Clean as You Go

I sometimes dream about a world that is just scrupulously efficient...you know, like George Jetson efficient....especially in the kitchen and the laundry room. I made the mistake of letting my 11 year old fix a meal for us in the kitchen. I still can't figure out how so many utensils and dishes got dirty, nor how every ingredient that was in the pantry and refrigerator is now sitting out on my kitchen counter! Did he never learn the "clean as you go" principle?

If you don't know it, "clean as you go", means that when you are done with an item, you clean it, close it, bag it up, zipper it shut and put it away...simple as that. If you happen to be doing something that requires use of the same size item, you are that far ahead, because you are only getting one dirty and not two.

For example, if you are washing some veggies and then plan to stir-fry them up in a pan, you wash and dry the container you cleaned them in, right after you put the veggies into the hot pan. It then gets put away or ready for the next item you will put in there. Whatever spices, butter or oil you use, you take out what you need, and put the container right back where it belongs. When you put the veggies in the serving dish, you...this is actually an extra step for a "food stuck on" pan...I drop two drops of dish soap and some water in the pan and put it back on the burner...so in effect, I am pre-cleaning the thing. Clean the pan before you sit down to eat, and all you have to do after you eat is put away your eating dishes and you're done.

That's also why I use our dishwasher, last thing at night before we go to bed. I empty the clean dishes in the morning, and as the day goes along, dishes get rinsed and then put in the dishwasher, ready for the next cycle to start once again every evening. This also follows the "clean as you go" principle with no more piled-up dishes in the sink.

You can even do it in the laundry room. When someone takes something off, they put it directly in the laundry room...in either the dark or light hamper. This works great in our new apartment, as everything is on one floor. No need to have multiple hampers where you move clothes TWICE...how crazy and inefficient does that sound? If I could figure out a way to get the clothes from the washer, to the dryer and then back to the closets and drawers, I'd be in some kind of household heaven at that point.

What do you do around the house in regards to "clean as you go"? How do you keep the clutter, piled up dishes, clothes and other things in check?