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I was chatting with a few girlfriends about homelife and the subject of doing the dishes came up.  Namely, how do you manage them… or not ? How do you face the mess in the sink when all you want to do is fall into your bed?! We all agreed that cooking a meal is often enjoyable, but it’s the clean-up that really takes a special kind of motivation…

It was fun talking about different ways we deal with the bits that we don’t love doing. Here are some of the things that we came up… do you do any of these or do you have your own techniques?

  • Go Pro, Cook like a Chef

If you use every bowl in the house to prepare dinner, you’re doing it wrong. A good chef works precisely and cleans as they cook. By the end of the meal, your kitchen shouldn’t look like the sink exploded, it should be ready to go!  I play chef while I cook – where I try to finish a meal in a tidy kitchen. It’s like a game that I love winning… So put on your white apron, throw that dish towel over your shoulder and cook like someone’s paying you to. Plan your ingredients, clean as you go and maintain a working kitchen that doesn’t bite you in the end.

  • Turn it into a Positive 

Do you get that sense of anxiety the moment you finish dinner and come face to face with the mess in your kitchen? Here’s the thing, cleaning up really only takes 20 minutes – and these days, many of us are struggling to find 20 minutes to clear our minds, to meditate or think. I love saying to my hubby – how about you bathe the girls and I’ll do the dishes. He’s happy to say yes, but I feel like I’m getting the easier job! As I clean…I can think. I use that time to reflect on my day, or to plan tomorrow.

  • Psyche Yourself into It

At the end of the day, sometimes you just need to psyche yourself into it. If you spend the whole time hating what you’re doing – of course it’s going to suck. But what you can do is to change your state of mind. Anything that you do with passion and pride, even cleaning the kitchen, can become a fulfilling experience. You just need to psyche yourself into it. Say to yourself: I’m going to clean these dishes, better than anyone has ever cleaned a dish before – and feel proud of yourself for being awesome!

ps – another of my tricks, is to watch cleaning videos on Youtube while I’m tidying up. Something about people who love cleaning – makes me get into it more!

Remember, next time you’re scrubbing up after that homemade lasagna, it all part of the process and it’s absolutely worth it! We’re all there right along with you!

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