I have never been a fan of dirty dishes. Especially when they pile up in the sink. Imagine a heaping pile of dishes full of old soggy food...are you disgusted yet? Well, let me tell you something, we have all been there. I wish I could say this post will magically make all of that disappear, however chances are you will experience yet another day of dirty dishes piling up in the sink. Or dried spilled milk sitting for longer than you would like... and if you have kids, it may be more often than you want! A tidy kitchen does not always equal a spotless and perfectly clean one, but it does help keep your home more cleanly. I know it is nearly impossible to keep a kitchen spotless, but on a good day here are my favorite hacks for keeping the kitchen tidy.
Tidy Up After Each Meal
I know this might be the most simple thing ever, and you are probably wondering why that is worth anything, but hear me out. Dry crusted food is harder to clean up then fresh. Dirty dishes pile up. Crumbs all over the counter collect throughout the day. We mothers never seem to have enough time on our hands as it is, and cleaning can take some time. However if you clean up after each meal the crumbs won't pile up, the spilled milk won't harden, and the dishes will not pile up nearly as fast. Suddenly a 5 minute clean up 3 times a day compared to a 2 hour scrub after the kids are down seems like nothing, right?
Assign Sides to Your Sink
This is probably my most favorite hack, and I am still trying to teach it to my husband, but we are working on it!
It all starts with putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher right after they have been used. Think of it as a cycle. You eat something, you rinse it off and instead of throwing it in the sink, you stick it right into the dishwasher. However, sometimes it will be going, or be clean and ready to unload. This is where my hack comes into play. Have one side of your sink be for the rinsed (ready to load) dirty dishes. When you rinse something off, stick it in that side, and then leave the other one empty.
Suddenly when you unload your dishwasher you don't have a sink full of soggy food and dishes to load after- all you will have is a sink full of rinsed and ready to load dishes.
Wipe Counters and Sweep Before Bed
With the hacks above, you will no longer find yourself scrubbing the kitchen each night after the kids go to bed, so take 10 minutes and wipe down the counters and sweep the floor. It isn't much, but will feel so much more refreshing in the morning when you wake up!
Ladies, I am telling you that these hacks are home-changing. Remember, we are all about that shiny penny look right? Doing a little every day will keep that shine strong. They will give you back some of the time you lack AND some of them are kid friendly. If you still feel stuck with the time, assign some of the jobs to your kids.
Now, you have heard my top kitchen hacks, but I want to hear yours! Don't be shy, we all have them, comment down below!