When I was young, it always used to be my duty to clean up the kitchen after our meal was done. Putting the dirty dishes for washing, cleaning the stove and kitchen top, cleaning the glass dining table, washing the vessels needed immediately afterwards, etc. were all my responsibility. I would do all these kitchen clean up activities with such precision and care. Believe it or not, I actually used to like cleaning the kitchen in those days! And would take nearly half an hour to bring that nice glossy finish to everything!! I was so proud of myself!
Very obviously, I only had that one chore to do in those days, so I could and would spend that much time in doing it. That is not the case now. Now, I need to clean up in about 5 minutes, which is a superhuman task to do!! I’m sure this is the situation with all of you as well…
Keeping our kitchen clean is as important as cooking nice healthy meals for your family. But, as we cannot and should not spend too much time on it, I come here with a list of some cool hacks, to ensure your cleaning time gets reduced to half!!
Soak vessels in water as you work:
There are many of us who, in spite of having a cleaning maid, will either wash half the dishes themselves. Or at least rinse the dishes and keep, to make it easy on the maid to clean them. (Seriously, who is working for whom?!) Well, to make this easier and quicker for you, fill your sink half with water, while you are still cooking. Keep on putting dirty dishes in it, as and when you are done with them. More than half your work will be done here itself, as the immediate soaking of the vessels will avoid staining, and they will clean up superfast afterwards!
Prevent Clogs from forming down the drain:
To avoid this very irritating situation, regularly pour boiling water down the drain. This is to make sure that oil and other residue doesn’t form a layer on the walls of the drain. If you have baking soda at home, pour a spoonful prior to pouring boiling water. Baking Soda makes for an excellent cleaning agent. This 20 second activity every week/fortnight will ensure you won’t have to spend half an hour every few days, unclogging the drain!
Cleaning the oil bowl after making rotis:
Many of us have the habit of keeping oil in a small bowl near us when we are making rotis. It’s easier to dip our fingers in the bowl, and quickly apply it on the roti, than taking it from the oil dispenser. However, once we are done with the roti making, we generally throw the bowl as it is into the lot for washing. Rather than this, sprinkle a little left over atta in the bowl, and move your hand around to wipe the bowl clean of any oil that it contains. This helps clean it much faster, and avoids making the other vessels around it oily!
Keep your cleaning sponge dry:
Once you are done with washing the kitchen top with the cleaning sponge, you wash it under the tap. Rather than just simply keeping the washed sponge beside the sink, keep it upright with a paper binder clip to dry it faster and avoid mold setting in.
Use throw-away Kitchen Towels for cleaning:
Keep a couple of rolls of the throw-away kitchen towels always somewhere close by. They are extremely useful for cleaning stuff like spilled milk, grease marks, food spills. Just throw them in the dustbin after you are done. No wasting your precious minutes in washing the cleaning cloths every single time.
Refresh your smelly microwave:
If your microwave is smelling from cooking too many strong ingredients in it, keep a bowl filled with water more than halfway through in it. Add lemon juice or a crushed piece of lemon to this water. And run the microwave on high for a minute or so. All the smells disappear like magic, and you will have a fresh equipment ready for its next use!
Line your Kitchen cupboards & side shelves with paper:
Line your cupboards and side shelves with paper or lining sheets. When they become dirty, just remove the sheets, throw them in the dustbin and replace them with new ones. You can do the same thing for the kitchen flooring beneath your trolleys. It’s impossible to sweep it every day. Simply place newspapers there, and keep replacing them every once in a while, to keep the floor clean.
These are some of my favorite hacks to be used in kitchen cleaning.
What is your favorite hack? Let us know all about it.
Please try out the above hacks, and get back to us to let us know if you found them useful. Post your feedback in the comments section below, or message us through our page!