Petty thread…how to clean a kitchen

[barnwife]

I hate going to bed if the kitchen is cleaned. My general kitchen guideline is "leave it so the next person can just walk and and start using it without putting things away/wiping things down/whatever". 

So after dinner, I (with or without help...I prefer without. It's some of my quiet "me" time.):
Put away food (leftover and ingredients)
Wipe down the table, stove, and counters
Load the dishwasher (We generally run it at night and empty in the morning.) Dishes that don't fit must be stacked neatly or handwashed.
Set the dishwasher to run overnight.
Wash anything that needs to be handwashed.
Check to see if I need to start a loaf of bread in the bread machine (and do so if needed).
Sweep or use the stick vac.
Use the spray mop on high traffic areas/where needed.

Dishes may be left in the dish drainer to dry overnight.  A dish or two might be left to soak. But, there absolutely, positively must be one side of the sink left open for use. My kids well know that if I walk to my sink (when no one is there), and both sides are filled with stuff, they will hear Grumpy Mom. Nobody wants to her Grumpy Mom. Don't block both sides of the sink, unless you are actively using them. Don't block both side of the sink. Don't block both sides of the sink.

I think I need to post this list somewhere in the kitchen. Thanks, OP.
 

[Indigo Blue]

It’s just the two of us. I clean as I cook. I absolutely don’t like having leftover dishes the next morning. I like to start cooking with a clean kitchen. I like to clean as soon as I’m done eating. That last thing has, oddly, been a point of debate throughout my life….some say people are supposed to sit around and relax before jumping up to do the dishes. But I like jumping up to do the dishes. (I mean, if I had company over, I wouldn’t clean at all until they went home. But otherwise, I’m jumping up). Having said all that, I CAN have all these preferences not happen and the world doesn’t end, but I prefer that all the things are done. 
 

I’m the only one in our house that cooks and cleans the kitchen. Dh does trash and recycling. He will unload the dishwasher if I need him to. I put away food, load dishwasher, and wipe counters and stove. (Dh also washes his work clothes, packs his lunch, and folds all laundry). But I’m home all day, so I do most of the household things in addition to bookkeeping. 

However, I can understand the frustration of a job not quite finished, even if it lightened my load. I might nicely say, “Please remember to wipe down the stove.” Or I might be a bit inwardly frustrated, but let it go. 

Dh likes to snack after supper and leaves things in the sink after I’ve cleaned, so there’s that. 
 

 

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, Danae said:

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?

Yes!  And leaving the sink strainer full of gunk and not washing out the sink. 

[Scarlett]

46 minutes ago, barnwife said:

I hate going to bed if the kitchen is cleaned. My general kitchen guideline is "leave it so the next person can just walk and and start using it without putting things away/wiping things down/whatever". 

So after dinner, I (with or without help...I prefer without. It's some of my quiet "me" time.):
Put away food (leftover and ingredients)
Wipe down the table, stove, and counters
Load the dishwasher (We generally run it at night and empty in the morning.) Dishes that don't fit must be stacked neatly or handwashed.
Set the dishwasher to run overnight.
Wash anything that needs to be handwashed.
Check to see if I need to start a loaf of bread in the bread machine (and do so if needed).
Sweep or use the stick vac.
Use the spray mop on high traffic areas/where needed.

Dishes may be left in the dish drainer to dry overnight.  A dish or two might be left to soak. But, there absolutely, positively must be one side of the sink left open for use. My kids well know that if I walk to my sink (when no one is there), and both sides are filled with stuff, they will hear Grumpy Mom. Nobody wants to her Grumpy Mom. Don't block both sides of the sink, unless you are actively using them. Don't block both side of the sink. Don't block both sides of the sink.

I think I need to post this list somewhere in the kitchen. Thanks, OP.
 

Yep.  Now that I have just the one big sink I don't mind to find a dish or two sitting in the sink.  But if you can't even get to the water spout to wet a cloth...ugh.  The kitchen is not usable.  

I just realized that I too prefer to clean the kitchen alone.  Especially with our ridiculous corner sink that does not allow for two people to use the sink at the same time AT ALL.  Dh will not let me clean the kitchen alone though.  And yet he often does not clean the stove.  So I guess I just need to appreciate the good and learn to go back and clean the stove when he is finished.

