* Let's Do It * - Keeping the kitchen tidy

I think this post is pretty important. I always, always feel better when my kitchen is clean and tidy. Even if the rest of the house falls a bit behind, I think it's a good feeling to walk into a tidy kitchen and be able to prepare meals, bake or just make a cuppa without having to wash dishes or clear bench space. I know we spend a lot of time in the kitchen at our house, I'm always getting someone a drink, or prepping vegies for dinner, making breakfast, splitting up meat to freeze...the list goes on. 
I think it always looks nice to have a clean kitchen too, and one that is reasonably uncluttered. It just makes life easier. So, today I'm talking about the things I do to keep my kitchen that way. It's a continual work in progress and I'm often in there doing something, but it's only for minutes at a time. It's also a good post for me to have on the blog for the times when motivation might be a bit low, I can show myself how easy it is to keep my kitchen clean!

Let me just say before I begin that my kitchen is far from perfect at any given moment. I am definitely not claiming that! But, I am learning along the way (and from my mother) some ways to keep some order to the area.

• Clean up as you go. Haven't we all heard that one before! But it's so, so true. ESPECIALLY when you're cooking or baking something! I know in my kitchen dishes pile up quickly. But if I rinse or wash things as I use them (or stack them into the dishwasher...ssshhh!) then the bench stays clear of dirty dishes. 
• That includes appliances! If you use a sandwich maker, blender, slow cooker or some other appliance that is bulky (and annoying) to clean - do it straight away after using it. And put it away in the cupboard if it doesn't have a permanent home on the bench. It will literally take you minutes to do and your kitchen bench won't look untidy.
• Run your dishwasher through when it gets full. Obviously, if you don't have a dishwasher, this doesn't apply. But I do stack dishes into my dishwasher as I use them, and once the dishwasher is full I just run the load through and empty it when it's done. I KNOW my mother thinks I'm a tad lazy for doing it this way (she'd just wash the cup/spoon/plate) but at least this way they're off my bench and will still get washed. So I don't feel bad about it. 
• Give your benches a good wipe once a day. In addition to wiping up a spill or crumbs or something, I like to give my benches a really good wipe down each day, moving the toaster and kettle aside to get behind them. This stops any crumbs etc from sitting unseen on the bench which may attract ants and things you don't want in your kitchen! It takes all of 5 minutes to do (because you're doing it regularly) and you have peace of mind knowing they're all clean.
• Wipe down appliances and cupboard doors once a week. I don't do this every day, unless I manage to drip something down the front of my white cupboards, so I save it as a once a week job. I grab a cloth and some cleaner (water and vinegar or spray and wipe - whatever you use) and wipe down the kettle, toaster, coffee machine, tea and coffee canisters, microwave and cupboard doors. Nothing too drastic, just a once over will be fine. Easy peasy.

And that's it! Basically, if you want to skip the long winded version above, clean up after yourself, stay on top of the dishes and wipe things down regularly. Your kitchen will love you for it and you will love it more because you won't ever spend an hour in there getting things done :)


Nadia 
xxx