’t have, energy we lack, and focus we can’t sustain. It’s a mountain to climb when we’d rather be sitting on the beach. If this method appeals to you, I applaud you. It’s definitely one of the reasons I don’t get things done around Hectic Manor. I get tired just thinking about doing The Big Clean.
Speed Cleaning is more up my alley. It allows for more creativity and flexibility. It’s got speed in the name, so it’s done fast. You stop and start as you need to. Speed clean the counters and run one kid to soccer practice. Return home and wipe down the appliances, then run another kiddo to basketball while picking up the first one. Clean the inside of the microwave and wipe down the oven insides before racing back to pick up the basketball star. The start-and-stop nature of our hectic lives fits this kind of cleaning.
Essentially you start at the top and work your way down. Let gravity move that dust and grit towards the floor instead of fighting it. If you’re doing a speed clean and encounter something that’s already clean (or clean enough), skip it. There’s no rule that says you have to clean everything in every cleaning session. Remember, we’re looking for good, not perfect. Work your way around the kitchen addressing what needs cleaning. Remember, you’re trying to be the DC Comics Flash here, not Flash from Zootopia.
The third common strategy that I’ve heard of is Rotational Cleaning. Divide the kitchen cleaning chores into groups. Then do one chunk without delving into the others. Maybe that means cleaning the countertops every week on a Wednesday. The appliances get a cleaning on Thursday. Whatever works for you is fine, the point is to tackle a small portion of the kitchen in each session.
Quite honestly I don’t perceive any reason you can’t combine these three strategies creatively. For instance, setup a rotation of cleaning chores, then engage in a speed cleaning session on a rotational basis (Rotational Speed Cleaning). Every so often, you’d go for a deep dive into an extensive cleaning (Rotational Big Cleaning).
The bottom line here is do what works for you. That may mean different strategies come into play during different seasons of your life. Be flexible and recognize life happens. You’re going to have to roll with the punches. If you can be proactive though, that’s going to be a lot less frustrating than always having to react to the every-changing and chaotic world around you. Eventually I’ll get time to write that post about Planning Ahead, but for now just remember if you can be a proactive you’ll be a lot happier.
I’m currently in the process of revising the checklist cleaning system I use. I started with a checklist on paper, migrated to an electronic checklist, upgraded to Evernote, and now I’m using the task manager 2Do for my checklists. Through those years of trial and error, I’ve always had one massive list. That meant some chores got done very regularly while others were avoided like the plague. I’ve realized I shouldn’t avoid those unpleasant tasks, so I’m working to put them into a rotation where they won’t come up as often. And I’m working on trimming my checklist to the things that really ought to be done regularly.
At the same time, I’m working really hard to get the Hectic Family involved. I’ll freely admit that I’m a perfectionist, made worse because I truly believe there are best ways to do certain tasks. In the past I’ve asked family members to clean only to deteriorate into me telling them the one right way to do that task. If I’m truly going to get the rest of the family to help out, I need to let them know what the end result is…and then let go of the process. I don’t get to be overly specific about the end result. Sure, some guidance is OK, but it’s not really fair to expect everyone to do it my way, no matter how superior. Remember, anything that the rest of your family does to clean represents tasks you didn’t have to do. If their work isn’t perfect…so what. Remember, Voltaire’s “Perfect is the enemy of good” quote and apply it to them too.
More importantly, if you’re getting the kids involved, treat it as a training exercise. None of us know how to clean well without some practice. Rather than being an insufferable task master (looking in the mirror on that one) strive to be a wise sage. Imagine what cleaning would be like with Yoda. No, I don’t mean getting instructions in backwards order…I mean how he would use gentle guidance to get the result he wanted to achieve. Be the Yoda of kitchen cleaning and you’ll eventually reap rewards, the biggest being the profuse thanks of your kid’s spouses when they get older!
Specific Things To Do
What are some specific things that you can do to maximize your efforts when cleaning? First off…don’t wait. Previously I talked about prepping your produce when you brought it home from the store. That means you’re going to be generating dirty knives and cutting boards. Instead of using a different knife for each veggie, organize the cutting into neatest vs. messiest. Cut up the celery first (it’s not messy at all). Wash the knife and cutting board. Move on to the carrots. Then the onions, and finally wrap up with the tomatoes. You can get all the produce cut with one knife and cutting board. Then put the two items in the dishwasher for a deeper cleaning.
When you’re preparing a meal there’s bound to be some downtime. I know I’m tempted to go do something else outside the kitchen, but what about doing a little bit of cleanup. Did you just use a bowl for mixing something? Rinse it out and put it in the dishwasher right away. If it doesn’t fit in the dishwasher, wash it right now. There isn’t a rule that we have to let the bowls, pots, and pans accumulate on the counter. That just gives the greasy, grimy, gopher guts (or whatever) the chance to dry and harden. Then you’ve got to spend more time scraping them off…or you end up soaking your pots and pans for a while, forgetting about them, and repeating the soaking process over and over. Let’s face it, you know you’ve got to do that cleaning, so use the bits of time in the middle of the food preparation process. Over on the Hectic-Dad blog I wrote about the concept of Confetti Time. It’s essentially those little bits of time that usually get wasted. Do something useful in those bits and you’ll have some larger blocks of time to accomplish bigger tasks.