[Scarlett]

40 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

It’s just the two of us. I clean as I cook. I absolutely don’t like having leftover dishes the next morning. I like to start cooking with a clean kitchen. I like to clean as soon as I’m done eating. That last thing has, oddly, been a point of debate throughout my life….some say people are supposed to sit around and relax before jumping up to do the dishes. But I like jumping up to do the dishes. (I mean, if I had company over, I wouldn’t clean at all until they went home. But otherwise, I’m jumping up). Having said all that, I CAN have all these preferences not happen and the world doesn’t end, but I prefer that all the things are done. 
 

I’m the only one in our house that cooks and cleans the kitchen. Dh does trash and recycling. He will unload the dishwasher if I need him to. I put away food, load dishwasher, and wipe counters and stove. (Dh also washes his work clothes, packs his lunch, and folds all laundry). But I’m home all day, so I do most of the household things in addition to bookkeeping. 

However, I can understand the frustration of a job not quite finished, even if it lightened my load. I might nicely say, “Please remember to wipe down the stove.” Or I might be a bit inwardly frustrated, but let it go. 

Dh likes to snack after supper and leaves things in the sink after I’ve cleaned, so there’s that. 
 

 

When I was home full time I did all the cooking and cleaning and I liked it that way.  The division of labor and my expectations were more clear.  Oh well, life is constantly changing.

[Scarlett]

As I was sitting here at work my wonderful husband stopped by on his way to work to give me breakfast he made for me.  

I should never complain about him.  😉

[Scarlett]

10 hours 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. 

It is a gas range.  This is the first time I have had a gas range in over 20 years.  It is much more difficult to keep clean than the smooth tops I had for years.  I made a point of buying the one that has only two grates.  One on each side that goes from front to back.  They hinge upward and rest on the wall which makes it much easier for cleaning.  So I scrub the tops of the grate first, then I hinge them up and I scrub the  bottom of the grate.  Then I clean the stove top.  I find if this is not done every time it is used that food will become cooked on making proper clean up very difficult.  

I highly recommend the hinged grates.  

[Indigo Blue]

1 minute ago, Scarlett said:

As I was sitting here at work my wonderful husband stopped by on his way to work to give me breakfast he made for me.  

I should never complain about him.  😉

That is nice! But don’t feel bad for complaining/venting here. One person might not worry if the stove isn’t wiped off, but it bothers you. That’s okay. We’re all different, and different things bug us. 

[skimomma]

I am very particular about the kitchen.  I do 95% of the cooking and cleaning so I generally get to decide how it is done.  My process is similar to the others on here who clean as they cook.  It drives me NUTS to try to use the sink while cooking if there is anything in it so I always put things in the dishwasher as I cook.  Or if they don't go in the dishwasher, either rinse and set them FAR aside to wash after the meal or quickly wash on the spot. I also cannot leave things to soak.  Not only does it bother me on principle but our terribly ill-behaved cats will get into ANYTHING that is left unattended.  In fact the cats are the bulk of the reason I have gotten so particular about the kitchen.  They will get into anything left on the counter or stove, including spills or dirty dishes, so all must be put away.  But more than that, because the monsters are ON the counters all of the time, I have to disinfect the entire counter surfaces before starting any new cooking task so having a clean slate to disinfect is very important to me.

The other people in this house are tornados in the kitchen and I just can't look.  They pile up dirty stuff as they cook, leave spills everywhere, do not understand economizing on dish use.  They can somehow overboil a pot of anything, every. single. time. And just do not seem to SEE it all over the stove.  I just cannot watch.  I consider myself FEMA in this case.  I come in after it is all over and pick up the pieces. They *think* they cleaned up but no, they do not.  It is so rare that although is bugs me, I usually don't say anything.  I know I am just too particular about this and need to keep it to myself.  I feel sort of bad about it because occasionally dh will want to "treat" me with breakfast in bed or something and the first thing I think is how much MORE time I will spend on that meal in clean up alone than if I just cooked it myself....hardly a treat.  

