The Simple Kitchen Practice That Makes Next-Day Cooking So Much Better

After finishing a long day at work and making a big meal for dinner, it's finally the end of the night. But before you move on to a hot shower and an episode of your favorite show, you should give your future self a nice gift: Shut down your kitchen properly. This doesn't just include loading the dishwasher or putting everything in the sink to deal with in the morning. No, you should give the whole kitchen a detailed clean, just like restaurants do before the staff goes home for the night.

Put leftovers away, stash ingredients in the fridge and pantry, and wash your dishes. Clean your wooden cutting boards, and scrub the pots and pans you used throughout the day. Don't be tempted to just leave large items in the drying rack! Go ahead and wipe them off, and put them away, too. 

So far, this may already be a part of your nightly routine, but you can take it a step further. Declutter the space (put that air fryer away where it belongs!), and spray all the counters with disinfectant. Let that sit while you scrub down the sink and the stove, especially those sticky, stubborn spots that you may have ignored on a normal night. Then, go back, and wipe down all your counters. Quickly sweep or vacuum to pick up stray crumbs, and take out the trash, if necessary. If you're feeling fancy, replace dirty dish towels. You can even set your coffee pot on a timer, so you have a fresh pot ready when you walk into the kitchen the next morning.

We know it sounds like a lot, but once shutting down the kitchen becomes a regular practice in your everyday life, it will get quicker and more efficient! Soon, it will be a mindless (and perhaps even therapeutic) practice to finish up your day. Plus, you'll realize just how beneficial it is. This system builds a healthy habit that helps you start off the next day in a completely new way. As soon as you wake up, your brain is no longer cluttered by the kitchen to-do list. Instead, you walk into a clean space. You don't have to put away too many dishes from the night before, aside from perhaps emptying the dishwasher. You don't have to worry about what smelly thing is left in the sink. You don't have to step on last night's crumbs as cooking breakfast. You have a clean slate for a new day, and it's more rewarding than you might think! 

This nightly routine also frees up some energy to focus on deep cleaning when you have the time. Spice jars may be some of the most contaminated things in your kitchen, and you probably have a grimy Dutch oven that needs a thorough cleaning. You might find that you have the time to actually clean your oven, and getting on to those lingering kitchen tasks may no longer feel quite so daunting.