Simplify Clean Up

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31 Days and 31 ways to simplify your life, whether or not you have ADHD :)
31 Days and 31 ways to simplify your life, whether or not you have ADHD 🙂

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The other night we had Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas for dinner. The amazing recipe is here, and if you are on the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan you can eat that and still lose weight!

So anyway, all four of us were in the kitchen, which is unusual.

I was putting the enchiladas together, my husband was making guacamole, my daughter was making salsa, and my son was just generally in the way.

Dinner was super good, but the kitchen looked like a tornado had gone through it.

Hey – when you have four people with ADHD cooking, there’s going to be a mess.

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And that picture is from halfway through the clean up process!

Of course you know all that help I had cooking disappeared when it came to cleaning up.

But I’m OK with that.

Want to know why?

Because I’ve learned how to simplify clean up.

 

AnADDWoman.com

I start with the right tools. Two of my favorite kitchen helpers are pictured: my rubber gloves and that scrubby thing.

Oh I guess I should say three; the scrubby thing is filled with Dawn dishwashing liquid. I think it works better than any of the others.

The gloves protect my hands (and my manicure) and allow me to use hotter water to wash with.

The scrubby thing is a recent purchase. I saw that my daughter uses one and I got one for myself. That little thing saves me so much time and keeps the mess to a minimum. Well, at least when I’m the only one cooking. 😉

Part of simplifying the clean up is cleaning as you go.

The other day I had to use a big bowl that doesn’t fit in the dishwasher. When I was done with it, all it took was a few seconds with my scrubby, a rinse and dry, and it was back in the cupboard. Easy!

Another way to help keep things simple is to reuse your bowls and utensils.

For instance, if I am grilling outside, I line a baking sheet with two sheets of foil. The raw meat goes on top and out to the grill. Once it’s on the grill, I remove that sheet and I have a clean one underneath for the cooked meat.

And when I’m done, I pull off that sheet of foil and I have a clean pan.

Here’s another example: today I made ranch dressing for our salad for dinner. I scooped out some mayo with a spoon, rinsed it off, and used the same spoon for scooping out the sour cream. It was also used to stir and serve the dressing.

My last tip for simplifying clean up is to know how long the task takes. I’ve timed myself several times before I begin a kitchen clean up. And I’m talking cleaning up after dinner, not cleaning the entire kitchen.

When I have a Thanksgiving sized mess in my kitchen, I can get it cleaned up in 20 minutes without help.

That’s incentive enough for me to get it done.

Oh and I guess I have two last suggestions:

  1. Put on some great music
  2. Ask for help

 

Have you checked out An ADD Woman Cleans for more ideas?

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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