Sharing the joy of simple clean up!

I like to cook, and bake. Like that's not obvious, right? But I hate the clean up... the husband has to help at night, and I whine like a child the whole time. He doesn't even ask me to do laundry anymore, he just grabs the basket and does it. However, I am a clean person... can't go to bed without all the dishes sparkling and put away or I'd toss and turn all night thinking about it.

As you can tell I'm also very eco friendly when I can be. I do not recycle everything that leaves this house, but I've reduced out throw away items by 50% in the last year. And here is the easiest way I've managed to deal with reducing our waste, and saving me time cleaning!

Plastic Folgers/Maxwell/Coffee containers with lids! I keep between 2-3 of them out on my counter when I'm doing anything. I use one to throw all my compostable products into (ie. potato peel, onions skins, coffee grounds, ect), I use one for scraps just for the chickens to eat and I have one that is all other trash that really needs to be tossed in the trash can when I'm done. Since my compost can takes a day or so to fill up and I only take my chicken scraps out once a day or every other day, I pop the tops back onto the plastic cans and place them back on the counter, or under the sink until I plan to run outside with them. They are then easy to rinse and place back under the sink until the next meal prep time.

This really does keep more counter space freed up, less trash in my trash can, and so easy to just rinse and reuse these later. I love the fact the new coffee cans that are out have handles on them, so I can carry 2-3 of them at once out the door with the rest of the chicken feed and its less of a hassle then using everyday bowls or the old fashioned metal cans. No rust issues to worry about, I can forget them outside in the garden and bring them back in again to use after days of weathering... so these coffee cans last a much longer time. Totally eco-friendly!

What else could possibly help with quicker cleaning?! I leave myself a hot sink full of soapy water at dinner/meal prep time. As the greasy pans come off the stove and I'm done with those wooden spoons, they all slip into the sink right then to soak. No hard scrubbing for 30 minutes after dinner anymore! If I don't feel like hand washing... I just use that water to finish rinsing the dinner plates and load everything into the dishwasher without having to run the sink water again. That cuts the dishes time in half, and probably saved us a few gallons of water from our old routine!

I hope these tips help you too!