Petty thread…how to clean a kitchen

[Scarlett]

I fully acknowledge up front this is petty….my son and husband put supper together……I wanted to clean the kitchen afterwards,,,,but Dh was in there and our kitchen lay out does not lend itself to two people cleaning at the same time..  by the time I went back, the food was put away, there were a few dishes in the sink…and the dishwasher was full of clean dishes that needed to be emptied.  
 

The stove was dirty. It just makes. Me. Nuts. 
 

I realized I have an order of cleaning.  Clean off the table. Put away the food.  Wipe down the table. Clear off the stove…..putting away the food. Then cleaning the stove. At this point there are dishes in the sink that need washed or loaded in the dishwasher. 
 

So if something gets left undone it is not the cleaning of the stove or the counters or the food put away. 

So often though  I find the stove left dirty….and I just want to scream. Especially when I WANT to help or to clean up and I am pushed aside.  
 

So.what is your routine.  

 

[SKL]

Hmm, interesting question.

I think I tend to clean by category.  For example:

• Recycle garbage in the recycle bin.
• Non-recycle garbage in the other bin.
• Food gathered on the counter (near the fridge) and then put away.
• Dishes in or near the sink.
• Stuff that doesn't pertain to food put away.  (For some reason, our kitchen table tends to be a dump site for everything.)
• Dirty dishes rinsed/soaked.
• Clean dishes put away.
• Table wiped.
• Counters wiped.
• Stove wiped.
• Dishes washed.

I usually skip the dishwasher all together, unless there are so many dishes I can't fit them all in the dish drainer.

[Annie G]

Our dishwasher and dish drainer are emptied before dinner prep begins. Dh  does it when he gets up every morning, along with sweeping the floor and washing any pots left to soak if I didn’t go back to do that the night before.

After dinner:
Put away leftovers

Put away any ingredients or condiments that are leftover from dinner

Load the dishwasher

Wash anything that’s not dishwasher safe, and soak any pots that need it

Wipe down counters, stove, etc. 

Start dishwasher

[Scarlett]

So here is the thing……I, like the rest of the world I imagine,  prefer the entire kitchen to be cleaned each time. A pan left to soak in the sink does not bother me.  But the stove left dirty sends me over the edge.   

[Melissa Louise]

I stack, wash, put away cooking stuff, wipe down benches, table, oven + sweep. I also don't think the kitchen is cleaned unless you've at least wiped down the stove top. 

[Tap]

Empty dishwasher (sometimes I do this while cooking so I can start loading while I cook. )

start loading top of dishwasher/silverware. put away cooking ingredients. 

load bottom with plates/bowls/ things used in cooking

wash counters on stove side of kitchen and stove/ microwave

put away left overs/ clean out any old dishes from the fridge at same time. These dishes fill the remaining bottom of dishwasher.

wash pans and set on stove or put in oven to dry ( cast iron)

wash other side of kitchen/ cutting board/sink. 

table is last 

After years of catering, I like anything that contacted raw meat cleaned up before I move on to handling cooked items. After raw foods are cleaned up, I start over with fresh cleaning cloths before putting away /cleaning up cooked foods

Edited February 22, 2022 by Tap

[Scarlett]

@Tap you did not say at what point you clean stove top

[Tap]

1 minute ago, Scarlett said:

@Tap you did not say at what point you clean stove top

Oh that’s odd. I lost a sentence in editing. I’ll fix it

[regentrude]

After meal, food it put away ( unless it needs to sit out to cool) , dishes go in the dishwasher,  except for pans, cast iron, cutting boards, good knives. Those stay on the counter until I do dishes by hand. Which may be the next morning. At that time, when I have hot soapy water in the sink, I clean stovetop (if needed) and counters. 

It gets done. Before next big food prep. But not necessarily right away. Doesn't bother me, I have many better things to do.

I only run the dishwasher when it is completely full and empty when dishes cooled down. Can be random times of day.

On the rare occasions that I prep meat, anything that touched raw meat is washed right away. Meat is gross. Veggies? Not.

 

Edited February 22, 2022 by regentrude

[Ellie]

I clean as I cook, so by the time we finish eating, there's not much to do.

Clear the table, lightly rinse the dishes and put them in the dishwasher (we don't run the dishwasher every day, so I lightly rinse so that there aren't food odors emanating from the dishwasher after a couple of days, lol).

Wash any pans/cooking things that don't go in the dishwasher, dry and put away.

Clean all the surfaces.

