I’m living alone again for the first time since I was 22. I brought back my old ways. I use the same dishes every day, and wash as I go. One fork, one knife, one spoon, a plate, a bowl, a glass, etc. They sit rinsed-off in the sink till I need them, then I quickly wash what I need, and use it, and put it back in the sink.
Much better than filling a dishwasher every few days, then having to run it and put the dishes away.
I read this while cleaning the kitchen.
I read this while procrastinating about cleaning the kitchen
Naturally
The kitchen exists as a place where you can make a mess and quickly clean it up.
Imagine trying to do all the stuff you do in your kitchen, but in your living room or bedroom?
That was my thought. If you take your take out to the couch directly you don’t need to clean the kitchen. #life hack
For years people asked how I kept my house so clean when I lived by myself. I had 2 plates, 2 forks, 2 knives and I kept cooking down to 1 pot. If I was making spaghetti and meatballs (the easy way) I mixed everything in the pot, I made the balls on my plate, heated up the pot, browned the balls on bottom of the pot, cleaned dish while I did it, put browned meatballs on plate, boiled water in the pot, throw in noodles drain water when aldente, add sauce, add spices and throw meatballs back in on low heat until I get the sauce how I like. Put food on plate, eat. Put lid on bowl into the fridge for leftovers tomorrow. 1 plate and fork to clean when done. 2 minutes to clean that and the stove top up. Having more people complicates thjngs
…and folding clothes! That’s how you know you’re alive 😅
Make it a goal. Make it a hobby to clean. Put on some great music and clean away. Then, when you are of old age and looking back at that nice clean…filthy f##k’n kitchen, you clean it again.
Have kids, the floor has to be cleaned every day throughout the house.
Have kids and an incontinent cat, and despair.
I have kids, what is this clean floor you speak of?
exactly. Had the oldest one clean the floors before bed last night and that lasted until they all woke up in the morning.
no thank you
Stop reminding me god damn it
Clean the toilet. Leave for 3 weeks, toilet hasn’t been used. Come back and the bowl is dirty.
Do your roommates not use it?
You got hard water?
The call is coming from in the house.
From the porcelain phone!
Any day now I’ll catch up on getting that sucker finally clean.
I want true cleaning hacks. I just got a dishwasher last week for the first time in my life and it’s a huge time saver. What else is like that? The most common sense of course is putting things away after you use them, and another hack is cleaning the kitchen before bed, but what else? Does wiping down the shower every time I use it help? Should I get a used roomba? Are there any roomba-type-objects that mop? Give me the knowledge please.
My best life hack to reduce cleaning time is “no shoes in the house”. This is the easiest thing to do and yet, it seems impossible to tell that to my friends and family when they visit.
Also, do less laundry: your clothes don’t need to be washed each time you wear it.
There are mopping robots, I have a Braava by irobot
Be warned: that specific model (M6) cannot clean the inside of corners! I’m sure there are newer (and nicer ones) that can do that, since irobot has been super behind the curve for a long time
On the other hand there are now combo vacuum/mop robots but idk if those mop corners very well since I don’t have one
Do you also have a robot vacuum, or do you just let the mop do it’s thing? I have two very hairy animals, so we get tumbleweeds of hair around the house.
Yeah, I do
I have a shark matrix and it does pretty good, of course it has the same issue with the corners though! I definitely don’t recommend roombas for pet hair, I have a long haired dog and the roomba would usually just roll up the hair into balls and deposit them in random areas on carpet. The shark doesn’t seem to do it (and also has a bristle brush and not rubber, which I anecdotally think is better)
When I cook I follow the restaurant kitchen principle of cleaning as you go, meaning constantly clear your workspace and clean your essential tools so they’re immediately ready. When you get an inspiration to cook, nothing deflates it like finding you have 20 minutes of work to do first, or that the special utensil or machine you only have one of needs soaking to get the crusty dried crud off it.
A big drying rack for things that don’t go in the dishwasher. Drying with a towel sucks and is unhygienic.
Get one of those car window cleaners, The kind they use at the gas station with the wiper blade on one side and the scrubby sponge on the back. Use it in your shower every time after you shower. Scrubby side first wiper side second. It literally takes 30 seconds to scrub down everything and while it’s never completely clean it never gets groady.
Treat your grout with bleach. Spray the wall wipe the bleach off the tile itself The grout will absorb it a little bit and it’ll keep mold from forming.
If you have a glass shower door you can treat it with rainx the same way you would do your windshield. It’s not get any appreciable muck on it for weeks. It is unfortunately a fair amount of work to apply the Windex properly.
Get stainless steel cleaner to clean stainless steel. It really makes a difference.
