For the last 5 years I have had the same New Years resolution that has given us a fresh start and given me momentum to accomplish other goals. I don’t know if this is also the case for you, but after the holidays my kitchen can be a bit of a hot mess with all the cooking that’s been done. There are leftovers filling the fridge, cookies on the counter and spills on the cooktop.
So my first step is to take everything out of the fridge. Oh yes…everything. I put anything very perishable in our garage fridge but you could use an ice chest or just work very fast. Then I wipe it all down with soapy water and make it shiny. Then I go through all the food. Any leftovers that are more than a few days old have to go. We have a lot of animals we can give things to or we compost it. I check all the dates on the condiments and if there is anything expired or I just don’t see us using again I get rid of it.
Step two is to clear the countertops. That goes for leftover holiday goodies, appliances that have made their way on there, or random stuff family members have left there. We tend to want to keep things on the counter for convenience, but it actually makes it harder to cook and harder to clean up. I know this is common because I have had 3 different people comment about me keeping our toaster oven in a cabinet. “You mean you take the toaster out EVERY TIME you have to use it?!” That “every time” usually ends up being about 3 times a week and takes around 5 extra seconds to take it out and plug it in and then 5 seconds to put it away. But then I have that area clear to work and if things splatter, I can just wipe down the counter and not a zillion other things too. We have even gotten rid of the coffee maker and use a French press that is stored in the cabinet. When everything has been cleaned up, we have a bowl of fruit on the counter (though I would like to have a shelf for it at some point) and the tea kettle on the stove and a couple plants on the window sill. It makes for a refreshing environment that is fun and inviting to cook in and isn’t bogging down my mind with all the appliances and decorations.
Let me know, do you think you would enjoy cooking more if your counters were clear?