The affairs of kitchen duties.

[Mrs-M]

This thread topic was brought to life courtesy of Miss Cellane and her dishwasher thread.

So here's the scenario. You decide you're going to do a little baking or make a delightful meal, but the kitchen sink has dirty dishes in it, there's a used pan sitting on the counter, and the days morning coffee is still sitting in the automatic coffeemaker pot, now hours cold.

Do you still feel like turning out those muffins or preparing that mouthwatering pot of stew?

My answer, no. In order to feel good about myself and what I'm making, the kitchen has to be clean and free of clutter. Clean and free of all clutter equates to inviting IMO, which adds to the enjoyment I get over spending time in the kitchen.

How about you? Are you fussy like me?

[herbgeek]

No, not fussy like you. What you describe is a typical scenario at my house. :) I cook anyways. However, I do most of my prep at an island, and THAT needs to be free of extraneous things, particularly if I have the flour out. My husband, when he's been nice, calls me an enthusiastic cook. I however call myself a messy cook. Those things need to be off the island, not because they disturb me, but because I will wreck havoc on them otherwise. LOL

[goldensmom]

I'm fussy. Real fussy. I clean up as I bake/cook. I get ingredients out and put them away as I use them. Also wash dishes as I go. No dishes in the sink when I go to bed (I have a diswasher but I forget to use it). Only a coffee pot, a breadbox that my father made for me (used for cookies and treats) and microwave on the counter. No water spots on anything. Coffee pot is cleaned after every use. Nothing on the kitchen table when not is use. The kitchen, viewed from the back door, is the first impression given as one enters our home so it is important to me that everything is orderly and clean. And another thing, I cannot abide by anything on the top of the fridge but do have a small cork/dry erase board on fridge door. Yup, I'm fussy.

[Marianne]

No, not fussy like you. What you describe is a typical scenario at my house. :) I cook anyways. However, I do most of my prep at an island, and THAT needs to be free of extraneous things, particularly if I have the flour out. My husband, when he's been nice, calls me an enthusiastic cook. I however call myself a messy cook. Those things need to be off the island, not because they disturb me, but because I will wreck havoc on them otherwise. LOL

Ditto. Except I don't have an island. Oh, wait! I don't have countertop, either! So the one small table that is my makeshift countertop by the stove has to be relatively bare if I'm going to do any baking. Our table is in the dining room, so if I have to move things in there, I call for backup AKA DH.

[Float On]

Just last night I made the bold statement, "I will bake cookies when the 3 of you clean up the dinner dishes and clean the counters." By the time they were done the butter in the bowl was soft enough to get started.
Sadly, I did have to clean up the batter bowl myself this morning. I'd forgotten to do that before going to bed.

[Bastelmutti]

I used to not care; DH did. Now that I take care of a lot of household duties, I have moved to his way of thinking. We clean as we go in the kitchen, keep the counter clear, keep the loads going in and out of the dishwasher, clear the drying rack regularly, etc. I clean the sink a lot, and he cleans the floor. Definitely nicer to cook that way.

[Stella]

I am kind of in between. I very very much prefer to have the kitchen nice and clean before I cook or bake. I want the dishes done and the counters cleared and wiped down.

I do however leave the coffee in the pot until evening because I like iced coffee in the afternoon in the spring and summer. I have some homemade vanilla simple syrup, which I mix with half cold coffee and half fresh milk from the dairy. Sometimes I have coffee ice cubes I've made from leftover coffee, sometimes just regular ice cubes. It's a nice mid-afternoon treat. I've been thinking of making a cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice syrup for the fall.

[Miss Cellane]

Back in my wild and carefree youth, I procrastinated on Kitchen Patrol, as my dad used to call cleaning up the kitchen. Dishes would sit in the sink all day, the floor wouldn't be swept for a couple of days, mail would sit on the counter unopened. And then I'd want to bake cookies or something, and I'd have to do an hour of work just getting the sink cleared and and measuring cups washed and in general getting the kitchen ready to . . . be used as a kitchen, instead of a dumping ground.