[heartlikealion]

Mixing bowl in the dishwasher. I wish 😂 

[Scarlett]

7 minutes ago, skimomma said:

I am very particular about the kitchen.  I do 95% of the cooking and cleaning so I generally get to decide how it is done.  My process is similar to the others on here who clean as they cook.  It drives me NUTS to try to use the sink while cooking if there is anything in it so I always put things in the dishwasher as I cook.  Or if they don't go in the dishwasher, either rinse and set them FAR aside to wash after the meal or quickly wash on the spot. I also cannot leave things to soak.  Not only does it bother me on principle but our terribly ill-behaved cats will get into ANYTHING that is left unattended.  In fact the cats are the bulk of the reason I have gotten so particular about the kitchen.  They will get into anything left on the counter or stove, including spills or dirty dishes, so all must be put away.  But more than that, because the monsters are ON the counters all of the time, I have to disinfect the entire counter surfaces before starting any new cooking task so having a clean slate to disinfect is very important to me.

The other people in this house are tornados in the kitchen and I just can't look.  They pile up dirty stuff as they cook, leave spills everywhere, do not understand economizing on dish use.  They can somehow overboil a pot of anything, every. single. time. And just do not seem to SEE it all over the stove.  I just cannot watch.  I consider myself FEMA in this case.  I come in after it is all over and pick up the pieces. They *think* they cleaned up but no, they do not.  It is so rare that although is bugs me, I usually don't say anything.  I know I am just too particular about this and need to keep it to myself.  I feel sort of bad about it because occasionally dh will want to "treat" me with breakfast in bed or something and the first thing I think is how much MORE time I will spend on that meal in clean up alone than if I just cooked it myself....hardly a treat.  

I have a ill-behaved cat too.  If a loaf of bread is left on the counter she will shred it.  She is awful.  And yes, when one has cats one has to assume they have been where ever they want to be.  LOL.  So I too clean the counter tops before I start cooking.  

I am glad to see I am not the only one that is bugged by the kitchen being cleaned/not cleaned differently than I want it done.  

[Scarlett]

8 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

Mixing bowl in the dishwasher. I wish 😂 

What did I miss?  LOL  What do you mean....?

[heartlikealion]

Just now, Scarlett said:

What did I miss?  LOL  What do you mean....?

My portable dishwasher is narrow and my mixing bowls take up so much space I wouldn’t be able to load other dishes really. I end up hand washing them. And it’s a real bummer because I like to bake. 

[prairiewindmomma]

We have a gas stove with cast iron grates. They take quite a bit of cooling time before they are ready to handle. Last night  I made chili in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven so there was a lot of heat radiating (the house was cold, that was the point). 
 

Our stovetop is often left dirty overnight, and I clean it the next morning after I empty the dishwasher and put in the breakfast dishes (cold breakfast or toast usually. I will wipe the countertops, wipe the stove, and then hopefully have a clean kitchen for a few hours until lunch.

[fraidycat]

13 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

As I was sitting here at work my wonderful husband stopped by on his way to work to give me breakfast he made for me.  

I should never complain about him.  😉

That was sweet of him.

Don't feel like you shouldn't ever complain, though. Living with other humans isn't always easy. Sometimes you need a perspective shift, but sometimes they really do need to do something differently or modify a behavior. Discussions like these help to tease out which is which.

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

It’s just the two of us. I clean as I cook. I absolutely don’t like having leftover dishes the next morning. I like to start cooking with a clean kitchen. I like to clean as soon as I’m done eating. That last thing has, oddly, been a point of debate throughout my life….some say people are supposed to sit around and relax before jumping up to do the dishes. But I like jumping up to do the dishes. (I mean, if I had company over, I wouldn’t clean at all until they went home. But otherwise, I’m jumping up). Having said all that, I CAN have all these preferences not happen and the world doesn’t end, but I prefer that all the things are done. 
 

I’m the only one in our house that cooks and cleans the kitchen. Dh does trash and recycling. He will unload the dishwasher if I need him to. I put away food, load dishwasher, and wipe counters and stove. (Dh also washes his work clothes, packs his lunch, and folds all laundry). But I’m home all day, so I do most of the household things in addition to bookkeeping. 

