How to Keep Your Kitchen Clean & Organized While Cooking

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How to Keep Your Kitchen Clean & Organized While Cooking

How to Keep Your Kitchen Clean & Organized While Cooking
When I was in high school, we still had Home Ec (economics) class. We learned among other things, how to sew and how to plan a meal and cook it. It was one of my most favorite classes ever. My mother sewed and I always cut the patterns out for her because she didn’t like that part. And, I was already cooking desserts, biscuits and pancakes regularly at home. I did learn a lot that I didn’t know in the kitchen and tips that I still use. At that time, I had not developed many bad kitchen habits. Bad habits are much harder to change than learning things the correct way the first time.

1. Start with a clean kitchen. This is the most important step or me. Clearly it’s hard to work in a messy kitchen with stuff lying all around the countertops. With that being said, I hate to have to clean a kitchen before I start cooking, especially if I’m crunched for time. For me it’s better to keep it clean that way when I have a random craving I can jump in there and start cooking. If it’s not clean, however, I do make myself clean it before starting. I have just found that things run more smoothly when I do this step.

Keep Kitchen Clean Organized while cooking

How to Keep Kitchen Clean while cooking

2. Set out all your utensils, pots and pans before beginning a recipe. Uber important so that you’re not opening drawers and cabinets with butter or flour on your hands, or having to wash an item before you can use it. Trust me in the long run this step will save you clean up time.

Tips on keeping kitchen clean while cooking

3. Have two sets of measuring spoons and cups. Not mandatory, but it sure makes things move more smoothly and quickly if you’re not having to stop and wash an item.
4. Place a towel or waxed paper under your work area to keep mess to a minimum. After you’re finished just crunch it up and throw the majority of the mess away!

Tips to keep kitchen clean while cooking
 
Keep kitchen clean, tips and shortcuts to keep kitchen clean while cooking
5. Line your baking and roasting pans with parchment paper or heavy aluminum foil when possible. 
How to Cook Bacon and keep Kitchen Clean while Cooking
Toss the yuck away! This one step will cut your clean up scrubing time by 200% (I’m really good with math!)
Keep your Kitchen Clean while Cooking

6. Run your sink full of dish water and wash as you go.

Easy to use tips for keeping kitchen clean

7. Keep a garbage bowl or I prefer just to pull the garbage can beside my work station. This saves steps and mess and keeps garbage off the counters.

Cooking and Cleaning Keep your kitchen clean

8. Set out all your ingredients (and measure them preferably) before you begin a recipe. Nothing is worse than starting a recipe with part of your ingredients already combined when you discover you don’t have enough (or any) of a certain ingredient!
9. Reread your recipe, even if you’ve made it before, mulitple times before beginning. I also reread through the recipe mulitple times as I’m making the dish so that I have everything ready when it’s supposed to be.
10. Relax and enjoy the cooking process.

Places I link.
 
Also, check out my post on How To Cook Bacon!
 

42 Comments

  1. And I thought I was the only one who did these tips! When meals are ready to eat the only dishes that are left to clean are the dishes we are eating on or hot pots and pans (which my husband will clean). Awesome post!

    Happy Sharefest!

    Cathy

  2. I thought I was the only one that did this.
    By the time, I'm done cooking my entire kitchen is spotless except the pots on the stove.

    xoxo,

  3. These are great tips!!! You're welcome to come to my house anytime you're in NYC and help me out 🙂 I love being in the kitchen and cooking but since I live in NYC, my kitchen is tiny and hard to keep clean. I will definitely use these tips and look through your blog for more handy tips. I am so glad I found this place. BTW Happy Sharefest!!!

  4. Love the idea of getting everything out before I start so I don't get drawers and cupboards dirty opening and hunting. Great tips.

    I hope you have a lovely weekend.

  5. You captured all of the most important tips in this post. Being an organized cook is such a challenge for me! Here's hoping I can reference your play-by-play and get it together in the kitchen!

  6. My husband is more of the neat one of the house, but I think your tips have even his beat. I'm bookmarking this for him. Thanks!!

  7. These are great tips! I think that I might have to pin them. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 Stopping by from SITS!

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