So then I started cleaning the kitchen up every night. My cereal bowl might sit in the sink while I was off at work, but right after dinner, I'd do all the dishes, sweep the floor and put stuff away. I call it my "Power Hour." After the kitchen is done, which takes about half an hour, I'll do housework in other rooms for half an hour. And that's pretty much all it takes to keep the place looking halfway decent.

On days that I'm home all day, I try to do something every time I wander through the kitchen. This I call "rebooting." Just as you have to sometimes shut a hard drive down to make it work properly again, you constantly have to keep things in the kitchen moving. Dishes go from cabinet to table to dishwasher/sink to cabinet. If you do a little bit at a time, as it needs it, it doesn't become an exhausting, back-breaking chore, but a series of little, easy tasks.

I have a few routines. I live alone, so the dishwasher doesn't get full every day. But I run it every other day, because it's over 2/3 full at that point. I run it at night, and the following morning, I use the time that it takes for the water to boil for my tea to empty it and the dish drainer and put everything away. So 10 minutes after I'm up, I have tea and the dishes are all where they belong.

I'm not a neat freak by any means. But the kitchen counters are usually clear, except for the electric kettle and the microwave. Dishes are where they belong--in the dishwasher or the cabinet. Trash gets emptied regularly. Wednesdays and Saturdays I do a little more deep cleaning, like washing the kitchen floor. Let's put it this way: If I had a mother-in-law, I wouldn't worry about her stopping by unannounced and seeing my kitchen.

[Florence]

I just can't cook unless the kitchen is clean. A clean kitchen makes me happy; a messy kitchen grates on me. I wash dishes either by hand or load in the dishwasher as I cook. I really like to have only the dishes that we used at the table left to wash after the meal.
I also like to get things set up for the next morning's breakfast right after cleaning up after dinner. It seems to give me a little morning boost to have everything in place and ready to go.

[domestic goddess]

First of all, I have to admit that I'm not real picky. If there is a mess where I need to be working, I'm not above moving it to some other spot, to be dealt with later.
But sometimes the mess does get to me, especially (like now) when both sinks are full of dirty dishes and utensils, when I couldn't find a measuring cup if I wanted one, and there isn't a clear place on the counter. So, after I get off this dad-gummed machine (a.k.a the computer), I'm going to clean the kitchen. Now, most of this is not my mess, but it will be my star for cleaning it up.
Then I can empty the dishwasher, and fill it and run it again! DD is the only other person here who does any cleaning in the kitchen. The guys make most of the mess, but only dsil sometimes cleans. I wish he wouldn't. He messes with my baking supplies, "reorganizes" things (they aren't really "organized" by him, just moved around into all sorts of unlikely places), and throws out perfectly good food and supplies. So I go to bake something, and discover that all the cinnamon is suddenly gone. It drives me nuts!

[loosechickens]

I'm definitely a "clean kitchen" one. Maybe it's because of living many years in very small spaces, but I'm one who must start in a clean kitchen with everything put away and counters clean. I'm also one who does dishes immediately after each meal, and never go to bed at night with anything out of place in the kitchen. I MAY, if I'm the only one home, rinse a dish from a snack and leave it in the sink until the next meal, but that is even unusual for me.

Now, my sweetie, if it were left up to him, would simply shove stuff away from the last meal he cooked, while he started in making the next mess. Needless to say, we've clashed over the years, hahahahha.......but like water on stone, I've prevailed, and even he recognizes how much more peaceful cooking is when you start out from a clean kitchen, and don't consider the cooking job complete until the kitchen has been returned to that state........

[Stella]

LOL LC. I for one am happy to hear that you have one that battle. It gives me hope. I love DH with all my heart but we definitely have different styles of doing things sometimes.