However, I can understand the frustration of a job not quite finished, even if it lightened my load. I might nicely say, “Please remember to wipe down the stove.” Or I might be a bit inwardly frustrated, but let it go. 

Dh likes to snack after supper and leaves things in the sink after I’ve cleaned, so there’s that. 
 

 

To the bolded, me too!  In fact, dh has made me aware that I sometimes lift up the plate he is still eating from to wipe under it.  LOL.  So I try to reel it in and sit with him until he is finished.  The struggle is real though.

[Kassia]

44 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

As I was sitting here at work my wonderful husband stopped by on his way to work to give me breakfast he made for me.  

I should never complain about him.  😉

Aw, that's sweet.  🙂  I struggle with this too - I hate to complain about DH because he's so wonderful to me but he's not perfect!  😉

 

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

Yes!  And leaving the sink strainer full of gunk and not washing out the sink. 

eeeewwwww! 

 

1 hour ago, Indigo Blue said:

It’s just the two of us. I clean as I cook. I absolutely don’t like having leftover dishes the next morning. I like to start cooking with a clean kitchen. I like to clean as soon as I’m done eating. That last thing has, oddly, been a point of debate throughout my life….some say people are supposed to sit around and relax before jumping up to do the dishes. But I like jumping up to do the dishes. (I mean, if I had company over, I wouldn’t clean at all until they went home. But otherwise, I’m jumping up). Having said all that, I CAN have all these preferences not happen and the world doesn’t end, but I prefer that all the things are done. 
 

This is me.  I struggle not to do the dishes right away and can't stand starting the day with dirty dishes.  Actually, I like the sink clear all the time - we clean up as we go.  Three of my four kids are the same way now.  My poor dd in college shares an apartment with three girls and two of them are absolute slobs in the kitchen.  I didn't know how bad it was until she sent me photos and a video.  She doesn't mind cooking but the kitchen is so bad (and the sink so full of dirty dishes) that it's difficult for her to cook and she doesn't want to.  Next year she's either moving in with her boyfriend (she said he's neater than all of her female roommates) or she's getting a single.  The messy kitchen has been a disaster for her this year and I feel so bad for her! 

[Ellie]

10 hours ago, Scarlett said:

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

We have a stainless steel gas cooktop and an electric wall oven.

I clean the cooktop every.single.time I use it. Even water splashing over makes a mess, you know, which we can see because of the stainless steel. So I spray it with a cleaner, wipe and down, and dry it with a microfiber cloth. Yes, every.single.time. And I wipe the grates, too.

[Bambam]

I make sure to unload the dishwasher and put any dishes away that have been left out to dry. I load any dirty dishes. I wash any that I wouldn't put in the dishwasher and put them on the drying section. Then I wipe the island down because people use it for various things during the day. Then I can start. 
I prep dinner, putting things away as I am done with them. 

We eat dinner. DH usually carries most of the dishes back into the kitchen, sometimes puts them in dishwasher sometimes doesn't. I put leftover in refrigerator. Then sometimes I finish cleaning the kitchen, sometimes I'm busy doing something else and come back later. I wipe off the island, but I usually don't worry about the other counters if they haven't been used. I only wipe off our glass cooktop if something spilled. Same with the microwave - only wipe it if something spilled or something exploded.  I wipe it once a week because it is black and starts to look dusty. 

I'm okay with a little messiness. It doesn't bother me that much. But when I does, I go work on it because it is my issue. I can guarantee you that my DH does not see it at all. 

 

Edited February 22, 2022 by Bambam

[marbel]

I have pretty strong preferences with regard to kitchen cleaning, including the right way to load the dishwasher, but my people don't always live up to my high and TBH sometimes unreasonable expectations. We have 4 adults living here, and theoretically the kitchen should be pretty easy to deal with. But it's not. 

In my perfect world I would wake up to a perfectly clean kitchen - all dishes put away, the dishwasher empty and ready to receive the dirty breakfast dishes that are coming its way soon... counters cleared, a clean placemat and napkin at everyone's place at the kitchen table, with nothing else on the table except a plant or vase of flowers and maybe the morning paper.

