Word For Word
[Intro] Routines, my absolute favorite word, but you either love them or you hate them. And either way, I strongly believe that routines can be a springboard for improving your home, yourself and your life. I'm Ashley Brown. And this is a routine and things podcast. In each episode, we'll dive into a specific routine or point of view that will move you closer to enjoying life more and more each day. Trust me, you're gonna want to keep listening, because you're well on your way to getting and staying happy.
Ashley Brown 00:47
Hey, hey, hey, hey, welcome back, welcome back! I am so happy you're here. And in this episode, we're going to be switching up just a little bit and I'm going to be doing a series that's called rock your routine, we're going to be talking about rocking your cleaning routine specifically in terms of your kitchen, helping you with cleaning your kitchen and also those countertops because you know how those countertops can sometimes get, helping you with cleaning your kitchen and keeping it clear, clean, clutter free and all those good things. So we're gonna go ahead and get into this episode. So I hope you enjoy it and I hope you find it helpful.
Ashley Brown 01:30
So this is the rock your routine's kitchen edition. And so tonight I'm going to be talking to you about how you can actually keep your kitchen neat and tidy without being frustrated or annoyed by it, but also give you some tips on how to keep your countertops clean and clear free. Because I know that can be something that is really frustrating. If you don't have a countertop that is clean and clear free or if your kitchen is just something that is bothering you. I'm gonna give you some suggestion in some ways that you can actually make sure your that kitchen stays neat and tidy without feeling frustrated about it, but then also give you some tips on how to keep your countertops clear and clutter free.
Ashley Brown 02:08
Alright, so let's get into it. So the first thing is I want to talk about the kitchen, okay? Because I know the kitchens, one of those things that we use on a constant basis. But we have to continuously clean and sometimes that can get frustrating because it's taken out time of our day. And then it just feels like something we're keeping like we're having to play catch up with all the time because we use it all the time, right? But I want to help you and kind of shifting your perspective on that. And so one of the ways that I like for myself that I'd try not to get frustrated by the kitchen, one of the ways that I, you know, think about my kitchen is for me, I know that the kitchen is one of those areas that's just going to be used. And so because I know this, it doesn't fustrate me as much, right? We're using our kitchen every day, right? Like, I don't care what you're doing, you might get a drink of water or you might cook a full course meal. Like, it doesn't matter. We're using our kitchen every day. So I expect for my kitchen to need to be cleaned every day, right? And so with that, that mindset like that perspective really helps me because I'm like, you know what, it's just I have to be clean. That's just what it is. And so that's why I have a routine, a cleaning routine. And my kitchen of course, is a part of that daily cleaning routine. And that's why it's really important for you to have a cleaning routine. And a part of my cleaning routine for my kitchen is to do the dishes every day and I do my dishes in the morning because that's what works for me. I've tried to do them at night. I'm too tired and I'm just not up for it. So I do my dishes in the morning. I make sure at the end of the day I sweep the floor and wipe up countertops, and I wipe off the stove and so that is my daily cleaning routine for my kitchen.
Ashley Brown 04:02
And so having a routine will help you create a rhythm for yourself. And so when you get that rhythm and you start to like, jam it out with your kit-, you know your rhythm in your kitchen, and your routine, you don't think about it as much it becomes second nature to you because you are basically creating a habit. That's all a routine is, a routine is a series of actions done regularly. And you start to create a habit out of those actions if they're done on a very consistent basis. So that's all a routine is is a habit. And so when you get into a habit of doing things, especially like cleaning your kitchen, and doing certain tasks in your kitchen and cleaning certain things, you don't think about it as much. So when I'm going to my kitchen every morning, I'm not even thinking about like I'm about to do dishes. It's like I just started running the water and next, you know, I'm done. I'm like, oh, I'm done with the dishes. Because it's so habitual for me at this point because I've consistently made sure that I kept that routine. So that's just one thing is just by having a routine. And really understanding and having the mindset of, that your kitchen is going to be used, so it's going to have to be cleaned. Alright?
Ashley Brown 05:13
Also just make sure that you're scheduling out, of course in your routine, you're going to know when you're actually going to be doing certain things in your kitchen and cleaning certain things in your kitchen. You should know that. And so if that's in the morning that you do dishes, if that's at night that you do dishes, if that's in the morning, you put stuff in the dishwasher, whatever it is just have a schedule for what time of day you don't have to have a specific time. But what time of day you're actually going to be working on your kitchen cleaning the kitchen. It can really help. And then you don't have to be only person that helps clean your kitchen like if your kids are old enough to help you have them chip in and help. If your partner is there with you have them help, right? It doesn't have to be you because this can kind of lessen the overwhelm with the kitchen as well when you have other people helping , right. So for me, if I can't get to my kitchen, or if I just feel like, not today, I asked my husband like, can you please clean the kitchen? My daughters are not old enough, but I know my youngest she'd be, I mean my oldest she'd be in there, she's two and a half and she's like be in there, like with the bubbles and everything, but, and that makes it fun too. So yeah, so just making sure to have a routine, just realizing that the kitchen is going to be used. So it's going to have to be cleaned and then asking for help and delegating in and all of that is really important, in you know, helping to lessen the overwhelm. Okay.
