Quick Cleaning Tip - Defrosting meat

Cleaning for me is a lot about doing the little things all the time that make the big jobs easier. That's what my quick cleaning tips series is all about. Some tips are obvious, but when these habits lapse, household tasks get more difficult and so are more likely to be put off for another day. Here's today's tip:

I like to buy meat in bulk and then freeze it in usable portions. When I'm organised, I then take a serve of meat out of the freezer the morning or night before I plan to cook, and defrost it in the fridge. I always used to do what my Mum did, which is place the meat on a plate (dinner plate or bread plate, depending on the size of the meat). With my occasional (ok frequent) lack of coordination, when I'd get the meat out of the fridge, I'd spill meat juices on the shelf, on the floor and/or on the kitchen bench. This problem was exacerbated with my current fridge, which has a drawer to store meats (which is more hygienic as it contains any stray meat juice). Here's my solution:

Place the meat in a container with sides to contain any spills - I use takeaway or Tupperware-type containers, but a bowl or casserole dish also works. No more cleaning up meat juice spills for me!

Quick Cleaning Tip - Wipe Kitchen Benches

Cleaning for me is a lot about doing the little things all the time that make the big jobs easier. That's what my quick cleaning tips series is all about. Some tips are obvious, but when these habits lapse, household tasks get more difficult and so are more likely to be put off for another day. Here's today's tip:

Believe it or not, I actually learnt this tip from watching my husband. Whenever he cooks on the barbecue, after he's finished cooking but before he puts the meat (yes, it's usually meat!) on the table, he scrapes down and cleans up the barbecue. This got me thinking - why don't I do that in the kitchen? So that's today's tip: Spend 30 seconds wiping up benches/putting cooking utensils in the dishwasher etc before putting your meals on the table.

But won't the food get cold? That was always my hang-up - but really, food in restaurants isn't served the second it gets cooked, and I'm not suggesting you spend half an hour getting the kitchen spotless - just a quick tidy up. I must admit, I'm generally good at doing this for breakfast and lunch, but it generally falls over at dinner time...something I keep working on.

As an aside, the blog posts have been pretty scant this week - stomach bugs and colds have struck our house this week. Hopefully things will get back on track next week...

Quick Cleaning Tip Challenge

Cleaning for me is a lot about doing the little things all the time that make the big jobs easier. That's what my quick cleaning tips series is all about. Some tips are obvious, but when these habits lapse, household tasks get more difficult and so are more likely to be put off for another day. Here's today's tip:

Today's tip is actually a challenge. TURN OFF the cleaning part of your brain once you've finished your cleaning tasks.

What does that mean? When I've finished a cleaning task, all I can see are things I didn't do perfectly. Today, for instance, I vacuumed and mopped the floors. I'm sitting at my computer and can see a little piece of grass near the pram and the remnants of a sticky spot near the high chair. I feel disheartened and wonder why I bother. Or I spend the next hour or so with the dustpan and cloth cleaning up minuscule details, and curse how long it takes me to clean.

Now, I'm telling myself to stop the criticism and look at what I've achieved - the kitchen floor hasn't looked this clean in weeks (I'm still blaming being pregnant for my general slackness), there are no signs of crumbs on the rug, and no clutter on the floor. What an achievement!

So when you've finished your cleaning tasks for the day, focus on what you've achieved and don't focus on what still needs to be done. Relax and enjoy your mostly clean house!

So much of cleaning is psychological! Do you get disheartened when you haven't done a perfect job? Let me know in the comments.

Quick Cleaning Tip - Laundry

Cleaning for me is a lot about doing the little things all the time that make the big jobs easier. That's what my quick cleaning tips series is all about. Some tips are obvious, but when these habits lapse, household tasks get more difficult and so are more likely to be put off for another day. Here's today's tip:

Prepare your clothes to go straight in the washing machine before you put your clothes in the washing basket/hamper/on the mountain of clothes in your laundry. It makes it so much quicker to just throw everything in the machine without handling every piece of clothing. For example:

• Empty all the pockets
• Do up any zips or clasps
• Unroll sleeves and straighten out socks

The hardest part is training your partner and children, and keeping up the momentum once you get in the routine. It takes next to no time, but will make a huge difference to laundry day!