[domestic goddess]

Oh, dear. I putzed around and now dsil is cleaning the kitchen! Well, at least he is doing the dishes, but that seems to be all. I am happy to have him load the dishwasher, as my knees are stiff and sore with this cool damp weather, and I don't relish standing there doing it myself. So I will focus on laundry today. And cleaning the bathroom, which is really my area of irritation. I can't stand a dirty bathroom, or even a messy one. Then I suppose I will have to round up the girls and get the living room picked up. That is almost as much work as doing it myself!

[Gardenarian]

The rule in our house is "clean up as you go along", so luckily I rarely find myself in that position. But I do like to have the counters cleared before I get into some big project.

[Wildflower]

I always have to have the kitchen clean before I bake or cook a meal. And it must be spotless before I go to bed. I also have to have everything in place in the whole house and bathrooms spotless as well. My DH calls me "anal" with a smile. I can't argue that one. >8)

[Anne Lee]

I might, depending. At the very least, I would wash the pan as I need the counter space. The dirty dishes would be in the sink (in my house) because the dishwasher needed emptying. So I would wait until after I was done cooking to do that. In fact, a similar scenario happened the other night and I had a rather prep intensive meal to make. DH came in while I was cooking and asked if he could do anything. I asked him to unload the dishwasher which he did and he even loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. I do like to start with a clean slate but it's not always possible.

[Mrs-M]

Happy good morning to all! Lots of fun hearing from everybody. P.S. I know it's probably just my crazy way of thinking, along with being as domestic and frugal and old-fashioned as I am, but I always find thread topics like this to bring me the most warmth and joy and enjoyment! Just knowing how we (SL junkies) all think and do.

Herbgeek. I actually wish I could be a little more like you. Relaxed about things. There's peace that comes with that.

Goldensmom. Oh, for sure, stuff on top of the fridge, ugh-uh. Bad, bad, bad!

Marianne. You are so happy-go-lucky! I love that! Sort of like, anything goes/I'm good with it!

Float On. I love your style!!! A little bargaining never hurt, and it can go such a long way!

Bastelmutti. "Cleaning as I go" is my middle name! LMAO! Seems no matter what I'm preparing in the kitchen, I'm fussing over something or another related to cleaning and putting away.

Stella. I think having a set system/routine is good, as in leaving the morning coffee in the pot for iced coffee. (Sounds delicious)! P.S. Keep me posted on the cinnamon syrup! Oh my!!!

Miss Cellane. With you having grown up in a large family, I expected nothing less from you. :) P.S. Love your closing statement Re: having company drop-by unannounced, and feeling no discomfort.

Florence. I consider you old-school, not as in old (age wise), but as in your way of thinking and frugal/simple lifestyle practices and methods, so I had you pegged as being exactly the way you describe.

Domestic Goddess. P.S. I know exactly what you mean by, "most of this is not my mess". Gosh, I relate to that so well!!! Ha-ha-ha!

Loosechickens. I do believe being conditioned for a period of time, i.e. small living spaces, helps adjust one to a more stringent form of structure realated to organization and practical neatness.


Originally posted by Stella.
I love DH with all my heart but we definitely have different styles of doing things sometimes.For sure! I have come to believe that this is an unwritten rule in marriages! :) A given.



Originally posted by Domestic Goddess.
Oh, dear. I putzed around and now dsil is cleaning the kitchen!ROTFLMAO! Isn't that the way!


Originally posted by Gardenarian.
The rule in our house is "clean up as you go along" Since child #1, I've been working on training-up all my children to follow that very golden rule.

Wildflower. My adage is, it's OK if all other rooms in the house are kept so-so, but the bathroom and kitchen have to be kept spotless! No exceptions. Foot down.

Anne Lee. I know exactly what you are saying regarding "it's not always possible". With eight in our home, your- "it's not always possible" saying, hits home!

[herbgeek]

Mrs. M- my "relaxed" way is a combination of still reacting to my over zealous mother in my head and sheer laziness. LOL. My mother made me do things her way, whether I thought they made sense or not and I swore when I was older, I would be different (and I am).

