3 Shortcuts to Slash Your Cleaning Time in Half

Cooking can be a blessing, but when it comes to cleaning, it can be a curse. I’m sure you have experienced this first hand. For instance, first you spend hours making that beautiful dish. Then you take a few nice shots to show your friends on Facebook and Instagram. Finally, by the time you think you are done, you turn around and wonder how your kitchen ended up looking like a war zone. Unfortunately cleaning can take up more time than cooking, however, if you follow these three simple steps, your life in the kitchen will be a much easier and healthier one.

1.      Beets  Before  Meats
Not all of us have color-coded cutting boards for different meats and vegetables. And if you do have them, good for you. However, if you don’t, you should pay attention at how you prep your food in order to avoid hazards like Salmonella. If you are swinging with only one cutting board like me, always cut produce and cold cuts first before prepping raw meats despite the order of use. This way your food will not get contaminated and, above all, you only have to clean one cutting board. Just make sure you clean it well with soap and hot water and let it air dry in an open space.

2.      Recycle,  Reduce,  Reuse                                                                               When cooking, there are always things to throw away. In fact, I sometimes treat my trash bin like a basketball hoop. But unlike Michael Jordan, I often miss. That's why I keep it modest and bring the trash to me. No, I’m not saying to drag the trashcan everywhere you go, but rather reuse disposables like produce bags and mushroom trays as your portable trashcans. Or if you don’t have those handy,you can use a bowl. However, I prefer the produce bags because they are tall and thus, easier to tie and throw away. This way you can prevent leakage and undesirable odors from seeping through. And since we normally get rid of those bags right away, it's a good way to assign them a new purpose before disposal. 
Nowadays companies try really hard to make everything look nice by packaging products in cute trays and baskets. So why not use paper and plastic trays as prepping bowls? Just make sure you rinse/dust before use. This will reduce your cleaning load, and you will feel really good that you fully used what you have “paid for”. And if you want to take it a few steps further, compost what you can and use reusable mesh bags when you shop for fresh produce.

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Remember the catchy tunes?

3.     Don't  Procrastinate, Eliminate 
When your kitchen sink is full, you tend to put dirty cookware on your counter top and dirty it. Try working with an empty sink, this way you have a place to soak used cookware. Not only will this keep your counter top clean, but it will also make removing grease stains a lot easier. Sometimes stains are so hard to clean that I fool myself into believing that it’s part of the pan. And the worst thing is when you scrub them so hard you wreck your perfect non-sticks. But what if you can avoid all of this misery? It starts with two simple words, “Water” and “Heat”. Yes, as soon as you are done cooking and notice the stains, just put some water in the pan over low heat and scrape the grease gently. The heat will melt down the oil residue and water will help move things around. This non-abrasive method, will allow those stains to float right off of your expensive pans while also prolonging your cookware's lifespan.

Cleaning can be a rewarding experience once you've mastered the steps above. The key is  simply producing less mess and when there is one, deal with it right away, because a dirty kitchen will make you want to avoid cooking. After all, it's a New Year, so why not  start a new habit and get into a healthy cooking (cleaning) cycle? Trust me, things will never be the same again.

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Happy Cleaning,
Preme

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