Some people can’t go to sleep if their kitchens aren’t clean. I’ve always felt strangely jealous of them.
This is what my kitchen looked like when I went to bed last night . . . . and I slept like a baby.
The Dark Side of Freezer Cooking is that while I can throw myself wholeheartedly into playing the character of the energetic, fun, creative, teaching mom who spends the morning cooking with the kids, I’m not so much into playing the part of her maid.
But I am her maid. It’s my day job.
So, this morning, I had to clean the kitchen. I have great excuses for not doing it yesterday. Primarily, I didn’t feel like it. But I also had to write a post about the mess-making-fun-part, go to the pool with the kids, have a birthday party for our dog, go to a meeting at church, and last (but definitely not least) watch an episode of 24 with hubby. YES, I know the series is over, but we’re watching them for the first time this summer while his job is less stressful, and we love it. Time spent with him is much more important than some dirty dish. (See how good I am at the excuses thing?)
ANYway, I thought I would be cute and do the “What can I accomplish in 5 minutes?” thing that I did with my laundry room recently.
But, after about 6 timer-setting-sessions and 5 pictures that looked almost exactly the same as the one above, I gave up on that idea. This was a big job that I had made bigger . . . . by putting it off. Pans and baking sheets that could have been quickly washed yesterday, took a lot of scrubbing and soaking today.
But I did it. And after well-over-an-hour of work, it looked like this:
Aaaaahhhhh.
It could have been worse. I did, last night, run the dishwasher. It was already full, I shoved in a few more things that were on the top of the sink-pile, and I started it. Pre-blog, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to do that. I would have put off doing ANYthing because of the hugeness of the job. I would have awakened (refreshed) this morning, walked into the kitchen, and felt hopeless.
But by running the dishwasher last night, even though it didn’t make a visual difference in the mess, I was able to empty it this morning, and immediately have a place to put the rest of the dirty dishes . . . getting them off of the counters quickly, and allowing me to feel like I was making progress.
Make sense?
I have to admit, too, that pre-blog, the kitchen might have stayed this way for days. The fruitlessness of cleaning the kitchen used to zap all of my motivation. It felt like a never-ending job. The minute it looked nice, someone (usually me) would mess it up. But finally, due to the nightly-dishwasher-running-habit, I understand how to stay on top of it, and it doesn’t seem as hopeless anymore.
And because I live a life of irony, here is a wonderful example to illustrate my point. Once the kitchen was almost clean, my 8yo decided to make an omelet. No problem, because the stove was now cleared and clean.
Yep, that’s egg dripped (or poured?) on the stove top all the way from the bowl to the skillet.
And yet, I was able to wipe it right up, without having to move any dirty dishes out of the way.
The fact is, while I’ve always seen myself as the mama who spends time in the kitchen with her kids, I wasn’t able to fully be her until I also accepted the role of her maid.
Shell says
Funny – I couldn't go to bed last night until I cleaned the kitchen first. I didn't want to wake up to a mess in the morning and start my day on the wrong foot. Never thought I'd be one of "those" people.
Feels good to have the kitchen clean doesn't it…keep up the good work.
Mara says
Seriously, Nony, you have the BEST insights. I have so been there with the kitchen. The constancy of the tasks just wears me down. I suspect you know what I mean. The 'after' picture looked lovely and I appreciate your honesty that it took an hour. This keeping a clean home thing is a lot of effort, no two ways about it!
Lizzie @ The Sort Report says
I just happened upon your blog this week after one of those 'yellow brick road' link trawls, LOL. I love it. You're SO like me. I struggle quite a bit with the whole 'basic household routines' thing and I absolutely HATE doing the dishes – 'with the fire of a thousand suns' kind of hatred, LOL. Glad to know I'm not the only one who goes to bed with dishes on the sink!
Having fun reading through your past posts this morning…
Katz says
Ugh. My kitchen has looked like that first picture since Saturday.
Nony the Slob says
Go Shell!
Mara, it actually took more-than-an-hour. It was bad.
Lizzie, welcome! I'm glad you found me.
Katz, been there many times. Totally understand.
Lenetta @ Nettacow says
"It's my day job." Heh! Except it's not quite so funny since I'm realizing it's MY day job too. Ah well, I'm going to chuckle now and put the apron on in the morning.
Mama Hen says
Trying to keep my kitchen clean is my day job AND a night job.
Cherish says
Ugh, isn't it insane what a mess freezer cooking can make. I too used to leave dishes, especially the stuck on ones, because they felt so overwhelming. I have to admit that when we moved, I actually threw dirty dishes in a few containers because I ran out of time to wash them. And then, umm, some of them still had food in them. And they sat in our entryway for months. Until I had to throw away the whole thing without opening it because it was oozing and scary and I couldn't even imagine washing those dishes.
I've gotten better….I try to tackle things right away now and it is SO much easier. Although I have three dirty cookie sheets, three bread pans, and two cake pans that have been sitting for probably a few weeks. And I've stopped noticing they are there until I need them. Ugh. I should go do more dishes.
shirley says
i know! i know!! i’m still WAAAAYYYYY behind on your blog, but i just had to tell you (possibly for the second time) what a difference it has made for me to start running my dishwasher at night!!! thanks for the great tip and all the encouragement!!
Brittani A. says
How long do pre-scrambled eggs last?
Dana White says
If they’re in the pockets, they last at least a month or two in the freezer. It really is important to not cook them too hard since they cook a little more when re-heated.
Robyn says
Hmmmm, I must embrace the Maid mindset. Maybe a little French outfit might help my mindset. I do work better sometimes when dressed up ( or maybe it’s just the fact I have had a fun day out part of that).
fep says
My mom didn’t like to cook, but she did what she had to. And she taught me to clean things as much as possible WHILE working. You can’t clean everything but you can reduce A LOT of the mess, since there are often “waiting times” while cooking big projects.
I still don’t consider myself a good cook and I don’t like to cook either, but I usually don’t have a disaster kitchen, for which I (retrospectively) thank my mother for!