The oxalic acid in Bar Keeper’s Friend will remove tarnish from copper with zero effort. It can also remove burned on food to an extent.
If your range hood is covered in grease and dust, pour olive oil all over a paper towel and use that to wipe off you hood first. Then use a soapy rag to clean off the oil.
Slightly damp magic erasers will remove almost anything from painted drywall. You can do the same spot about four or five times usually before it needs to be repainted.
Don’t use a steam mop on luxury vinyl plank. Only use a spray mop and neutral pH cleaners specifically designed for flooring. Definitely not fabuloso.
Remove the baskets from your dishwasher once in a while and scrub the insides down with the magic eraser.
Clean your dishwasher filter every time you run it, or be prepared to replace the pump every other year.
Take your shower heads off and soak them in CLR if they start spraying water in strange directions.
fuck dishwashers, I have a triple drying rack.
How do you ensure that things get clean though?
My current apartment doesn’t have a dishwasher, and I can’t stand it. I can hand wash but I’m not content that the germs all got washed away, and it still feels like I can scrub the whole thing and still have spots left that only show up when the dish dries.
As a lifelong washer by hand, I would call those very clean dishes!
Both is best.
The absolute best life hack I have is the 5 minute rule.
If I see something that needs doing I ask one question, “can I do this in less than 5 minutes?” If the answer is yes, I do it.
Over time I’ve realized how many things I used to put off and let pile up because I didn’t have the time and how many of those things take less than 5 minutes, less than 2 minutes.
It’s amazing how many things you can do in basically no time. I used to put off so much, I won’t empty the dishwasher because it “takes too long” takes about 2 minutes. I won’t load the dishwasher because it “takes too long” takes about 2 minutes. The counter is messy but it would take forever to clean it, nope, 3 minutes.
I think it’s a good hack though because it works in 3 different dimensions
- First, and most obvious, you do whatever thing you’ve identified will take less than 5 minutes.
- Second, and less obvious, once you start doing this you find the number of times you need to stop and clean all afternoon going down greatly. It just changes the relationship you have with cleaning (or at least I had with cleaning). Cleaning time used to be this block I would set aside and dread, but now even when I need to stop and do the things that take more than 5 minutes there aren’t 100 5 minus tasks also piled up in the way.
- Third, and maybe least obvious, it helps you really gauge how much work stuff is. I don’t know why I thought unloading the dishwasher was some big ordeal, it takes 2 minutes tops. The longer I use the 5 minute rule the more things I’ve thought to try to see if I can do in 5 minutes. And it’s not like I’m speed running these chores. A lot of the things I put off and let pile up just aren’t that much work if you do them when they need doing.
So that’s my cleaning life hack. It has completely changed the way I think about cleaning. It’s not something I stop and do and dread Saturday because I’ve got to do a big clean of the kitchen. My kitchen is always pretty clean now and on Sunday I spend 30-60 minutes mopping and spraying everything down for a nice squeaky clean.
Living in a nice clean place also rules.
Robot vacuumes!
Buy a cheapish roborock, even used. The S5 is great
For me it’s just cleaning something somewhat every day that makes the “bigger” cleaning sessions so much easier. Not sure if that’s what you mean but bouts of depression made me ignore things for longer times and it took so much more energy to get it back into shape afterwards.
Like, I’d vacuum the living room while waiting for the water for coffee to boil. As for the shower, once weekly is fine to not have to scrub, but I also don’t have hard water.
if you ever get a robot vacuum, don’t skimp and try finding a quality one.
i tried a cheap one and its useless.
Just the clean the kitchen each time after you cook.
Truly, this is the most relatable sisyphean trial of modernity.
It’s made even worse when you don’t have a dishwasher.
Bro we had a dishwasher and our Dad still made us do the dishes manually every night. Now I have a dishwasher of my own and avoid doing them manually as much as possible.
Fucc u Dad
When you start to level up in life, invest in a mid-tier or above dishwasher. Man that thing has changed my life. We had a dishwasher but it started leaking and caused water damage on the floor. That was a whole headache. Went to buy a new one once the floor was fixed, turns out I had a very basic, entry level dishwasher. It wasn’t terrible (until it leaked) but upgrading to a better one, oooh baby, this thing cleans and dries like a dream! Ah such a midlife thrill acquiring an effective dishwasher.
Our struggle is lack of space for a full-size one. We might eventually get an 18” one, but we don’t have a lot of options for where to put it. What was the upgraded model you went with? Those crappy basic “contractor’s special” white ones can be more trouble than they’re worth.
We went Bosch, I think some 800 series or something. It’s nice, it’s got that hidden top rack for the weird shaped utensils and whatnot. Also nerded out and watched instructional videos and they were saying it’s best to just scrape food off and load. Don’t pre-rinse, you’re basically doing the job twice if you pre-wash. We had a Whirlpool before which the appliance sales guy said any Whirlpool is like entry-level. Once you go up a level they brand them as KitchenAid cause I guess those two companies merged.
