My Kitchen Routine

The routine I have for my kitchen is pretty simple and allows me to maintain a nice clean space to prepare meals for my family.  Generally we wash dishes once a day, in the evening, except on the weekends when I tend to cook more and bake.  We each have our own "dish days" and as long as we follow the routine our kitchen is always clean.

When we come home at the end of the day I'll start a sink of hot soapy water and we'll wash any dishes used to prepare our breakfast and lunch in the morning, plus our lunch containers.  Then I'll start dinner and I wash as I go.  Then I drain and rinse the sink.

My collection of vintage Pyrex - perfect for leftovers!

After we eat we all work together to put away leftovers, clear the table and then whoever is responsible for dishes rinses everything and starts a fresh sink of soapy water.  The dish drainer is emptied, the dirty dishes are washed, the counters are all wiped down along with the stove top, microwave, dining room table and the handles to the refrigerator.  Any food that hit the floor is also cleaned up with a rag and if the trash can is full it gets emptied and a fresh bag is put in the can.

Our dish cabinet in the kitchen

The entire routine only takes about 15 minutes.  We allow the dishes to air dry.  When we do our nightly walkthrough dishes are put away and the dishtowel and cloth are put in the laundry basket to be washed.  We get out a fresh towel and cloth every day.

I have to admit, I'm a neat freak and I'm constantly tidying up as I move through my home.  It's a compulsion I am all too well aware of, but you don't need to be a neat freak to have a clean home or kitchen.  Just 15 minutes of concentrated effort everyday is plenty of time to wash your dishes and tidy things up.  And if you happen to have a dishwasher (we do but I prefer hand washing) you can probably cut that time in half.

This is all that we do and when I combine that with a 15 minute weekly deep cleaning we are pretty much set.