After preparing a big meal in your outdoor kitchen or hosting a large dinner party, the last thing you want to think about is cleaning up. The laborious post-dinner cleanup may be the most dreaded task for any host, but it is absolutely necessary!
Unfortunately, there's no good way to completely avoid kitchen cleanup, but there are a few ways to simplify it. Here are four tips that will turn that dreaded cleaning task into a much more effortless one.
Wash as you go
If you're cooking, you're dirtying dishes. There's no way around it.
Consequently, the more you cook, the more dirty dishes you make. Sometimes, by the time you're finished preparing a meal, you end up with a stack of dishes almost too tall to tackle.
Then, to top it off, after your guests have eaten the meal you prepared, they add their dirty plates, silverware and glasses to the already overwhelming stack. At this point, there are so many dirty dishes cluttering your counter that you decide to go to bed and worry about the mess in the morning.
Here's a better idea: Wash dishes as you cook so that doing them later isn't quite as daunting (or time-consuming)!
That seems reasonable -- until you're actually in the process of cooking and you realize that you don't have enough hands to simultaneously caramelizing onions on the stove, chopping cilantro on the counter, and charring steaks on the grill,
Suddenly, dish duty is the least of your worries.
That's when you need a helping hand. It doesn't have to be someone with cooking credentials, just a friend who knows what to do with a little soap and water. Next time you invite your friends over for dinner, and one of them asks what they can do to help, don't shoo them out of the kitchen. Instead, hand them a dish cloth!
Not only will this be incredibly helpful to you, but it will also make them feel useful and give you both a chance to chat before dinner.
What's your definition of clean?
Some people never feel like their kitchen is clean. Even if it's spotless, they're still looking for things to wipe down and sweep up. If that's you, your outdoor kitchen is going to bring you more stress than it does enjoyment.
Instead of looking for things that might be dirty -- the things nobody else will notice -- stick to the necessary cleaning tasks and let yourself rest when those are done. Clean is not flawless; clean is clean.
For example, a clean kitchen might still have fingerprints on the stainless steel or leftover suds of dish soap in the sink. The important things to address are food-related messes. Be thorough when you're cleaning the grill and the stove because residue from food will attract bugs and other critters about as quickly as the time it takes you to wipe these appliances down.
Leave the deep cleaning to once every few weeks instead of trying to do it every time you grill burgers or roast s'mores. That way, you'll be more inclined to use your outdoor kitchen, knowing that cleanup isn't such a hassle.
Keep a cloth handy
The same rule that applies to dirty dishes also applies to countertops and other cooking surfaces. You'll spend less time scrubbing your counters, stove and grill at the end of the night if you've been wiping them down as you go.
The best way to make sure you're cleaning as you cook is to keep a cloth nearby. If you have granite countertops, make sure you're not using an abrasive cloth or a harsh cleaner on them. Granite countertops are beautiful and durable, but they're also sensitive. Do your research about caring for granite countertops so that you don't end up destroying them when all you're trying to do is clean up after dinner.
Use disposable dinnerware
You can significantly cut down on dishes by using paper products for meals in your outdoor dining area. Dollar stores are great places to pick up paper plates and plastic cups and utensils at an affordable price. Your guests will hardly notice eating off of a paper plate, but you'll definitely notice how nice it is to not wash all of those extras dishes.
The question is not, should you use disposable dinnerware for your guests, but why wouldn't you?
When your outdoor kitchen needs more than cleaning
Perhaps your outdoor kitchen is already spotless, but you're bored with its design. Or maybe no amount of cleaning is going to improve the appearance of your old appliances. In these cases, what you really need is an upgrade, and we're the ones who can help. Contact us online, give us a call, or click on the banner below to shop grills!
