The Power of Routines

This is what my kitchen looked like this afternoon:


A mess, huh?

Some time ago I developed a routine for cleaning up my kitchen quickly and efficiently. It has 11 steps. I know, I know, that sounds like a lot. But trust me, once you get into some kind of routine, it goes fast.

So, the steps are:

1. Clear off the table. By this I mean clear off every last thing--the dishes, the food, the used napkins, the salt and pepper shakers, the hot pads.
2. Give the table a good wipe-down. Pay attention to sticky spots.
3. Make the table pretty. This can be a tablecloth and centerpiece; placemats and a basket of fruit or whatever you have that is attractive. My table decorations change with the season or holiday. Right now I have snow-scene placemats and a wire basket of fruit on my table.
4. Put away all food. Leftovers, food used in preparing a meal, spices--any and all food is put away.
5. Put away anything that is not a dirty dish. Recipes, cookbooks, trash, small appliances--all this is put where it belongs.
6. By now the only thing left to deal with should be dirty dishes. But before we can deal with dirty dishes we need to have a place to put them. So the next step is to put away the clean dishes.
7. Now we're ready to move on to the dirty dishes. This is significantly easier if you have a dishwasher. And it gets even easier if you have the kind that doesn't require pre-rinsing.
8. I always have some things that need handwashing, so that's the next step.
9. After dealing with all the dishes, I wipe down the counters and stove top.
10. I then collect everything that does not belong in the kitchen and put it in a laundry basket to put away where it belongs.
11. Final step is to sweep the floor.

This is what the kitchen looked like after I was done:


How long did that take? From start to finish--45 minutes. Some days it takes less time, some days more time.

I love having a kitchen clean-up routine because no matter how bad the mess, I know I can get it cleaned up without feeling overwhelmed. I just start out with the table and continue all the way to sweeping the floor and putting things away.

Set up a kitchen clean-up routine for yourself! It'll be much easier to keep your kitchen clean!