10 Rules for a Cleaner Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home.
And all too often its arteries get clogged with kid stuff and parent stuff, not to mention big bodies, little bodies, and animal bodies everywhere.
In short: this is the room where everyone congregates, and as a result, it's usually one of the messiest rooms in the house.
Yet it's also the place where we gather at the end of each day (as often as we can, anyway) to break bread, wind down, and refuel.
It's these activities especially that require an elevated level of cleanliness and organization.
And few rules of the family road.
These 10 rules can help you keep this room in check.
1. Don't put anything on the counters or table when you come in the door.
These are forbidden dumping zones. Instead, create an organized coming home center.
2. Take shoes off at the door.
Hang up coats and backpacks here, too. (Or where ever you and the kids come in the door.)
3. Eat only in the kitchen and dining room.
In addition to being able to monitor what the kids eat, this simple rule keeps the whole house cleaner, too.
4. Always tidy up behind yourself.
If you're old
enough to grab or make your own snack or meal, you're required to put
away any dishes used, wipe down the prep area or cook top, and put all
utensils away. (See chores for kids by age.)
5. Always put dirty dishes into the dishwasher, not the sink.
Because the dishwasher uses less water than washing dishes by hand, only hand-wash larger, bulkier items that won't fit, or shouldn't be put in (wooden items) the dishwasher.
Put everything else into the machine.
A sink stop must be but temporary.
6. Wipe down counters after use.
Crummy way to live, with food all over the counter tops. Although insects don't necessarily think this way. (Need I say more?)
7. Close the cabinet doors you've opened.
Kids - and some grown-ups - have a habit of leaving doors open after perusing the contents. Nip this one in the bud.
8. Ask to be excused from the table.
It's simply polite, and respectful to the chef du jour.
9. Ask before snacking or having dessert.
If kids must receive permission for these items, parents can keep tabs on family nutrition easier.
10. If you eat at, and can reach, the counter, bus your own plate.
It's only fair, after all, that everyone pitches in. (See 4 above.)
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About the Author
Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.
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