All of our other appliances are Bosch so that bodes well. We have issues with the oven, but I think it’s mostly our wonky kitchen electrical in one wall. The fridge is amazing.
Just swapped mine for a Kitchenaid model that is a massive improvement over my bargain bin. I imagine most of the >700 ones are good as long as you avoid Samsung and anyone else advertising gimmicks like wifi instead of good washing and drying.
Note that you can’t always compare them across retailers since they’ll sell slightly tweaked models to each, but usually they have a common numbering system. I think both Bosch and Kitchenaid essentially tier theirs by 100. My Kitchenaid is a 604 and I could’ve gone down to a 500-series but liked that this one is where it included a larger external vent and fan to push air.
Getting a dishwasher was one of the things that has improved my quality of life the most. Even a crappy, cheapo dishwasher like mine will make a big difference.
We have a crappy half size dishwasher. We moved here seven years ago and this is the first time in my adult life I’ve had a dishwasher. It’s amazing.
I got a countertop dishwasher last year, best 300 ive ever spent. looking forward to having a real dishwasher when I eventually move!
I want to look into these. I’d have to check if our kitchen has the space though (our cabinets sit kinda low). Great idea!
Yeah, in my student single flat, I didn’t had a dishwasher for quite some time.
Couldn’t keep up in any way, although this shit kitchen wasn’t even up to really cook something big, but hand washing every little thing, really put me off cooking for quite some time.
I think, I re-used the same set of plate and knife for years, just because I didn’t want to use up more dishes, that I need to wash…
I have had a dishwasher for basically all my life ( Over 50. Get off my lawn), an I recently moved to a small apartment that has no “magic cabinet”, (the one where you put dirty dishes and when you take one out it’s clean), after my kids moved out. At first the dishes piled up, but now I use what is in tbe drying rack. Gamechanger.
There are small dishwashers that you can place anywhere, bought one for my small kitchen. Lifesaver.
Ooooh. Look at Mr SpongeBorgFANCYPants!!
Dude, for real. Folks: do not take your dishwasher for granted!
I never used a dishwasher regularly until I was like 26. They are soooo goooood.
One of the best improvements in my life. If I can muster the will to put things in and out.
I just got one for the first time in my life last week. I was suspicious, but it’s… splendid.
He might just quit!
This so much. Don’t have a dishwasher currently and I spend upwards of 20 minutes a day in front of the sink. Makes my shoulders hurt hunching over like that all the time
Hunching over? How tall are you?
I’m only 5’10" not exactly a giant. We just have a deepish sink and maybe lower than average countertops
Not OP, but I’m 6’6" (200 cm). I’m ALWAYS hunching over in the kitchen.
Some are cursed with blessings
Fill a pot, put it over the countertop and use it as a sink.
I can’t wash dishes even if wanted to, too tall so the sink is way too low down. Instant back pain.
Buuuut I’d rather not renovate the kitchen just for that. Dishwasher crutch! Haha.
I’m taal too. I got a maid. Game changer.
Only 20 minutes?!?! I do have a dishwasher, and I still spend well over 20 minutes hunched in front of the sink cleaning dishes that can’t go in the dishwasher every day.
I let my dishwasher decide which dishes can be washed in there. They either survive or they end up in the trash.
No one in hell would I pay premium prices for something that is going to waste my time by requiring pampering.
Same with clothes.
It’s all just stuff and I refuse to allow it to control me.
This is a pretty silly mindset. I cook every day. I like to use high quality tools for my cooking. That includes high quality kitchen knives. Those shouldn’t be dishwashered. It ruins the handles and dulls the blade.
Same with my nice cast iron pans. And wooden cutting boards.
I also have several very large pots/bowls/etc that are just too large to fit in the dishwasher.
The dishwasher is an extremely useful tool, but it’s pretty ridiculous to limit what kitchen tools you’re willing to use simply because they aren’t compatible with another kitchen tool.
Actually badass though, force yourself to spend hours over a period to find indestructible stuff, then enjoy freedom from hours of stupidlabor weekly forever
Almost everyone I know who spends real time in the kitchen would agree with you though 🙂
Claiming my choices are silly is silly.
It takes less time and effort to clean it as you go.
Maybe (probably) I’m just stupid and clumsy but cleaning as I go means cooking takes even more time and effort. I do it exactly the other way around, to minimize cleaning time I only clean my kitchen every few days when my counter gets too full. YMMV.
WHatever works. :)
Only if you want things clean. No one says it needs to be clean but you.
Define “clean”.