However, I would have to live alone to have that, and... who knows, maybe I wouldn't have it even then. Because, to be honest, as much as I crave order and cleanliness in the kitchen, I don't always achieve it for myself. Because we get busy, and people work odd hours and want to eat at odd hours, but aren't going to crash around late at night/super early in the morning to be sure the kitchen is pristine when the Queen (me) walks in. 

But Scarlett I am with you in theory! 

Re: big things in the dishwasher. I will put as much as I can in there, but my husband will sometimes take big things out to wash them by hand to save d/w space. Sometimes that works well, and sometimes that leaves us with a dishwasher almost full of dirty stuff, but not full enough to start at the end of the day... and thus no clean silverware or mugs when we get up in the morning. <shrug> People, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. 💓

 

[Scarlett]

23 minutes ago, Ellie said:

We have a stainless steel gas cooktop and an electric wall oven.

I clean the cooktop every.single.time I use it. Even water splashing over makes a mess, you know, which we can see because of the stainless steel. So I spray it with a cleaner, wipe and down, and dry it with a microfiber cloth. Yes, every.single.time. And I wipe the grates, too.

Oh yes, I forgot the buffing part.  Mine is black and it must be buffed after it is cleaned.  Drives my ds and dh crazy.

[TechWife]

Wiping the range is usually the last thing that happens.

Clearing table & scraping plates

empty & reload dishwasher

put away any remaining dinner prep items & leftovers

hand wash any dishes when needed

clean countertops

clean range top - this is a spill wipe up only. I scour it once a week or so. I do this last so that it is cooled down.

 

[Danae]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

I highly recommend the hinged grates.  

That would be a game changer.  We have four heavy cast iron grates that have to be lifted out and stacked somewhere.  I dislike cooking on induction stoves when visiting or vacationing, but they are sure easier to clean.  Hinged grates seem like a nice midpoint.

[fairfarmhand]

Start cooking with dishwasher empty. (or just dirties in there) As I cook, I put as many things in the dw as I can while I'm cooking. Also, I wash up any larger items when Im cooing if at all possible. 

Cook food, serve, eat. 

Put away leftovers, pile dishes in sink, including pots, pans, etc.

Wipe down counters and stove. 

Put dishes in dw, wash up any pots and pans, etc. that won't fit in dw.

Wipe down any splatters and go sit down.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don’t have a dishwasher. So I will wash as I go or leave stuff for later. 
 

(the latest Cascade ads say that it still saves money to run a dishwasher that isn’t completely full. ). 

[heartlikealion]

2 hours ago, Scarlett said:

It is a gas range.  This is the first time I have had a gas range in over 20 years.  It is much more difficult to keep clean than the smooth tops I had for years.  I made a point of buying the one that has only two grates.  One on each side that goes from front to back.  They hinge upward and rest on the wall which makes it much easier for cleaning.  So I scrub the tops of the grate first, then I hinge them up and I scrub the  bottom of the grate.  Then I clean the stove top.  I find if this is not done every time it is used that food will become cooked on making proper clean up very difficult.  

I highly recommend the hinged grates.  

I've never heard of those. I rent and this oven was put in when I got here, around 6 months ago. I'm not really sure what I should be using to clean the grates to be be honest. 

[Clarita]

14 minutes ago, heartlikealion said:

I've never heard of those. I rent and this oven was put in when I got here, around 6 months ago. I'm not really sure what I should be using to clean the grates to be be honest. 

So mine pull off completely grates and the things that goes on top of the gas outlet. I learned a few months ago I'm supposed to clean them but it's not hard actually. Literally all I do is run them under hot water in the sink and use a nylon brush on it and it's clean (enough for me anyway). Even after not cleaning it for years it didn't require elbow grease.

Once the grates and things are removed the smooth portion is pretty easy to clean. I like my Swedish dishcloth for this if there is tough stuff I use a little dish soap; otherwise just water or kitchen spray works too. 

[rebcoola]

Lol I do not belong in this conversation.  My routine is put leftovers in fridge. Throw away takeout containers or cardboard box food came in. Plates in sink maybe dishwasher if feeling industrious. 

[Lady Florida.]