Ashley Brown 06:38
Now, when it comes to your countertops, this is something that can be a little bit annoying too, because I remember it was a time in my home where I had a lot of these in the countertops. And it would, it would frustrate me, I was like, I need to change this. This was a while ago, but I remember like it was yesterday because it was very frustrating for me. So some tips for countertops. The first tip I want to give is to really get clear about what actually needs to go on your countertops, right? Like sometimes we have things on the countertops we're not using. And so I want you to really think about it right now. like think about your countertop, in your kitchen and really think about do I use, like think about if you really use everything on your countertops, because more than likely you probably don't use everything and when I say use everything, I mean on a consistent basis, like every day, every week basis, right?
Ashley Brown 07:29
I remember I used to have my blender on my countertop at all times. And in certain seasons like when it starts to get cold outside, I'm not using my blender as much so I start putting it away. So that's something that you could do if you use things in a certain season or like this fall season. So like crock pots probably coming out right. And so if you use your crock pot on a regular basis, then bring it out and put on the countertop, but if you don't use certain things throughout certain seasons, then put them away, right, like store them away. And just really get clear about what's important what's necessary to be on your countertops. Because you could clear a lot of space by thinking about that. Like if you don't use your toaster much, take it down like if you don't, right, if you have like a waffle maker on your countertop, take it down, right like those things can really clear out space because I know sometimes we don't have to, like I don't have a lot of counter top space like honestly so I have to make sure that I store things away that I'm not using so that's something that you can do.
Ashley Brown 08:33
And even if you're like well, Ashley I don't have a lot of counter, like a lot of storage space to put things. You can always store things in different areas of your home. Like I don't want you to be so territorial to that. Oh, I need this blender to be in my kitchen like no. If you're not using it for an entire like three months, just store it away like in like the dining room. If you have cabinet space there. Store it in your living room, if you have cabinet space there, in your bedroom, like it doesn't matter, just put it somewhere, maybe put it in something, it's not going to get a lot of dust on it. But even if it does, you can always clean it, but put it somewhere, where you have the space because it doesn't have to be in the kitchen. If you don't have storage space in the kitchen, it just has to be off your countertops. So that's just my first tip for the countertops.
Ashley Brown 09:21
Then try to take an inventory or take an inventory of the things that are staying on your countertops and that consistently begin to get on your countertop or consistently or on your countertop, day after day. Right. You may have things like reusable water bottles that land on your countertops every day, dirty dishes, on your countertops, every day, keys, mail, all those things. Sometimes, basically is what creates the clutter. And so we want to make sure to basically take an inventory so that we can see, does this have to remain here? Maybe it's just another place that these items can go, right, like, for the mail from my house, we put the mail near the front door, it either goes in a brown bin or on the bench that is when you walk through the door. So for us that's where we would keep our mail. Okay, so maybe if you have mail stored on your countertops put your mail in another place like make an actual like, buy like a cute like basket if you have a basket in the house that small, put it somewhere else and say this is where the mail goes from now on. So that it doesn't collect on the counter because I know for me, I don't open mail right when we get it. I might take about two three days before I open that mail, or it might take me a week and so if that's continuously piling up on your countertops that can be very visually like off putting and it can like subconsciously annoy you. So probably try to find a place for the mail, if you see that mail lays on your countertop alot.
Ashley Brown 10:50
And then keys we have like a little key hook where we hook our keys to and that was something I bought when we first moved in to make sure that keys didn't land on a countertop because I knew it would annoy me. So that's what we have. So that's a place where you can put keys. If you have like reusable water bottles or things like that, that's just not okay, I'm just gonna rant and I'm not gonna wash the night because maybe use it like multiple times and you wash it, then just store them somewhere else. Like maybe if you have a certain area in your kitchen that you can store them under a cabinet, somewhere like that, and that's where they can go, you have to really get creative with your space, right? Like, really think about your kitchen and your cabinet space and really think about, can I get creative with this? Do I have a way that I can get creative with this? Because if you do, then maybe you're you're feeling like you don't have a lot of cabinet space, but you might have some storage because you want things to be in a specific place. So just get creative with that.
Ashley Brown 11:47
And also dirty dishes is one of the things that can land on the countertops. I am not a fan of dirty dishes on the countertop. I mean, very, to be very honest. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. My husband will come and put dishes on the countertops. I'm like, Can you put that in sink like, dishes, dirty dishes for me go into the sink. Because when you see a dirty dish on the countertop that just sparks like anxiety. I feel like it just sparks nastiness and you're just like, it's unnecessary for it to be on the countertop. So, I would say if you're seeing that dirty dishes on your countertop, move them into the put them in the sink, just put in the sink, that's all and start telling your family put them in the sink, so that it's not mainly on your countertop. Because when you're going to wash dishes, you can always just take them out and then bring the water and then put them back in the water. So, I would do that.
