Cleaning Up

[SobaAddict70]

How efficient are people when they cook -- with respect to clean-up procedures?

I try to clean up as I go, so I won't have nearly as much to deal with when the moment of truth arrives -- when all the guests have gone and the dishes are stacked in the sink, waiting to be rinsed before being placed in the dishwasher.

Do you regularly experience guests who offer to clean up before, during or after dinner? Do you do it right away or take a moment to unwind? Are you the sort with an ironclad rule ("You're in my house as a guest, therefore stay out of the kitchen")? I myself have a rule: "If you've been to my house up to three times, consider yourself a guest; after that, I won't refuse the offer to help."

I used to hate clean up with a passion, but having a dishwasher has changed that somewhat.

Soba

[skmcdade]

Oh my.

I will clean as I go IF I am already fairly caught up on cleaning.

If we've been out at church functions and stuff for a couple of days (which is where I am now) and haven't been loading or unloading the dishwasher, then I'm likely to just pile stuff up as I cook. Then I have to do crisis cleaning! But if all is normal, and the dishwasher and sink are empty, I'll clean as I go.

Yes, I often have guests who want to help clean up, and frequently I would rather just let it sit until they are gone. If it's family, we usually clean up together.

Now if I could just get my husband to pick up after himself...

[Marlene]

My husband is assigned to cleanup detail when I cook

[Megaroo]

I loathe cleaning up... in fact, usually my dear fiancé will clean up for me since he knows I hate it. He can't cook to save his life, so I cook, he cleans. I've been told that will change after we're married

When I do large get togethers like Thanksgiving, Christmas and such, usually I wait until the next morning to do dishes. I'd rather visit with my guests and by the time they leave, I'm on the couch watching the fire with a glass of merlot.

[bloviatrix]

I try to do some cleaning up as I go along. But otherwise, Blovie and I have division of labor. I cook and he cleans. This is the case when dinner is the two of us or if we have guests.

[fifi]

I am sort of compulsive. I have to start off with a clean kitchen. That includes an empty dishwasher. Then I get really organized with prep and tend to do a rather rigid mise en place. Dishes and utensils go in the dishwasher as I go. If I use a pot, I wash it right then unless I am at some time critical point in a recipe. By serving time, the kitchen is usually in pretty good order. Close friends and family usually chip in and help clean up after eating and we use that time as additional social time. Sometimes though, I put the stops on that if the mood of the evening seems to point to a leisurely time after the meal. More formal "guests" aren't allowed. (But I don't have those often.)

I actually don't mind cleaning up that much. After everyone has left and the house is quiet, that is highly valued time to myself, to reflect on the evening, to have another glass of wine. I actually enjoy "watching" the kitchen come back to its original pristine condition. Weirdly, I guess I look for the rewards in the whole process. I had fun with my toys. My toys are now back in their original condition. All is right with the world.

[Nick]

I don't have a dishwasher, so it's all done by hand. But, it feels so good when the counters are swept clean and all the dishes, pans, etc. are clean and in the dish drainer. It's really so satisfying to survey the whole scene when it's all cleaned up.

[fifi]

So true, Nick. It is all about attitude, isn't it?

[liamsaunt]

I always start with a clean kitchen, and if it is going to be a big meal with lots of guests, an empty dishwasher. When it is just the two of us, I cook and hubby cleans up. I always clean as I go, mostly because I have a limited amount of space in my kitchen. If we have big gatherings, we clean up together, in shifts, though often cleaning is put off to spend more time with friends. We usually try to finish cleaning up before bed. Best case: I go to bed, hubby cleans up!

[jo-mel]

When I have a lot of cooking, with chopped things, sauces, etc. that are prepared before hand, I use plastic tubs and styrofoam trays. They just get tossed as I empty them. I have a supply of different sizes -- from sour cream. butter, cream cheese, whatever. The meat trays have handy sizes, also.

I teach a cooking class, and using those containers cuts the stuff that has to be cleaned, waaaaay down. The same thing with a meal like Thanksgiving. I prepare the stock for the gravy ahead of time and keep it in one of those soup containers from take-out. Nuts or chopped parsley that goes on a dish at the last minute are in tossable containers, too. Vegetables that are cut up ahead of time go in plastic bags. Anything I have to measure to be added to a dish, and leftovers go in those containers too. Less to be washed later on.

