A Clean Machine and Let's Meet IRL! 🤗
Hello Friends! 👋
I’d love to meet you! If you are in the Manhattan Beach area on Saturday, September 17th around 9:00 am for an hour or so, let’s get together! 💌 RSVP/reply to this email and I’ll send you the location in Manhattan Beach a few days beforehand. This invite is for newsletter subscribers only.
Cleaning. It’s an annoying job, but someone’s gotta do it. I wash A LOT of dishes and I am constantly trying to keep the kitchen clean. To be fair, I do have a couple people come in once a week to clean my house for a total of 2 hours. But that’s it. The other 166 hours in the week, I am on my own!
My advice for not spending too much time cleaning:
Clean as you cook
Don’t use too many gadgets, bowls, measuring spoons, cutting boards etc. Try to be efficient and use the same tool for different tasks;
When using measuring spoons for the same recipe, measure dry ingredients first and wet second so you don’t have to clean them in between;
Schedule different jobs (e.g. cleaning the fridge, oven, toaster oven) on different days - Friday afternoon is a good time for me to do a “fridge scan” where I look to see what I have and what needs to get used up. It’s also a good time to take everything out and give each shelf a good wipe;
Take advantage of your oven’s self-clean feature if it has one. Remove racks before starting the cycle. I usually do this when I can be out of the kitchen because it can cause a smell.
For burnt-on foods, soak immediately. Then try to clean normally with hot water and soap. If not working, put item on the burner with a couple tablespoons baking soda and water. Let simmer for a few minutes and scrape with a wooden turner. (Tip: I buy a huge bag of baking soda at Costco.)
Cleaning the garbage disposal: I’ll toss in a couple ice cubes and a lemon half (one that I’ve already squeezed for my morning water or a dressing) and run the disposal. The ice helps keep the blades sharp and the lemon makes it smell good.
Here are the tools I am loving right now. If you’ve been hanging out with me for sometime now, you know I opt for low-toxic cleaning products. There’s a lot we cannot control, so choosing minimally toxic products for the home is a no-brainer. Click on the links to learn more.
Other brands on my radar that I haven’t tried but heard good things: Cleancult and Force of Nature.
If you want to minimize toxins and save money at the same time, you can DIY it:
DIY hand soap - 1 part castile soap (such as Dr. Bronner’s) to 3 parts water + 10-20 drops essential oil (whatever fragrance you like)
Non-toxic Easy-off: 1 cup baking soda + 10 drops lemon oil + water to make a paste consistency
All-purpose spray: 1 part distilled white vinegar + 2 parts water + juice of 2-4 lemons
xx, Pamela