Food gets put away first since it can spoil if left out. It's already been out while we eat so I do that first. Dishes that can go in the dishwasher are next - scrape off the food, rinse if the dishwasher won't get run soon. Next are the big pots and other items that don't go in the dishwasher. Countertops and stove get cleaned and finally I do a quick clean of the sink. 

 

13 hours ago, Scarlett said:

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.   

That drives me nuts too. Neither dh nor ds tend to see when it needs cleaning (which to me is after every meal). I go into the kitchen and see that it's still dirty and it annoys me so much.

[Indigo Blue]

2 hours ago, fraidycat said:

That was sweet of him.

Don't feel like you shouldn't ever complain, though. Living with other humans isn't always easy. Sometimes you need a perspective shift, but sometimes they really do need to do something differently or modify a behavior. Discussions like these help to tease out which is which.

So much truth!

[Clarita]

31 minutes ago, rebcoola said:

Lol I do not belong in this conversation.  My routine is put leftovers in fridge. Throw away takeout containers or cardboard box food came in. Plates in sink maybe dishwasher if feeling industrious. 

Years ago I learned housework is not something I'm good at and I do outsource this once a month. (Pandemic meant that I had to pause it for sometime now.) Seriously it takes my cleaning ladies (2) 3 hours to clean what would take my husband and me a weekend to do. And they do a better job than I do. 

So to be clear maybe someone has cleaned my stove grates in the past 8 years but that person wasn't me and it hadn't been cleaned for at least a year when I discovered it's a thing.

[Spryte]

This thread makes me want to clean the stove top. Right now.

We wipe splatters as needed, and don’t leave spills to collect on it, but I don’t really clean it every day. It’s a gas stove top, glass top, with iron grates that lift off. They are heavy! My hands don’t always work as well as I’d like so it’s a tough job. Also, those iron grates are way too hot for a while after cooking!

Splatters and spills are cleaned up as we can while cooking, or in the evening after dinner, if it’s in need of more than that I do it in the morning. Every two weeks it gets deep cleaned, the glass top is razored and scrubbed, and the grates are cleaned. If it needs something between our regular cleaning routine and a deep clean in between those Fridays, I do it, but really prefer not to because — ouch! My hands hurt. 

[Scarlett]

2 hours ago, heartlikealion said:

I've never heard of those. I rent and this oven was put in when I got here, around 6 months ago. I'm not really sure what I should be using to clean the grates to be be honest. 

If you haven't cleaned them before I would definitely take them off and put them in your sink.  I use a brush or steel wool and Dawn or other degreaser with hot water.  I pour dawn straight on mine and then scrub and then rinse.  

[Scarlett]

Another tool that helps with my gas stove is the magic eraser.  

[jen3kids]

19 hours ago, Scarlett said:

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.   

 

You would hate my kitchen 😂  My kitchen standards are pretty low and I only clean my stovetop once a month or so.  It gets wiped off more frequently, but not cleaned like it should be.  I used to care more about it, but I don't anymore - I have other things to take care of - FB, IG, a good book, new series on Netflix....  My mother would be horrified.

[Kassia]

16 minutes ago, jen3kids said:

 

  I used to care more about it, but I don't anymore - I have other things to take care of - FB, IG, a good book, new series on Netflix.

That's a fantastic attitude - life is short and time is better spent on things you enjoy!  ❤️  If you and your family (except for your mom - lol) are happy then that's all that matters.  

 

I keep my kitchen pretty clean except for the oven - I'm really bad about that.  

[jen3kids]

3 minutes ago, Kassia said:

That's a fantastic attitude - life is short and time is better spent on things you enjoy!  ❤️  If you and your family (except for your mom - lol) are happy then that's all that matters.  

 

I keep my kitchen pretty clean except for the oven - I'm really bad about that.  

Oh, the oven.....  My husband usually takes care of that when it gets smoky.  

[Katy]

I'm also the only one who cleans the stove.  I usually do it last.

I used to be more particular about this sort of thing but I have too many kids to do that any more. In your situation I might say, "Absolutely not! You'll forget to clean the stove and..." and whatever else is bothering you.  And then they'll either learn to do it your way or just let you do it yourself.