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1353190. Hey

2:01

there, you're listening to the Lazy

2:03

Genius podcast. I'm Kendra

2:05

Adachi, and I'm here to help

2:07

you be a genius about the

2:09

things that matter and lazy about

2:11

the things that don't. Today is

2:13

episode 415, How I Keep My

2:15

Kitchen Mostly Clean. As we

2:17

all know in most homes, the kitchen

2:19

is the most used room. We're always

2:21

in there making food and cleaning up

2:23

food and putting away food we just

2:25

bought and throwing away food we bought

2:27

but didn't get to. It is a

2:29

room we spend so much time in

2:32

and the mess that comes out of

2:34

that room is nothing short of

2:36

terrifying. While this episode is

2:38

about how I personally keep my

2:40

kitchen mostly clean, I want to

2:42

make something very clear off the

2:44

bat. Clean is relative. Clean is

2:46

personal. Clean is not the

2:48

rule, nor is every person's

2:50

definition of clean the same. You

2:52

might be struggling with a tough season

2:55

of life, a mental illness, a kitchen

2:57

that seems like it's just like. breaking

2:59

down before your eyes. And then here

3:01

comes this lady telling you to keep

3:03

your kitchen clean, no way, no way.

3:05

That is not what we're doing here.

3:07

While I am gonna share 10 things

3:09

I do that help me keep my

3:11

kitchen mostly clean on a fairly regular

3:13

basis, these 10 things are not the

3:15

rule nor are they meant as an

3:17

indictment on anyone's kitchen at all. We

3:20

sometimes have seasons where we

3:22

live in consistently dirty kitchens and

3:24

I want you to know that you're okay.

3:27

So see this episode more as like

3:29

a list of ideas that might

3:31

work for you or a jumping off

3:33

point for you to start noticing

3:35

what you currently do that does help

3:37

you keep your kitchen more clean than

3:40

if you didn't do those things.

3:42

I just want to be clear

3:44

about all of that. Now, as

3:46

I share my list of 10

3:48

things, I also think it's fair

3:50

to say that I have naturally

3:53

efficient executive functioning skills. I

3:55

have a kitchen that is in good shape

3:57

and was actually originally designed with my family mind.

3:59

I have a husband who cleans up

4:01

after dinner way more than I do. And

4:03

I have three children who have kitchen

4:06

chores. Now, granted, more people

4:08

usually means more mess. But

4:10

I have help. I have a kitchen that works

4:12

the way I want it to and I'm naturally

4:14

good at ordered tasks and organization. So

4:16

some of the things on my list will

4:18

seem obvious. Some will feel like they're not

4:20

for you right now. Some will feel like

4:22

a mountain to climb because of how your

4:24

life and brain both work and all of

4:26

that is normal and okay. So I will

4:28

speak with words of kindness and you can

4:30

listen with ears of kindness and we can

4:32

all find an approach to the kitchen that

4:34

works for the individual. All right, so

4:36

with all that in mind, let's jump into

4:39

the 10 things I do that help me

4:41

keep my kitchen mostly clean. Number

4:43

one, I have a place

4:45

for dirty dishes. I

4:47

shared this on Instagram a couple of weeks ago

4:49

and I talk about this in The Lazy Genius Kitchen.

4:52

But a dirty dishes zone has been

4:54

a game changer in keeping the

4:56

kitchen mostly clean. A dirty

4:58

dishes zone is it is nothing revolutionary. It

5:01

is the simplest thing, but

5:03

often the simplest things have the

5:05

biggest impact. It is basically

5:07

an area on your counter or

5:09

all the dirty dishes go until

5:11

someone cleans them. It's just

5:13

grouping them together in one spot. I

5:16

have a husband and three kids, so

5:18

we do have a lot of

5:20

dishes floating around the house. While there

5:22

is absolutely nothing bad about that,

5:24

the visual distribution of

5:26

dishes throughout the kitchen and beyond,

5:28

it can reach annoying levels pretty

5:30

quickly, at least annoying to me. You

5:33

know, you have breakfast dishes on the kitchen

5:35

table and you have like this little set

5:37

of bowls from last night's dinner on this

5:39

one part of the counter. And then there's

5:41

a discarded lunch box on this other part

5:43

of the counter and all of those things

5:45

spread out. feel messy, but if you

5:47

just grab them all and stack them up or just put

5:49

them in the one spot on the one counter, it's like

5:51

a whole different ball game. Sometimes we

5:53

don't even realize the effect that visual

5:55

clutter is having on our stress

5:57

levels. Now that's not true for everyone,

6:00

but the brain does love order and

6:02

putting all of your dirty dishes

6:04

in one spot, it helps create that

6:06

order with like hardly any effort

6:08

at all. Plus it makes the cleaning

6:10

of the dishes easier later because

6:12

everything is all ready together in one

6:14

place. So this is how the

6:16

dirty dishes zone works in our house.