I hate clean-up, but someone has to do it, and I'd almost prefer it to be me. I don't mind a sink full of dishes, but I hate the counters to be filled with dirty plates. When it is all done, then I also sit in front of the fire with my glass of well-earned wine.

[Busboy]

I clean as I go...until I get to the point where I realize dinner is an hour late and people are becoming unruly from drinking cheap apertif wine on an empty stomach. Then it's "damn the dirty Calphalon, full speed ahead!" By midnight, if anyone wants to help, more power to them. Then some loud music and wine while I get the place into reputable shape. Nothing worse than daylight, a bad hangover and a wrecked kitchen on a Sunday morning.

Family dinners we try to keep things in control, then turn it over to the kids after dinner. We do the pots.

[babyluck]

This is a big issue for me. I am a natural-born slob like my dad. He and my mom had an agreement that whoever cooked was exempt from cleanup duty. He was the better cook & she doesn't terribly mind cleaning, so it worked out pretty well. Of course, this arrangement also included me (I would help my mom clean if my dad cooked and vice versa) so I found it in my best interest to learn how to cook from my dad. I don't know which I hated more, washing or drying-and-putting-away.

Mr. Babyluck, however, obstinately refused to abide by the clearly just laws of my family. His reasons were that cooking is "fun" and that if I know I have to clean up, I will use less dishes. At that point, I say, fine, you cook. He does for one meal and never again. I go back to cooking and we let the dishes pile up until one of us feels brave. I would say it was him 2/3 of the time, though. But Megaroo, this story has a happy ending for you. During this time, we were living in sin for a few years and have been married for a few more. Nothing changed in his behavior--until a few months ago when we got the lovely "Carousel" countertop dishwasher. Now he thinks the "I cook you clean" method is just fine and I think even enjoys the process. I've even been known to run a load or two myself.

[Toliver]

I would kill or maim for a dishwasher. My apartment doesn't have one.

I loathe the clean-up. If I don't clean as I go then I procrastinate and wait until "later", whenever that is, to do the dishes. And doesn't that make me a Grumpy Gus!

[sherribabee]

I clean as I go. Having a mere 2 feet of counter space will do that to you.

I have no room to entertain (not even a ktichen table in my apt.) so no worries about that aspect. Although when I'm visiting my parents and preparing holiday dinners, I still clean as I go and rinse everything right away so that cleanup afterwards is a breeze.

[mikeycook]

I am in the same boat. I work in a galley kitchen in NY and have to clean up as I go to do any sizeable meal. The dishwasher and oven are often running at the same time. In some ways, it makes cleaning up easier, particularly if you do hot pans as soon after use as possible to avoid letting stuff harden. It also means you only have dishes to clear after dinner, not pots. I will admit that often, for smaller meals, I don't do this, but I always regret it later.

[Comfort Me]

I have a few hard and fast rules in my kitchen. Most are sacrosanct -- one gets broken regularly, but not my me:

The diswasher gets run every night, full or not.

The dishwasher gets emptied every morning before I can have my coffee.

Dirty Dishes belong in the dishwasher.

The diswasher gets run before guests arive for a dinner party.

Cleanup occurs after guests depart.

I don't go to bed with dirty dishes.

Washing the counter takes 1 minutes. Just DO it!

I used to have real trouble keeping my kitchen in order. We have a limited amount of cabinet space, very little counter space, and I have a lot of pots and pans and kitchen stuff. And it is not unusual for me to cook for 50 people. In order to get the pan I needed, I'd have to take everything out of the cabinets to get to it, or I'd have to run to the storage locker in the basement of our condo building to get a pan.

Last April friends helped me hang pegboard on 16 linear feet of wall space in my kitchen- 128 square feet -- from the chair rail to the cieling. I also took the doors off the upper cabinets. It has really changed our lives. Everything is where it belongs, everything has a place, everything is accessible, and cleanup takes 1/3 the time it used to. All my wisks, spatulas, wooden sppons, plastic wrap, foil, etc. -- even my 6 year-old's lunch boxes -- now have their own places on the wall instead of on the counter. So it gave me more room on the couter to work, which makes cleaning up as you go easier, too. And I don't bang my head on the cabinets the way I used to!