[KSera]

29 minutes ago, Annie G said:

Our dishwasher and dish drainer are emptied before dinner prep begins. Dh  does it when he gets up every morning, along with sweeping the floor and washing any pots left to soak if I didn’t go back to do that the night before.

After dinner:
Put away leftovers

Put away any ingredients or condiments that are leftover from dinner

Load the dishwasher

Wash anything that’s not dishwasher safe, and soak any pots that need it

Wipe down counters, stove, etc. 

Start dishwasher

Your method is pretty much our order of doing things as well. I would have a bigger issue with dirty dishes left on the counter than the stove not cleaned though. While it’s ideal to have everything done, the stove can be done later if need be. It doesn’t get “behind” the way dishes pile up if not done. 

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, KSera said:

Your method is pretty much our order of doing things as well. I would have a bigger issue with dirty dishes left on the counter than the stove not cleaned though. While it’s ideal to have everything done, the stove can be done later if need be. It doesn’t get “behind” the way dishes pile up if not done. 

 To me if the stove is not cleaned it is too easy to start cooking the next meal….

[heartlikealion]

Wait what kind of stove? I have a gas range and only periodically lift up the heavy metal things to wipe down under. Like I don’t do it after every time I cook. I boil my eggs, make soup etc which aren’t necessarily messy. 

Load/unload dishwasher helps me move forward with cleanup. I have a portable dishwasher that can’t fit certain things. I try to get the smaller items out of the way (into the dishwasher) so I can hand wash the bigger ones. I don’t know that I have a complete order I follow strictly. 

[Annie G]

6 minutes ago, KSera said:

Your method is pretty much our order of doing things as well. I would have a bigger issue with dirty dishes left on the counter than the stove not cleaned though. While it’s ideal to have everything done, the stove can be done later if need be. It doesn’t get “behind” the way dishes pile up if not done. 

Agree. If we have guests for dinner or are otherwise late cleaning up the kitchen, I’ve been known to load the dishwasher and start it, leaving the counters and stove for dh to do in the morning when he empties the dishwasher.  By the time I get up, it’s ready for me to cook breakfast, so it’s fine w me. 

[regentrude]

8 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

 To me if the stove is not cleaned it is too easy to start cooking the next meal….

I can't parse this comment. Why is it "too easy"???

[Selkie]

My dh cleans the kitchen twice a day, after breakfast and after dinner. I cook, he cleans. It is awesome. He does a great job and always cleans the stove (but we have a glass top stove that never really gets that dirty, so it is very easy to keep clean).

[Scarlett]

5 minutes ago, regentrude said:

I can't parse this comment. Why is it "too easy"???

I probably said it wrong….but starting a new meal with a dirty stove is gross. 

[KSera]

14 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

 To me if the stove is not cleaned it is too easy to start cooking the next meal….

 

Just now, Scarlett said:

I probably said it wrong….but starting a new meal with a dirty stove is gross. 

I’m sorry, lol, my brain is still hung up on this as well. Do you mean that if it’s not cleaned it’s too difficult to start the next meal? I’m trying to figure out if there’s a reason that it would be bad for it to be easy to start the next meal. 🤔

[Scarlett]

14 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Wait what kind of stove? I have a gas range and only periodically lift up the heavy metal things to wipe down under. Like I don’t do it after every time I cook. I boil my eggs, make soup etc which aren’t necessarily messy. 

Load/unload dishwasher helps me move forward with cleanup. I have a portable dishwasher that can’t fit certain things. I try to get the smaller items out of the way (into the dishwasher) so I can hand wash the bigger ones. I don’t know that I have a complete order I follow strictly. 

Obviously if you only boil eggs nothing needs wiped down. But most meals leave food under the grates.

[Scarlett]

Just now, KSera said:

 

I’m sorry, lol, my brain is still hung up on this as well. Do you mean that if it’s not cleaned it’s too difficult to start the next meal? I’m trying to figure out if there’s a reason that it would be bad for it to be easy to start the next meal. 🤔

If you start cooking with a dirty stove it just seems gross to me.

[Clarita]

16 minutes ago, Ellie said:

I clean as I cook, so by the time we finish eating, there's not much to do.

I'm super dense when it comes to cleaning. People say this a lot and I don't even know what it looks like or how it can be achieved.

[fraidycat]

I've realized that I Clean the Kitchen when I am doing it, and DH Cleans the Dishes when he is doing it. So, if I want counters, stove top, and range hood wiped down, I just do it when he is done. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
It used to bother me, but I'm learning to let go of the little hills and only choose the big ones on which I want to die. In the grand scheme of things, I can clean to my standards and be grateful for any help that moves me closer to that without my having to expend energy on it.

