5 Techniques that Make Cleaning Easier (Kitchen Edition)

Sarah McGlory
Oct 6
5 min read

*Spoonies need kitchen cleaning to be easier

Have you heard of the "spoon theory?" It's a metaphor that describes how people with chronic conditions have to expend energy on tasks that others do without thinking. For example, I have chronic joint pain and fatigue, so walking my kiddo into school, showering, and making a cup of coffee cost me; they take up a good bit of my energy reserves, where others would do these actions without blinking. Understanding my

capacity has prompted me to look for ways to be very efficient with my resources. Today, I want to share how to make kitchen cleaning easier for my fellow spoonies, to help you protect your time and energy. Let's use a day in my life as an example.

Breakfast: Using the In-betweens and the Soaker

A few mornings ago, I was making breakfast: I had water boiling for my coffee and a piece of bread in the toaster oven. While I waited for everything to come together, I replaced the items I had used to make breakfast, emptied the drying rack, and put away a couple of recycling items that had been drying in the sink.

Could I have been staring into space, having an existential crisis while I waited for my coffee? Or scrolling on my phone while my breakfast sandwich toasts? Sure (and I've done both more times than not!). But over the years, I've begun to realize how much can be accomplished in the in-betweens when I'm waiting for something. Now, as often as possible, I utilize small pockets of time to diminish the size of the task I'll need to complete later, rather than pushing it off until I have a block of time to do the entire task.

After my breakfast was ready to go, I took a couple of seconds to utilize the tactic of soaking. I know from experience that cleaning egg pans and the like will take a long time if I leave them out to crust and congeal. So I stuck the pan inside the sink with some hot water and soap. Soaking takes me less than 30 seconds throughout the day and probably saves me 5 to 10 minutes of elbow grease.

Lunchtime: Racing Against the Microwave

The next time I entered the kitchen, it was lunchtime, and I used the in-between spaces again to be productive. I put a bowl of spaghetti in the microwave, and while it was heating up, I cleaned as fast as I could. My goal? Get the sink emptied by the time the microwave dinged. In two minutes, I was able to rinse off the breakfast dishes and hand-wash the pan I used for eggs. Using the in-between times to clean when I have a time goal is my favorite because I get a nerdy little thrill from racing the clock.

The Pass By Technique (All Day Long)

I'd like to note here that all day I use the pass-by technique. I walked through the kitchen one time and grabbed a notebook that belonged upstairs, because I was heading that way. Another time, I took five seconds to put peanut butter in the pantry. If my hands are empty, I try to grab one thing that's out of place and return it to its home. I'm not trying to clear everything that needs to be put away, so these little passes don't distract me from what I'm heading to do. And if I do this a handful of times a day, it keeps my island and counters clearer and peaceful-looking.

Dinner: The Final Sprint with Categories and Shortcuts

5 techniques to make cleaning the kitchen easier

When I arrive at dinner time, I have very low energy. What I want to do is throw dino nuggets and fries into the oven and then go sit down. But if I make that choice, the timer will ding that dinner is ready right as I've finally gotten comfortable. By the time I've made everyone's plates and eaten myself, it will be ten times harder to get up and finish the kitchen.

Instead, I utilize the time that dinner is cooking to get as much done as possible. That way, by the time I sit down for dinner, there's almost nothing left to be done.

One of the other techniques I use that is super helpful, especially in the evening when my brain has virtually no decision-making power, is category cleaning. Without a plan, I tend to wander around the kitchen doing very little and doing it very slowly. To be more effective, I've taught myself to focus on one category of cleaning at a time. Category examples in the kitchen include emptying the dishwasher, putting away the food, cleaning the pots and pans, or removing clutter from countertops and wiping them down.

My Favorite Technique: The Shortcut

The fifth and last technique is the shortcut, which makes the daily grind tasks I do easier. After I was diagnosed with autoimmune diseases, I had this idea that I needed to be superhuman. When I struggled to complete tasks, I never asked myself how I could make things easier. I believed I needed to suck it up and work harder! Because I did not have the physicality to do things perfectly, I wound up doing little to nothing.

Since I have become kinder to myself, I have been on the lookout for shortcuts that make it easier to do the things that I need to do. My perspective has shifted to acknowledging that I have limited time and energy; therefore, it's smart to be efficient with what I have!

When my kids were littler, I used paper plates for dinner, which cut down on how many dishes I had to wash. The most recent shortcut that I invented for myself is my island trash bowl. Why do I have a trash bowl on my island when I have a full-size trash can to the left of my fridge? That's a great question, and here is my answer: when I am very low on energy, every step really counts. This trash bowl is in the dead center of the kitchen. So that means when I'm doing various things around the kitchen, I'm not leaving bits of trash on the counter or walking to the far side of the kitchen where our trash can lives. I can toss trash into the bowl from just about anywhere in the kitchen, reducing the energy I'm expending.

The Difference It Makes

Now, imagine you come into your kitchen after you've had dinner and there is almost nothing left to clean. How different does that feel from coming into a kitchen that is full of dirty dishes, at the point in the day when you have the lowest energy?

Whether you're someone who does all the cleaning, or you have people to collaborate with or delegate to, all of the techniques that I've shared today- the pass by, the soaker, the in-betweens, the shortcuts, and the categories- help protect the energy resource we all need more of.