O. My. G-d. It's the best thing I ever did! Some of my snooty neighbors didn't like it, but I figure if it's good enough for Julia, my neighbors can just shut their pieholes.

Oh -- I've also developed an afinity for those Polmolive pre-loaded, disposable dishrags. I just bought a case of them, which should last me 9 months. They are terrific for those times where everyghing fits into the dishwasher except for 1 pot, or you need to wash the crystal.

Lest you think I'm a child-scaring-Joan-Crawford-hanger-wavin'-hand-washing-scary-ass clean freak, I sweep my floor regularly, but I can't abide scrubbing it. It gets scrubbed every two weeks when the cleaning lady comes. My MIL criticized my lack of floor care (not her perfect DAUGHTER'S lack of floor care!) and I chearfully handed her a bucket and said if she wanted to wash the floor we wouldn't stand in her way. She declined and has never said boo about my kitchen floor again.

One of the most annoying things about my wife is she apparently is physically unable to wipe off a counter. I think she should see a doctor, or possibly apply for disability. It makes me freakin' crazy! But every time she pulls out a credit card bill and starts itemizing the Prince charges, I just tell her I'll spend less money when she wipes off a counter! I think I'm going to go order one of those egg toppers Steve Klc showed us in Baking & Pastry!

[Cusina]

How much I clean as I go along depends on my state of franticness. If things are going smoothly and I have plenty of time, I clean as I go, if not, whatever... just get out of my way!

We moved this year. Our last house was an 80s "open style" house with a big eat in kitchen right smack dab in the center of it. It was awful. My kitchen was a magnet for everything from kid craft projects to paperwork to coats to tools waiting to be put away in the basement. Now we have a colonial style house built in the 20s with a good sized but separate kitchen. So much better. I've banned anything that doesn't have to do with cooking or eating from the room. I have my own uncluttered cooking space now and I love it.

[birder53]

I hate cleaning up! I do clean as I cook but still end up resenting the work that remains after a nice meal. That's what I like best about eating out - no clean up! We usually do a minimal clean up after cooking for company (just loading the dishwasher and putting away leftovers) because we want to spend time with our friends. Large family gatherings usually end up with a large group helping out in the kitchen after dinner. Depending on who did most of the cooking, either I or hubby will lead the clean up. On those rare occassions where we left all the mess until the next morning - I truly hated seeing the kitchen in a shambles the first thing the following day! I fantasize about having someone who would just come in and clean up after me so I can enjoy the cooking and eating parts!

[Squeat Mungry]

I would kill or maim for a dishwasher.  My apartment doesn't have one. 

I loathe the clean-up.  If I don't clean as I go then I procrastinate and wait until "later", whenever that is, to do the dishes.  And doesn't that make me a Grumpy Gus!

I am in the exact same boat. I despise doing dishes almost as much as I love cooking -- not a happy combination for a bachelor! I finally thought I had the answer when I ordered a Danby countertop dishwasher. Nice! Er... doesn't even fit on my counter. It's sitting in my closet until I get unlazy enough to jury-rig something to support it! Meanwhile the dishes are piling up...

Dysfunctional Squeat

Edited for functionality.

Edited November 19, 2003 by Squeat Mungry (log)

[megaira]

Comfort Me got worked up!

Some of my snooty neighbors didn't like it, but I figure if it's good enough for Julia, my neighbors can just shut their pieholes.

I really hope they didn't have the nerve to criticize this while they were in your home eating your food.

That, IMO is the difference between a "working kitchen" and one that is just there for looks and hamburger helper. I'm sure all of us would like a fancyass huge kitchen with all the latest gizmos and geegaws, but most of us don't have 50 friggin grand to spend on it. Allowances have to be made for efficiency and practicality and fancy pants be damned. Let them wack themselves in the head with the cupboard doors every night. Julia's kitchen isn't pretty, but I doubt there's a person on the planet that could justifiably say that what comes out of it isn't fantastic. Jamie Oliver's kitchen isn't pretty to look at (well, I'm kind of a non urbanite at heart), but you can tell from one look it's a working kitchen. Bah! How is it their business anyway!?!