 

[Drama Llama]

4 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

If you start cooking with a dirty stove it just seems gross to me.

It does to me too, but I don't understand how that makes it "easy"? 

[Scarlett]

2 minutes ago, fraidycat said:

I've realized that I Clean the Kitchen when I am doing it, and DH Cleans the Dishes when he is doing it. So, if I want counters, stove top, and range hood wiped down, I just do it when he is done. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
It used to bother me, but I'm learning to let go of the little hills and only choose the big ones on which I want to die. In the grand scheme of things, I can clean to my standards and be grateful for any help that moves me closer to that without my having to expend energy on it.

 

I get this in theory…..but when I am freaking exhausted, I want to clean up and be done.  I don’t really want to have to wait and come back later to finish a chore that is import to me but no one else.

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, Baseballandhockey said:

It does to me too, but I don't understand how that makes it "easy"? 

Like I said a couple of times , I said that wrong.  I just meant it if the stove is left dirty it is more likely the next cook will start cooking with a dirty stove.  

[Scarlett]

6 minutes ago, Clarita said:

I'm super dense when it comes to cleaning. People say this a lot and I don't even know what it looks like or how it can be achieved.

When you use a bowl to mix up ingredients, you rinse that bowl and put it straight into the dishwasher.  And so on….

[katilac]

41 minutes ago, regentrude said:

 I only run the dishwasher when it is completely full and empty when dishes cooled down. Can be random times of day.

Anarchy! 

[thewellerman]

I say to the kids, "Hey, go put away the food and load the dishwasher." Then I go upstairs.  I don't really care who does what or how.  In the morning, I look at what is left to do, and split up the tasks among us.  We all rotate working in the kitchen all day.  I have a large family, though, and the kitchen is a really high use area.  

[heartlikealion]

well I guess I just ignore some messes that seem minor and require moving heavy grates. I cleaned my range after reading this thread LOL. 

[Melissa in Australia]

Have to say if someone cooked the meal besides me I think I would cry with happiness. I wouldn't expect them to clean a single thing

I have a cast iron wood fired combustion stove. It cannot be wiped. The next morning I vaccum or sweep the top while the stove is cold. Most anything that spills turns to carbon and is easily swept off 

[cjzimmer1]

I'm pretty sure my "routine" will make you twitchy.  

Cook supper, pile anything used during cooking in the sink.

Dish up food and go eat in another room.  As people finish eating they return their dishes to the kitchen "area". Some dishes will be on the table, some will be on the counter others will be in the sink if it's not already full.

After food has cooled, put away leftovers.

Several hours later (and by later I mean anywhere from 4-6 hours later because I'm a night owl), I return to the kitchen.  Load up whatever dishes fit in the dishwasher.  Pile whatever is left into the sinks.  If I'm not too tired, I will wipe down the counters and stove but if I'm exhausted those will wait till the morning and get wiped down while I'm waiting for my morning tea to heat up in the microwave.  There is zero expectations that the kitchen will be clean before going to bed or any other time of the day.  I just keep working at it as I have time around everything else.  The dishwasher gets run 2-3 times a day (I cook mostly from scratch so I generate a lot of dishes and EVERYTHING gets washed in the dishwasher) and the counter gets wiped down at least that often but cleaning never correlates to a specific meal time.  

[KSera]

49 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Like I said a couple of times , I said that wrong.  I just meant it if the stove is left dirty it is more likely the next cook will start cooking with a dirty stove.  

Ohhhh. Now I get what you were saying. Thanks for re explaining. 

[happi duck]

No dishwasher so first step is filling the sink with water and mugs.  Wash all the mugs and put in plates etc to soak.

While the plates soak put stuff away if anything is still out including leftovers.

Wash the rest of the dishes.

Wipe horizontal surfaces including the stove.

Take out garbage and recycling.

[fraidycat]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

I get this in theory…..but when I am freaking exhausted, I want to clean up and be done.  I don’t really want to have to wait and come back later to finish a chore that is import to me but no one else.

But, if you're already freaking exhausted, it's easier to wait 5-10 minutes and just wipe surfaces than to do all the work. I don't get how expending more energy doing a whole job is easier than expending less energy to do the final sweep.

[Frances]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

If you start cooking with a dirty stove it just seems gross to me.

