TIME TO DO THE DISHES!

Dishes are something you do every day-even if you have a dishwasher.  So, you might as well have an efficient and automatic way to handle this task so you can spend your energy on other things! 

Fellow Organizer and author, Bonnie McCullough, give these suggestions:

Put away clean dishes as soon as you walk into the kitchen.  Getting them out of the way gives you a clear work area and can save you frustration later.

Deal with the mess.  Clear off tables and counters one area at a time, moving methodically through your kitchen.  If you have a dishwasher, store dirty dishes inside it until you have enough to run a full cycle.

Don’t leave dirty dishes on the counter!  If you have utensils or pans that don’t go into the dishwasher, wash them right away.  Since dishes have to be done so often you might as well teach yourself to do them quickly and without anger.  If you can’t do dishes immediately or decide to save lunch dishes until supper, at least stack them neatly off to the side. 

Don’t try to fix supper on top of the mess of earlier meals.  You might want to quickly wash the dishes before you start supper, and use the dishwasher to soak utensils used for supper preparation. 

Washing bowls, pans and utensils as you use them is a good trick for small kitchens.  The more you get cleaned up before supper, the more free time you’ll have after the meal!

Get rid of clutter!  The more stuff you have in your kitchen, the more you have to keep organized.  Get rid of items you rarely use or never use.  Avoid storing things on counter tops.  Store things near where they will be used. 

Clean up is easier if you have a convenient place for your things.  If several people use your kitchen, it’s helpful for all involved to label shelves and drawers.   Do get all family members involved with cleanup.  Bonnie suggests making a chart and plotting the various clean up tasks and the person responsible for them each day.  If everyone takes a little time to help, you’ll all have more free time together!