I started writing out a post about my kitchen's state of cleanliness and found myself getting really aggravated in the process...so I cancelled it out and now, I think I'll try again & just sum up:

Hub is a bit of a slob, and while I crave organization, I also have some pretty heavy ADD going on. The end result is that the kitchen is trashed at mind boggling speeds.

I hate cooking in a dirty kitchen and having to clear out a space to chop veggies...I like to have it cleaned up first, then clean up as I go -that generally works out the best (but doesn't always happen). I'd be a big fat liar, though, if I said I didn't lapse into periods of flagrant slobbery. Those are the time periods where we eat a lot of takeout or I ask hub to grill. I know, I know, I'll drive 10, 15 minutes up to town to go get takeout...making a 30 minute round trip...just to avoid having to cook in a kitchen that would take 15 minutes to clean up anyway.

Guests are not to clean up unless it's a group gathering with Hub's family where the women have been cooking: they have a "tradition" that the women cook or work on the food and the guys clean up later. That's fine by me. Otherwise, no guests cleaning up. It depends on the person and situation as to whether I'll accept help.

I also make exception to the one set of houseguests who invite themselves out to visit every so often. I wish to god they'd help clean up after meals. It's a pain in the ass to figure out what they want to/will eat, I get sick of cooking for them all together because of their nitpickiness and attitude and I hate cleaning up after them alone in the kitchen while they just wander off and do whatever. Hub usually helps clean up when they're here, more as a blatent hint to them to help, but they never do. I'm hoping we'll be moved before the next time they decide they want to come out and we'll oops, forget to give a fwd'ing address.

Edited November 19, 2003 by megaira (log)

[Anna N]

I hate working in a messy kitchen but I get so carried away trying to clean as I go that I end up making MORE dirty dishes than necessary! Before I realize what I am doing, I have dumped a bowl into a sink of soapy water. Then I thump my head as I realize I need it again for the same recipe!

[MichaelB]

I am pretty good about cleaning as I go. I insist on having clean counters, etc before I start. Every Saturday (too complicated to explain why this is not necessary other days), I wash the lunch dishes before startingto prep dinner -- even if it is a small sauce pan and a ladle! I do have the luxury of a great deal of counter space; but "my" station has to be clean.

When we entertain, Mrs.B is really good about cleaning up as we go. Usually we have a few pots and pans and a zillion wine glasses to wash after guests leave. Sometimes those wait until the next morning.

I am *really* bad about cleaning the stove and the fridge, though. Those have to wait until I get inspired. Of course a complete job on the range, two ovens, griddle and exhaust hood takes me about a half day.

Edited November 19, 2003 by MichaelB (log)

[AzRaeL]

amen to that!

i hate picking up the little crumbs and mopping the floor cuz i love to fry and i'll spread grease all over the house if i dont clean the kitchen.

[fresco]

It's not in my nature to love cleaning. But I do love food, and these days, most of our meals are cooked from scratch, which means that from early morning, most days, the pots, pans and utensils are in use.

For this sort of washing up, I find the dishwasher to be more trouble than it is worth, (loading, unloading, etc) but often fill the sink and draining rack four or five times a day.

Based on this usage, I'm seriously considering having the existing two-compartment sink replaced with a model with one huge compartment.

The floor also takes a beating and usually needs to be mopped completely at least once a day.

But all of this is a small price to pay for the pleasure of freshly prepared food.

[fifi]

Based on this usage, I'm seriously considering having the existing two-compartment sink replaced with a model with one huge compartment.

fresco... Go get in your car NOW and go get a big sink. Do not delay. My house had a big sink/little sink with the disposer combo. This apartment has the usual really dumb double sink. I curse that thing every day of my being. The air today is particularly blue because I am making stock and hastling the big pot, containers and everything else is driving me bonkers. I MISS MY BIG SINK! New house will likely have a big single sink for clean up. (Prep sink is in the island.) Interestingly, the one I had in the house was the exact same size as a standard double sink, but what a difference.