While it doesn’t necessarily seem gross to me, I do think in the long run it’s better to clean it everyday, rather than waiting until the job is more difficult. Just as I wipe all counters every day, whether or not they’ve been used, I also do the stove. When my husband cleans, he’s more likely to only wipe surfaces that were used and even then, sometimes just leaves the stove. However, he’s a much better deep cleaner than I am when we do whole house cleaning every two weeks or so. So it somewhat evens out over the long run.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Having just one small cleaning chore to do instead of the entire job seems like a win to me.  How long does it take to clean the stove?  It doesn't take me very long at all. 

[KungFuPanda]

My DH thinks that putting away the food and rebooting the dishwasher is cleaning the kitchen. 

[Ausmumof3]

I’m not very routine and often the kitchen is not fully cleaned but I am also slightly obsessive about the stove top being done, especially if we’ve fried or splattered stuff. I think because it’s likely to get burned on next time if it doesn’t get done. I’m more likely to wipe the stove than benches or sink if I’m honest.

[Ausmumof3]

Roughly my routine is empty drainer (I hate drying plastics so put them from the dishwasher into the drainer so that has to be done first) empty dishwasher (runs multiple times a day so unless I emptied while cooking it will need doing), clear table if kids haven’t already, stack knives and forks and utensils, cups, big stuff, then plates and bowls, or plastics etc. get kids to do bin jobs if needed. If kids are helping someone wipes the table, someone vacuums under. Usually I put food away as I’m stacking the dishwasher. Often I check the fridge for stuff to chuck if there’s extra dishwasher space. Wipe stove top, wipe counters. I will often wipe stove top etc as I’m stacking if I’m moving pots etc from there to the dishwasher. That’s probably about it. I won’t hand wash unless there’s a few things to do at once as our hot water takes ages so drink bottles etc might sit for a day or two.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Ausmumof3

[Clarita]

3 hours ago, Scarlett said:

When you use a bowl to mix up ingredients, you rinse that bowl and put it straight into the dishwasher.  And so on….

Oh maybe my first problem would be having an empty dishwasher to put things in in the first place. I do try to do this when there is an extended wait time for the food to be done like I mixed/prepped some stuff and they went into the oven. More often though I find there isn't much time between me finishing prepping one food item to having to take care of another food item or plating. 

2 hours ago, cjzimmer1 said:

Several hours later (and by later I mean anywhere from 4-6 hours later because I'm a night owl), I return to the kitchen.  Load up whatever dishes fit in the dishwasher.  Pile whatever is left into the sinks.  If I'm not too tired, I will wipe down the counters and stove but if I'm exhausted those will wait till the morning and get wiped down while I'm waiting for my morning tea to heat up in the microwave.  There is zero expectations that the kitchen will be clean before going to bed or any other time of the day.  I just keep working at it as I have time around everything else.  The dishwasher gets run 2-3 times a day (I cook mostly from scratch so I generate a lot of dishes and EVERYTHING gets washed in the dishwasher) and the counter gets wiped down at least that often but cleaning never correlates to a specific meal time.  

This is more like what I do minus the dishes in the sink because I think that's gross, especially when people are also using the sink. The dishes stay where they are or on the counter next to the dishwasher until it can fit in the dishwasher or to wait for the dishwasher to be unloaded. Our dishwasher gets run 1-2 times a day full. Usually there is also a few bulky items that could go in the dishwasher but I just handwash them because there isn't space for it before I have to use it again.

[MEmama]

5 hours ago, Clarita said:

I'm super dense when it comes to cleaning. People say this a lot and I don't even know what it looks like or how it can be achieved.

I put ingredients away after using each one, rinse dishes as I use them and throw them in the dishwasher, wipe down any spills as I make them, and so on. All that’s left to do after dinner is to stick the dishes we ate off of and that the food was cooked in into the dishwasher if there’s room (or leave to soak in the sink) and to put away any leftovers. 

[Carrie12345]

Our routine is dishwasher gets unloaded first thing in the morning by whoever had dish night was the night before. Everyone’s responsible for putting their dirty dishes right back in.
At the end of the night, whoever’s on dishes puts any random odds and ends in, leftovers from dinner away, and hand washes things that can’t go in or don’t fit. And those should be dried and put away.

After that, it’s SUPPOSED to be clean table, clean counters, clean stove, clean sink, wipe fridge handles (WHY are the always so gross?????) and sweep or vac floor.  I mop on my nights, but expect spills to be cleaned up nightly.
(Keep in mind, my kitchen is super tiny. It’s not an exhausting task.)

That’s how it’s supposed to be, but it doesn’t always go down that way. My 11yo left me a sink full of marinara water this morning. So I had to stick my hand in it to drain before I could make coffee.

