When it comes to washing dishes, I feel like the only people that actually like it are toddlers who seem to always be trying to climb into the dishwasher while we are trying to load it up. They demand that they get to help with the dishes. At least that is what I found when my kids were younger. If your kids are younger right now, wait until middle school. That all changes for most kids, they want nothing to do with dishes. And forget about it when they are teens. It’s like the end of the world is coming when you tell them it’s their week for dishes.
Unless you get a system. Now a system won’t make them magically want to do dishes. But, it will help them so see that there is a plan, and they can help with that plan. We do things as a team in our home. Everyone pitches in on everything. It’s just the way it has to be. It makes jobs go faster, when there is a plan.
So a system is what I decided to put together. We are going to go through one of our routines below. It is the exact system that I use in our house and it works like a charm. This system is all about deep cleaning kitchen utensils. I have a system for counters too.
How to wash dishes step by step is going to be our main breakdown of steps. But we are going to use that system for our utensils today.
Sometimes I can get a system overload when given too much detail, so I am going to break it down and keep it simple. The art of dish washing gets lost sometimes in all the very busy world that we live in. But if we take the time to slow down and enjoy the end result of having a very basic cleaning routine for our utensils we can extend the useful life and have a home that also smells fresh and clean.
Steps To Washing Dishes
Step 1
- Clean your sink out
I have two sides of the sink. So for me I take everything out of the left side and give it a good scrub.
Step 2
- Fill the clean sink with warm soapy water.
Step 3
- Rinse off dirty utensils and add to warm soapy water
Step 4
- Gather all of your utensils you want to deep clean from your counter (drawers if they are there)
Step 5
- Wash out right side of the sink good (skip if you have a single sink basin)
- Add a big bowl, I use a big mixing bowl, to place the washed utensils in
Step 6
- Grab a dish cloth and add a little dish soap and start scrubbing the utensils
Step 7
- Place the scrubbed utensils in the clean bowl.
- Repeat until all utensils are clean
Step 8
- Start rinsing off utensils
If they are still dirty, wash again.
This is why I put the utensils in a large bowl. So I can keep any dirty water from items that may still have residue on them from getting dirty again.
Step 9
- Place on a clean towel on the counter
Step 10
- Dry utensils
Step 11
- Put utensils away
Step 12
- Drain water from sink and rinse out sink and put away towel from counter
So set timer for 15 minutes and get started
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Here is a little cleaning motivation for you. I filmed myself deep cleaning my utensils so that you can see that, it didn’t take me very long. Once, because I also declutter as I go. Getting rid of anything that is broken by tossing it into the trash or by adding it to a donation box that I keep in the garage.
How to get rid of stains
If you have a tomato sauce stain on your wood spoons you can often get the stains off. Here’s how.
Wet the spoon with lemon juice, and sprinkle it with salt. Let soak for 10 minutes and then use the lemon to scrub the stain. It may remove the entire stain or at least lighten it.
What is the fastest way to clean your kitchen?
I used to get asked this a lot, we owned a professional cleaning and janitorial service. And people would always ask for tips. This is how we trained our staff.
Start with the things that are going to take the longest. This will give grimy things time to soak and allow the cleaners time to do their job
Deodorize a few things that always contain the most smells in the kitchen. Microwave, oven, vent over stove top, dirty sink, garbage disposal, the space between the stove and the counter, and lastly your utensils that you leave on the countertop. They all harbor tons of odors that should be cleaned out during a quarterly deep clean.
OUR FAVORITE KITCHEN CLEANING ESSENTIALS
Kitchen Cleaning
What most of us tend to do is to neglect the utensils, because we assume that we are using them all the time. Which may or may not be true. Oftentimes, I find myself going through utensils and having to think about the last time I used it. Since I want to minimize my time that I am dedicating to my deep cleaning of my utensils each quarter, I have sectioned them out into quarterly and yearly deep cleaning.
Yearly deep cleaning of utensils is usually things that I have in drawers, pantry, something that isn’t used often, or that is stored away and not collecting additional grime on them.
Quarterly deep cleaning of utensils is going to be anything that sits out and stays on my counter for quick and easy reach. I have a couple of utensil crocks, and since mine sit right next to the stove and I cook multiple times a day, they can get dirty quickly. Especially, since I really only use about two or three of the utensils on a daily basis.
I know, you’re thinking if you only used two or three on a daily basis, why don’t you get rid of them. Well, to be honest, I could donate them. But I have found a fondness for them and they do serve a purpose. A better place for them may be in the drawer.
But, my organization for them is anything wooden or silicone that I use at least once a quarter will be in the crock next to the stove. If you watched the video above, you saw the crocks I use. I have had those for about 10 years or so and I love them. So I do want to keep them displayed.
Here is a copy of the printable that I use to keep track of both my quarterly and yearly deep cleaning of my utensils. You can snag a copy for yourself free.
Click Image to Download
That’s it. I am so proud of you. I know that it is not easy to start a new cleaning schedule but once you add this to your home manage
ment binder, you are going to be able to put all of your cleaning list template into your home binder and know that you have a plan for your new house cleaning schedule.
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