There have been times (OK, many times) when it seems like my house never stays clean. Once I have one room cleaned up, the next has already been destroyed. Once one load of laundry is done, the hamper is full again. It's a never-ending, vicious cycle of housework. For me, the kitchen is one space that is really easy to get behind on. Let's be honest, once that sink starts to fill up with dirty dishes, my motivation to do the dishes, quickly and drastically decreases.
I've discovered that if I stick to ONE, EASY rule, I can avoid those dreaded mountains of dirty dishes and enjoy an always-clean kitchen.
Here's the secret!
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Never put a dish in the sink.
Sound impossible? Let me explain.
Back in college, in order to prevent one person from having to do everyone else's dishes, we put a rule in place: no dishes were allowed in the sink.
Ever.
If you used a dish, you had to put it straight into the dishwasher. If the dishwasher was full and clean, you had to empty it so your dish could go in the dishwasher. If you didn't/couldn't empty the dishwasher, you would just have to wash your individual dish by hand. This rule took a little getting used to at first, but let me tell you–it really worked! By sticking to this one simple rule, we avoided having piles upon piles of stinky, dirty dishes and our house looked, smelled, and felt cleaner at any given time.
Try implementing this rule into your home! Talk with your spouse/roommate/children and have them always, always, always stick their dishes straight into the dishwasher. This will avoid allowing those dirty dishes from endlessly piling up and you will enjoy the feeling of freedom that a clean kitchen can give you every day!
What are YOUR tips for keeping your home clean?
What do you think?