All that said, the people who live in my house do tend to forget to clean the stove. Mine’s a basic glass top. I usually spray and wipe it while my coffee is brewing and go on with the day.  Surprisingly, mine was not noticeably dirty this morning.  Ds must have found that task more urgent than the plugged up sink. 😞 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Carrie12345

[Pawz4me]

It's just the three of us, and often just me and DH for dinner, so cooking and clean up is usually easy --

I clean as I go. That means washing up any large mixing bowls or pots, wiping up any spills, splats or crumbs, etc. After we eat I get the food and plates off the table while DH loads the dishwasher. I put any leftovers into containers and into the fridge (unless they need to cool a bit first), wash any big pots/pans, wipe down the table, counters and stove, clean the sinks, turn on the dishwasher (if full--we usually only run it every other night). While I'm doing that DH takes out the garbage and/or recycling if needed. The only time anything is ever left undone is if I need to soak a pot or pan, and in that event I finish cleaning it before I go to bed. I can't abide walking into an untidy kitchen in the morning. The dishwasher is unloaded in the a.m. DH or I do that, whoever gets to it first.

Edited February 22, 2022 by Pawz4me

[HomeAgain]

I tend to have "mess blindness", where I have trouble seeing at a glance what is out of place.  It means my routine is to start at one end of the kitchen and concentrate on a square foot at a time, putting any dishes there in the dishwasher/sink, wiping down the counter, putting things away...and I work my way around the entire kitchen like that.  I've tried the method of doing one thing like putting away food/loading the dishwasher/wipe counters..but inevitably something gets missed and I screw it up.  It takes me less time to do it this way now.

[Scarlett]

6 hours ago, fraidycat said:

But, if you're already freaking exhausted, it's easier to wait 5-10 minutes and just wipe surfaces than to do all the work. I don't get how expending more energy doing a whole job is easier than expending less energy to do the final sweep.

Good point. 

[Scarlett]

5 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Having just one small cleaning chore to do instead of the entire job seems like a win to me.  How long does it take to clean the stove?  It doesn't take me very long at all. 

No it doesn’t take me long.Depends on what was cooked but usually less than 10 min. 

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

I put ingredients away after using each one, rinse dishes as I use them and throw them in the dishwasher, wipe down any spills as I make them, and so on. All that’s left to do after dinner is to stick the dishes we ate off of and that the food was cooked in into the dishwasher if there’s room (or leave to soak in the sink) and to put away any leftovers. 

This is how I cook and clean.

[Scarlett]

51 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

It's just the three of us, and often just me and DH for dinner, so cooking and clean up is usually easy --

I clean as I go. That means washing up any large mixing bowls or pots, wiping up any spills, splats or crumbs, etc. After we eat I get the food and plates off the table while DH loads the dishwasher. I put any leftovers into containers and into the fridge (unless they need to cool a bit first), wash any big pots/pans, wipe down the table, counters and stove, clean the sinks, turn on the dishwasher (if full--we usually only run it every other night). While I'm doing that DH takes out the garbage and/or recycling if needed. The only time anything is ever left undone is if I need to soak a pot or pan, and in that event I finish cleaning it before I go to bed. I can't abide walking into an untidy kitchen in the morning. The dishwasher is unloaded in the a.m. DH or I do that, whoever gets to it first.

Dh and I work really well together like you describe above.  He is a wonderful partner.  I was tired and cranky last night and realized it is the order of things that bothers me.  When I was growing up with no dishwasher we started cooking with a sink full of soapy hot water.  We washed as we went.  Then after we ate we would take all our plates and dishes to the sink area.  Leftovers were put away. A fresh sink full of soapy water was usually drawn.  The table was wiped down, the counters and the stove.  If there were two people, one would wash and one would rinse and dry and put away. 

Now I either unload the dishwasher in the morning before work or when I come home for lunch. 
 

[Danae]

I would be happy if I could convince anyone else in the household to not think the dishes are done when there is still a puddle of soapy water and food crumbs on the counter.  Part of me thinks it shouldn’t be a big deal for me to go in and wipe the counter after someone else has cleaned the truly mountainous pile of dishes, but I just don’t understand it.  It’s like scaling Everest and them stopping two feet from the top.  How do you go through all that work and then walk away leaving the tiny step that would actually make the kitchen look clean undone?

[Annie G]

My issue w washing things by hand as I go is that I use the dishwasher as much as possible because it uses much less water than hand washing. So I wait until dinner is done to see if the big bowls, etc will fit. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.