Ashley Brown 12:35
Now let's talk about clean dishes though, right? Because dirty dishes can go in the sink. But let's say you because I'm a hand washer so my clean dishes after I wash them go in our dishwasher. I put them in the racks to dry and I leave the door open. So that is what I do when I would wash dishes are clean dishes to dry them. Okay, so that's how I can keep the countertops clear too, from having like a dish rack on the countertops, so that's the idea for you if you haven't been doing that. If you use the dishwasher though and you wash your dishes by using the dishwasher, what you can do of course you probably have a drying rack because everything cannot go into the dishwasher right? So you need some place to store the other items or dishes that can't go in the dishwasher. So what you can do is if you have two sinks that are in your kitchen, you know it's always like that big thing and then you have a division in the middle. If you have two sinks in your kitchen, you can put the drying rack and one sink, put the dishes, like the dirty dishes in your other sink and when you clean them you could just have a drying rack on the other sink, it's drying racks for your dishes that could fit into your sink. And so you can go grab that from a store. Amazon probably sells them. Maybe a local store that you in your neighborhood I love going to local store, local stores, so maybe a local store in your neighborhood or in your community has a dishwasher, a dish drying rack. So you just go purchase that and put it in your sink. And this can make sure or ensure that your countertops stay free of the clean dishes that need to dry.
Ashley Brown 14:15
But one of the things that I would say in terms of if you only have one sink in your home, and you're like, well, I need a drying rack to be on the countertop, right? Because at that point, your dirty dishes are going to be in your sink and when you clean them, they're going to go to the drying rack. And so with that being the case, if you have the drying rack on the counter, like I said before, get clear about what you need on your counter because maybe you can clear something off and put the drying rack in a better location. But also I would say maybe just also aesthetically get a drying rack that looks good to you. But then like maybe put a cute towel underneath it or put a really cute tray underneath it because you know you have to like make sure that you're switching out the towel frequently, if you dry your dishes under, like with the towel underneath. So maybe you want to get an actual like drying, like a cute like tray to go up under your drying rack and it doesn't come with one where the water collects, in order for you to actually put your dish in there. And if it's cute, aesthetically, you're gonna be like, oh, this isn't a big deal. It's on the kind of top. I find when something is not as appealing to the eye. That's when it bothers you more. So I would say make sure that your drying rack is super cute. Maybe have like a cute towel underneath, a cute tray underneath if it doesn't come with one, so that at least if it's on your countertop, it looks good. It looks pretty to you. It looks appealing to you. So those are my suggestions for the countertops and how to keep them clean and clutter free. Because you want to feel peace in your home. That's what I'm helping you to do is feel peace in your home and to use the power that you have and you have the power to do that by the things and suggestions and ways and tips that I just gave you.
Ashley Brown 16:00
So, we talked about how to keep. So just to recap, we talked about the kitchen, how to keep that more clean as by having a cleaning routine for your kitchen. And you're just gonna continue to do this cleaning routine, it could just be a couple of days, you're doing your kitchen each day to keep it neat and tidy. And just create a habit, the more and more you stick to the routine, the more it's going to be habitual for you. And it's going to be a habit that you create, and you're going to be able to stick to it. So that's the first thing we talked about. And also just knowing that it doesn't have to take you long and also enlist help, okay, from your family to help you with the kitchen as well. And then when it comes to countertops, just getting clear about what is going to countertops isn't needed. Also thinking about, maybe you have things on your countertop, that can go to different areas. And then also just making sure that if you're washing dishes and your dish, your dish rack has to be, dish drying rack has to be on the countertop, maybe just make sure it looks really appealing to you. So those some ways and some tips for you and keeping your kitchen neat and tidy and helping you with your kitchen routine and just in helping, not kitchen routine, with your cleaning routine for your kitchen. And just to help you rock your routine, because that's what I want you to do, I want you to that rock that routine, girl, and to, you know, form that habit because the more and more you continue to form the habit, the more easier it's going to get for you.
Ashley Brown 17:23
So I hope that was helpful for you, hopefully that blessed you today in some way. And that you are able to get some good information and tips about how to keep your kitchen and your countertops, clean, clear and clutter free. And hopefully you have a better handle on how to rock your cleaning routine, especially in terms of your kitchen. And so that's it for this episode. I hope you learned a lot. Next week we're going to be diving into something that has just been on my spirit to talk about and something that I've really want to implement more and more this year. And that is just speaking life into my home. And so that's what we're going to be talking about next week, I'm going to be giving you some ways to speak life into your home, so that you can just have a good feeling home and a good vibe at home. And so that's what we're going to be talking about next week. So make sure you come back.
Ashley Brown 18:20
And before we go, have you subscribed yet? If not, go subscribe, rate, and review the podcast. Let me know what you think about things. And let me know if this podcast has been helpful for you. I'm hoping that it has. Also be sure to share this podcast with a friend, a neighbor, a co- worker. But until next time, I hope you're enjoying wherever you are, and wherever you're doing. I'll talk to you soon.
Ashley Brown 18:44
[Outro] Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, could you do me a huge favor and take a screenshot and share it on social and for more routine goodness. Be sure to visit routineandthings.com. Here's to staying happy!