Lots of us love channeling our inner cook in the kitchen! But once we’re finished creating our culinary masterpieces, we’re usually hit with the less fun task of cleaning up after ourselves. It’s often not an easy job, either. Food can be messy. Liquids splash, crumbs spill, and things like cheese and sauces can congeal and become almost impossible to wipe off pots, pans, and counters. Fortunately, there are some hacks you can try to cut down on your cleanup time. This, of course, gives you more time to eat the delicious food you just created, and to enjoy the company of anyone you’ve invited over to eat it with you. 

Decant Your Baking Ingredients

You can prevent spills by pouring many cooking and baking ingredients into containers made just to hold them. Ingredients like flour often come in flimsy bags from the grocery store that easily develop holes or leaks. 

This switch also helps the prep process, as it’s easier to measure and pour baking soda and powder, chocolate chips, coconut, and many other ingredients from jars than from their original packages.

Line Everything

Use a liner whenever you can between your food and the baking surface. When your food is done cooking, simply throw out the liner, and your baking surface remains clean. 

Line cookie sheets and casserole pans with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Line the inside of your air fryer pan with parchment paper. Use disposable liners created just for your slow cooker or Instant Pot before adding the ingredients for your soups, stews, or other dishes. 

Prep Ahead of Time

Prepare all of your ingredients before you need them for cooking. Get out everything you’ll need, measure out all ingredients, and chop, peel, or prep, placing everything near the stove or wherever you’ll be cooking. Having everything out, organized, and ready to be added to your dish can prevent the spills and mess that sometimes come from trying to do too many things at once. 

Do Like Tasks Together

Do similar tasks, like chopping, all in a row, so you only need one space and set of tools at a time. You can also plan these tasks to begin with the least messy and finish with the messiest. Begin by chopping vegetables like cucumbers that only require a quick rinse of the utensils afterward. Finish with ingredients like raw chicken that require more intense cleaning. 

Clean As You Go

Clean up messes and spills immediately when they happen. As many liquids, like sauces, dry, they can become harder to clean later. You can also wash dishes as you get them dirty, so you won’t have a huge pile waiting for you at the end of your cooking session. Or add them to the dishwasher as you finish with them, so that when you’re finished cooking, you can simply turn it on. 

Create a Drop Zone for Dirty Dishes

Have one spot where you put all of the dirty dishes as you cook. They’ll all be concentrated in one place, rather than spread across your kitchen when you’re done. 

Soak Stubborn Dishes

If you have dishes with caked-on or tough-to-remove food, soak them as soon as you’re finished using them. Soaking dishes can soften dried food or baked-on cheese, making it easier to remove. Soak the dishes in hot water with a little bit of dish soap, for at least 15 to 20 minutes – although you can leave them to soak longer if you’re still busy cooking. 

Consider Batch Cooking

One way to lessen your kitchen cleanup time is to spend less time in the kitchen! Make double batches of dinners or desserts and refrigerate or freeze the extra. You’ll make much less of a mess reheating food than you would cooking from scratch each time. 

Use Trays or Mats

When I’m icing cookies, I always put a cookie sheet under my cooling rack. If icing runs off, it’s easier to wash my cookie sheet than scrub down the counter. Trays and mats also work well under toaster ovens, dishes that might overflow as they bake, or at coffee stations where grounds might get spilled.

Featured Image Credit: GMVozd/ iStock

We put a lot of time and thought into our clothes. Even for those of us who don’t consider ourselves fashionistas, we still have to pick them out, purchase them, wash, dry, fold, and sometimes even iron them. Whether you care about what you wear or not, you don’t want to be needlessly wasteful with your clothes, and hopefully make them last as long as possible.

However, there’s a laundry setting that’s quietly ruining clothes, making our stretchy leggings less elastic and brightly colored tops less vibrant. Maybe even shrinking our sweaters and ruining our lingerie.

Yep, it’s the hot water cycle.

There are times when washing in hot water is necessary, but most of the time, it can wreak havoc on your clothing. Let’s take a look at when to use it and what other options you have to keep your clothes clean and looking good.

When to Use the Hot Water Cycle

So, if the hot water cycle is ruining our clothes, why would we ever use it? Well, as is often the case with heat, hot water is better at disinfecting and cleaning clothing than cold water. Washing your clothes at 130 degrees Fahrenheit or above (the typical temperature of a hot water cycle) is the best way to get rid of germs and bacteria. It’s also the best way to get rid of some stains.

However, hot water weakens the fibers of clothing more than cooler temperatures do, causing pilling, thinning, shrinking, and fading.  Only use the hot water cycle to keep your whites very white and to wash clothing that needs serious cleaning, like cloth diapers, socks, and cotton underwear. It’s also fine for towels and sheets. Pre-shrunk clothing won’t shrink more in hot water, but could still deteriorate like other fabrics, so use hot water sparingly. 

When to Use the Cold Water Cycle

Washing in cold water has a few advantages. It doesn’t break down clothing fibers as quickly, so it helps clothes last longer and bright colors stay vibrant. It also uses less energy since your machine isn’t heating water.  Washing clothing in cold water can even help prevent wrinkles since it’s less damaging to easily wrinkled fabrics like linen and cotton.

Because it’s gentler on clothing, cold water is best for delicate fabrics like lace and silk. It’s also best for any cashmere or wool items you wash to avoid shrinking. Exercise clothing with spandex, leggings, and other stretchy clothes are also best washed in cold water. 

Wash any clothing that needs mild cleaning rather than serious disinfecting in cold water. Pants, sweaters, most shirts, and hoodies can all be washed in cold water. 

It’s worth noting that some detergents don’t fully dissolve in cold water. If you find this to be a problem, look for cold water laundry detergents. If you have lots of delicates, you may also want to get a gentle lingerie detergent and a wool and cashmere detergent that is formulated for knitted clothing. 

A Nice Compromise

A warm water cycle can be a good alternative to hot water in some cases. Warm water cycles use water that is between 90 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. This cycle is nearly as effective as hot water for general cleaning, including shirts, socks, pajamas, jeans, and other moderately dirty clothes. It’s a good middle ground, getting clothes cleaner than cold water without wearing them down as much as hot water does. 

Warm water is good at removing body oils, sweat, and light stains in clothing. It’s also better than cold water for dissolving laundry detergent and loosening up dirt and grime. 

Use the hot water cycle for anything needing serious disinfecting, the cold water cycle for anything delicate, stretchy, or brightly colored, and the warm water cycle for anything needing a moderate amount of cleansing. Your clothes (and your wallet) will thank you.

Featured Image Credit: Iryna Inshyna/ Adobe Stock