The other factor is that I'm an industrial engineer by education. But even as a kid, I always looked for the most efficient way to do something. Even making cookies, I would set up an assembly line to get more cookies done faster. I don't know where I got this from, it just seems innate. It energizes me to find easier ways to do anything. I love finding shortcuts to make food that looks and tastes "fancy", but didn't take much time. IMO, Martha Stewart is close to the anti Christ: she can complicate the most simple of anything. And she makes the complicated seem impossible. I am the anti Martha.

While it would be nice to always have a clean kitchen, there are so many other things calling for my attention, and since something has to give, its that. It's picked up and clean at least once every 24 hours, but not guaranteed to be in place all the time. I don't have drop in guests, or kids, so I can get away with this.

[Bastelmutti]

Bastelmutti. "Cleaning as I go" is my middle name! LMAO! Seems no matter what I'm preparing in the kitchen, I'm fussing over something or another related to cleaning and putting away.


Well, that is so much DH's middle name that I have to shoo him out of the kitchen when I am cooking sometimes, because he puts away things I am still using, like a bowl or a wooden spoon!

For those of you with the messy spouses - there is hope! I was the messy spouse, and I've "cleaned up my act" quite a bit. Although if you saw my office today, you might not think so! ;-)

[Rosemary]

herbgeek, we think much the same way! I am also all about efficiency and simplicity. (I'm an engineer as well.)

I generally clean as I go, when it works that way. When I have too many other things going on in the kitchen, I wait until enough stuff is cooking to do the dishes. But I never, ever go to sleep with a messy kitchen - I hate waking to a messy kitchen more than I hate losing sleep. And if DH makes a mess in the kitchen late at night, he'd better clean it up!

[early morning]

Ah, I am swimming against the current here, I see. (Herbgeek, I had a my-way-or-the-highway mother, too...) While I appreciate a clear counter sighting, it's a rare bird in this house. Have you seen those samplers that read "my kitchen is clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy? We're far more on the "happy" side :|(. A couple weeks ago, DS was home visiting and spilled water on the kitchen floor while filling the cat dish. Now there is a big clean spot on the floor. I HATE it when that happens! :laff: The table gets purged when: 1. Things start falling off of it. 2. Someone actually wants to sit down at it. 3. I catch a glimpse of the cloth and see that it's from last season. But none of that will stop a cookie baking urge. Seriously, I can't stand dirty dishes and we keep them cleared up. Clean dishes in the drainer, though - that doesn't bother me at all. DH generally empties the drainer and dishwasher in the middle of the night, since he rarely is able to sleep straight through.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Herbgeek.
Martha Stewart is close to the anti Christ: she can complicate the most simple of anything. And she makes the complicated seem impossible.Yes, bingo! ROTFLMAO! P.S. Great point Re: ones early years, i.e. upbringing, and how it often promotes change in ones later years, independent years.

Bastelmutti. MML! (Make me laugh). Sometimes when I have a lot to do (kitchen related) I'll inform everyone in the house, that the kitchen is out of bounds for such and such a time, while I prepare such and such. Sometimes us homemakers need that.

Rosemary. I also practice the old, "wait until there's enough cooking, then start cleaning/tidying". I love the feeling of being able to sit down afterwards to a clean and organized kitchen, while smelling the aroma of a tasty meal simmering away!


Originally posted by Early Morning.
Ah, I am swimming against the current here, I see.Awww, don't feel bad, I live by the same too, occasionally. Just no getting around it with a house-full! I have always loved the sounds of your home. Seems so country like and homey. That warm feeling where everything is used and everyone is always welcome. P.S. The story of your son spilling water on the kitchen floor and the spot where it landed now clean, is my laugh of the day! Thanks for that! :)

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Herbgeek.
I always looked for the most efficient way to do something.You and I would get along so well! (Sharing our time saving/speed proficient methods with one another). I try and incorporate/apply efficiency into everything I do, although with some things it does prove to be challenging.