Always start your home cooked meals or snacks with a clean and organized work area. As for cleaning, I have a routine. It starts on leftover Wednesday, after clearing the table from breakfast. I pull out the cleaning rags, the Hand-washing dish soap and the chlorine bleach. Make sure the children and pets are away for the next hours or so…. That was how I learned, but these days I have made a change or two.
Fill one side of the sink with mostly hot water, add a little ‘Lemon Brite’ dish soap to the water, and mix well. Thoroughly wash down all counters and back splashes, wash down cabinet doors and handles, drawer fronts and handles. Wash down stovetop and oven doors, inside and outside. Start the oven’s self-cleaning cycle and wash down the inside and outside of the microwave. Wash down both sides of the sink as you drain the dirty water. Ring out the rags you have used and put them in to be washed.
Wait about 5 minutes and refill sink with mostly hot water and wipe down all the surfaces you just cleaned again, with the exception of the oven interior (you will want to wipe out the oven when the self-cleaning cycle has ended.) I have two dogs that will lick anything, so I remove any traces of dish soap. If you have young children, you may want to do the same thing. (Though Lemon Brite is totally safe and non-toxic.)
After I finish clearing my work area from preparing meals or snacks I spray my cutting board, counter top and stove top with ‘Sol-U-Guard.’ Let it stand for about 10 minutes, and wipe down with as hot as your hands can stand. (Again this product is safe and non-toxic, but old habits are hard to break.)
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