6:18

We have this one counter area

6:20

next to the sink and all throughout

6:22

the day, I'm either putting dishes

6:24

over there or I'm asking the kids

6:26

to take their dishes over there.

6:28

Yes, they do have to be prompted

6:30

like kind of often, but that

6:32

is okay. just like Sam

6:34

Kelly. Remember Sam Kelly? She's the one

6:36

who helps us teach our kids to

6:38

notice things. She says we need

6:40

to teach our kids to notice when things are

6:42

out of place or need to be done,

6:44

not just be obedient when we tell them to

6:46

do it because that's still energy on the

6:48

part often of the mother of like telling people

6:50

we're doing the noticing and then telling the

6:53

people to do the thing. We need to teach

6:55

our kids to, as she calls it, notice

6:57

and do. And it's such a

6:59

great concept. So sometimes my kids

7:01

do notice the dirty dishes and they put

7:03

them in the zone without being asked.

7:05

I'd say that's true like 40 % of

7:07

the time. The other 60 % is me

7:09

like, like low -key yelling in my Mary

7:11

Poppins voice, like a dirty dishes zone and

7:13

they all start looking for dishes. So

7:15

it's great. I also love

7:18

this because everyone knows that

7:20

dishes have to get cleaned.

7:22

So having them all in one place makes

7:25

that easier. Like I already said that

7:27

they're just in one place. So if you

7:29

have to clean up, they're just right

7:31

there. But like in real time, if I

7:33

ask Ben who's 13 to load the

7:35

dishwasher, that task is actually pretty easy for

7:37

him to start doing because he doesn't

7:40

even have to move around. He just moves

7:42

to the dishwasher because all the dishes

7:44

are already right there, right? Speaking

7:46

of right there, a commenter on my

7:48

Instagram posts when I talked about the dirty

7:50

dishes on a couple of weeks ago, she

7:52

said that when she started doing this, she

7:54

put blue painter's tape to block out the

7:56

area on the counter as a visual for

7:59

her kids. So once they understood what she

8:01

was asking for, then she took off the

8:03

tape. But I love that

8:05

idea. It's creating a temporary

8:07

visual, especially for tiny kids so

8:09

they can understand what you're

8:11

saying. So even though the dirty

8:13

dishes are still out, until

8:15

it's time to put them in the dishwasher or

8:17

whatever. They are contained. They are

8:19

gathered. They are in their

8:22

place. And that makes the kitchen

8:24

feel mostly clean. So

8:26

that's number one, I have a place

8:28

for dirty dishes. Number two, I have

8:30

a place for clean dishes. Riveting, isn't

8:32

it? But y 'all having a place for

8:34

stuff is so massive in creating a

8:36

space that feels mostly clean. So I

8:38

have this cute drying rack. It's more

8:40

like a. like a basket than one

8:43

of those collapsible racks. The collapsible racks

8:45

like, stress me out, don't to pinch

8:47

my finger. I don't like the way

8:49

they look, whatever. So this is more

8:51

of like a drying basket. I probably

8:53

got it at home goods or something.

8:55

I don't know. It's nothing special, but

8:57

it is the spot for the clean

8:59

dishes. So even if that basket is

9:01

full of clean dishes for like days,

9:03

like it is right now, there are

9:05

mixing bowls in my clean dishes space

9:08

that I used almost a week ago.

9:10

Those clean dishes are contained. They

9:13

have a place. It feels

9:15

mostly clean because they're not... like,

9:17

they're contained. Michaelin Smith,

9:20

um, you might know her as the

9:22

nester. She has this book called house

9:24

rules. It's so good. You guys, it

9:26

is a beautiful book. It's a hundred

9:28

rules for your home. It's so

9:30

good. But she shares these hundred rules

9:32

that are the kind of rules you

9:34

and I are actually into. They're not

9:37

like rules, rules. They're like helpful,

9:39

create your own deal rules. And one

9:41

of her rules is about a home

9:43

base. She talks about the power of

9:45

things like trays and baskets and

9:47

containers to gather up up items and

9:49

make them feel visually purposeful. So

9:51

I want you to imagine if you

9:53

have a slew of like vitamin and pill

9:55

bottles in your kitchen because people in

9:58

your family take their meds at breakfast, this

10:00

is very true of us, okay? Let's

10:02

say you keep those bottles just out on

10:04

the counter. Like they're huddled together, but

10:06

they're just out. Now imagine

10:08

if they're all in a pretty

10:10

basket or on a pretty tray.