Another strategy harkens back to my posts about decluttering. I know I’ve got too much stuff. One of the problems is I can get away with not cleaning up because I’ve got enough to let a bunch sit dirty on the countertop and still have clean ones in the cupboards. If I had a smaller number of mixing bowls, I’d be forced to keep them clean. The double-whammy of having less stuff and keeping it organized actually makes cleanup both essential and effective.
On the organizing front I’ve finally gotten to the point my measuring cups and measuring spoons are co-located. For years they were on scattered in different drawers. There was no logical reason for it…that’s just how things evolved. Since I knew where everything was I was OK with it. But being OK with something and being efficient are opposite ends of the spectrum. In one of my organizing tirades I realized putting the measuring spoons and cups together made too much sense to continue ignoring. Does this save me a ton of time during the prep for one meal? Heck no. But over the course of a year it saves me hours. I’m not hunting through two different drawers looking for things to measure the ingredients.
Of course, that organization does no good if I don’t use it. We’ve got a lot of people who use things in the Hectic Kitchen. And sometimes they even unload the dishwasher or put things away. But if the spatulas keep moving from drawer to drawer every time somebody is cooking the first step is a mad search for the necessary tools. On the other hand, if we all use the same organization scheme, food prep becomes easier. It’s almost automatic as to where to get the implements, causing an evolution of making meals into something fun rather than burdensome.
One final note about specific things to do…keep your knives sharp. It’s kind of a weird thing to say, but I’ve been in far too many kitchens where the knives were of questionable sharpness. I’ve seldom actually cut myself, but I’ve had many occasions where the preparation of a meal was greatly delayed because chopping or cutting took far too long. Three years ago one of the Hectic Kids had a part time job selling knives. As part of that experience, he learned how to properly sharpen and hone knives. Fortunately, he taught me that skill. To ice that cake, he bought me a whetstone for the kitchen. Now every time I wash my knives I give them a few pulls on the whetstone. The next time I pull a knife out of the drawer it’s ready to go…and I’m working with a tool that makes me vastly more efficient.
Tools That Help
When it comes to doing the work of cleaning, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First off, if you have the right tools then you’re going to do a better job. More importantly you’ll save time. While it’s possible to clean the entire kitchen with paper towels…that’s not the most efficient way. You’re going to need some other basics like a good scrub brush. If you keep a toothbrush near the kitchen sink when you run into something with hard to clean nooks and crannies…you’ve got a tool for the job.
It’s also helpful to have a cleaning bucket and rags that are kept together. You can buy all kinds of dedicated sprays and cleaners , but a simple bucket, warm water, soap, and some rags goes an awfully long way to getting things cleaned.
I like to have cleaning vinegar and baking soda on hand for tough-to-clean items. If you’re not able to get everything cleaned as you’re prepping, you’re going to run into situations where things are dried or baked on to your pots and pans. A mixture of warm water, vinegar, and baking soda creates a great cleaning solution. And if you do it right you’ll feel like you’re back in middle school with that baking soda volcano the other kids got to build for the science fair when you had to do some stupid project on the effects of bleach on plants. Also note, you can buy cleaning vinegar for a lot less than food quality vinegar. Couple that with a large bag of baking soda and you’re not only saving the environment but you’re saving money over those expensive specialty chemicals.
For a long time, my cleaning bucket also doubled as the container that held all my cleaning supplies for by Speed Cleans. I’ve upgraded to a toolbag with lots of pockets plus enough space so to contain everything I need to do a deep clean. I carry that bag throughout the house so I don’t have to make a numerous trips back to the cleaning closet for supplies. It’s a huge time saver plus it keeps everything in one place when it’s time to do some cleaning.
My other secret weapon are Magic Cleaning Sponges. I’ve used almost every variety of these and I haven’t found any significant differences. I use them to clean all the surfaces in the kitchen and I even keep one at the sink instead of a traditional sponge. I love the fact they’re inexpensive so I don’t have any guilt throwing them away.
Wrap Up
So there you go, some tips and tricks on how to clean your kitchen and keep it clean. Like anything else, a little bit of time invested as you go along pays huge dividends in the long run. As I mentioned above, you’ve got to do what works for you. If doing a Deep Clean is the best thing for you…do it. Don’t let anybody judge you. Trust me, I’ve been known to haul all my dirty pots and pans to our bathroom to hide in the shower when company was coming over. I’m not proud of it, but sometimes you do what you’ve got to do.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t long to do better. How about you? What tips and tricks do you use to keep your kitchen tip-top (or at least less of a disaster)? I’d love to hear from you in the comments or on any of the Hectic-Kitchen social media channels.
As you’re doing your cleaning, remember the goal here is to make it a great day in the kitchen!
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