No Such Thing as a Clean Kitchen in My World

We struggle with keeping a clean kitchen so much.

Why is it so hard?

It doesn’t help that I absolutely hate that pruney feeling that my fingers get after washing dishes or that I have an extra sensitive nose that picks up on every smell that comes from, well, everything in the kitchen.

Of course since I hate cleaning the kitchen so much, I haven’t exactly instilled in my children the need to keep a clean kitchen either.

And that doesn’t help matters any.

A few months ago, I talked about reading the book The ONE Thing. I wouldn’t bring it up again except that I decided that my kitchen would be the one thing that I would work on until I got it right.

I still don’t have it right.

But there are a few things that are working at least a little bit.

If you struggle with having a clean kitchen too, maybe these can help you a little bit also.

• It’s all about the clutter. We love cooking so we have way too many pots, pans, utensils, Tupperware containers, cups, mugs, plates, and appliances. The list goes on and I have a lot more to say about all of these but I’m going to stop for now. Every day, just remind yourself that there’s no way you can use 5 spatulas or 25 spoons at one time. The only reason to have that many is so that you don’t have to wash dishes as often. That’s just not gonna fly anymore.
• Washing Three Dishes A Day. I have given myself permission to only wash three dishes a day but I have to do at least that many. Since dishes are my biggest struggle, I tried to think of the easiest thing I could do to still make a difference, even if it’s just a small one. Some days, I’ll wash three dishes multiple times a day but most days, three turns into a lot more. The whole thing is that I don’t have to finish them. I stop when I want to stop so there’s no torture, oops, I mean pressure.
• Purposefully Look for Old Food and Garbage to Throw Away. I’m really good at not seeing things. Sometime this year, I realized that it takes some effort to see and recognize that something should be thrown away. Call it a brain glitch but my eyes look right past all that kind of stuff. So when I’m standing there staring into the refrigerator looking for something to eat, I make myself stop at that Tupperware container that I’ve seen there a million times and do something about it. The result is that while I’ve still left a few things in there for way too long, there’s also a lot that I’ve thrown away before they’ve smelled like death.

These are just a few things that ARE giving me results.

If you give them a try, let me know how they work out. Or if you have some good ideas for someone like me who hates cleaning the kitchen, please share them below. I’ll give them a try!