10:12

That's like a completely different energy.

10:14

I don't know why but having

10:16

a container or as Mike Willen

10:18

calls it a home base for

10:20

your stuff is visually so impactful.

10:23

So back to my spot for

10:25

clean dishes. I have this pretty

10:27

wire drying basket for those dishes.

10:30

They're not just out on the

10:32

counter willy -nilly or even like resting

10:34

on a towel. They are contained

10:36

and that makes all the difference

10:38

in the kitchen feeling mostly clean.

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three, I use baskets and

15:20

bowls to corral stuff or to

15:22

make stuff completely invisible. This

15:24

is the home -based thing again.

15:26

Contain your kitchen stuff in baskets

15:28

or bowls or trays or

15:30

even something that makes the things

15:32

you're storing completely invisible. Here

15:35

are some examples from my kitchen.

15:37

Okay, so on our kitchen island,

15:39

we have three different places or

15:41

containers that never leave the island.

15:43

The first is a wide ceramic

15:46

bowl for clementines. because we

15:48

eat a lot of those and I don't

15:50

like the red net. The red net is not

15:52

cute. The bowl is so much prettier. The

15:54

second thing is this fruit like produce

15:57

contraption I got from Uncommon Goods ages ago

15:59

that has like a bowl with, it's

16:01

like a glass bowl with a wooden lid,

16:03

but then attached to that wooden lid

16:05

is a banana hook. So it holds bananas

16:07

on the hook. You can put produce

16:09

on the lid because it's like a little

16:11

tray and then you can put more

16:13

stuff inside the bowl. It's great. And

16:16

then the third thing on our island at

16:18

all times is our drink spinner. I have

16:20

mentioned this before. It is just a lazy

16:22

Susan, just a regular old wooden lazy Susan

16:24

that I got at some home store. I

16:26

don't know. It's nothing special. And

16:28

that's where all the water bottles and

16:30

cups live. That is

16:32

another kitchen element that can

16:34

take over your house

16:36

all the beverages. So

16:39

having the drink spinner, it gives us a

16:41

spot for the water bottles to go when people

16:43

come home and for water cups to live

16:45

throughout the day when they're not being used. I

16:47

don't have to even ask the kids to

16:49

use the drink spinner. It's just how we live.

16:51

They just put their cups on there automatically.

16:53

They're water balls and stuff. It's so great. Now,

16:56

and so those are the three things on the

16:58

the island that never leave. In other

17:00

parts of my kitchen I have a basket

17:02

for all of our pills and like random

17:04

stuff that we often access throughout the day

17:06

like like scrap paper you know like notepads,

17:08

weirdly a tape measure. I feel like we

17:10

measure stuff all the time so that's in

17:13

the basket and that's on one of the

17:15

counters. There is an

17:17

old rectangular like Planter that I got

17:19

from a thrift store probably 10

17:21

or 15 years ago I mean we

17:23

had it in our last house

17:25

and I put mason jars inside that

17:27

and it holds my kitchen utensils

17:29

that's been holding my kitchen utensils for

17:31

a decade and a half in

17:33

front of that planter is

17:36

a little tray that holds the

17:38

salt cellar, the pepper grinder, our

17:40

butter crock, and then this like

17:42

a little tiny, what

17:44

do they call those little like spice pinch

17:46

dishes? I don't use it for spices. I put

17:48

my pills on it every morning when I make my coffee. I

17:51

used to have all of those

17:53

things just out, just like on the

17:55

counter and the kitchen felt messy.

17:57

Once I put them all on one

17:59

tray, it was totally different. And

18:01

then finally, I have this huge,

18:03

oh my gosh, it's huge, this

18:06

white bread box because the Adachi's

18:08

eat a lot of bread products

18:10

and no basket was big enough

18:12

to hold them all. But

18:14

before the bread box came, we made

18:16

it work. I had like two smaller

18:18

baskets plus this adhesive basket that we

18:21

hung on the backsplash. But three bread

18:23

baskets was like a lot of bread

18:25

baskets. So a few months

18:27

ago, I found this massive metal bread box

18:29

that was white and perfect except... that

18:31

it was one of those Ray Dunn products

18:33

and had bread written on the side,

18:35

like the word bread. I'm not a words

18:37

on my stuff person. So I was

18:39

really bummed at first when I saw it

18:41

because I was like, this is so

18:43

good. And then I thought, Kendra, just turn

18:45

it around. Look, you don't have

18:47

to have the bread facing out. Just turn the

18:49

thing around. So that's what I did. And actually,

18:51

technically, The bread container is sideways

18:53

because it's so wide, it would

18:55

take up so much space if it

18:58

went lengthwise and so it's sideways

19:00

and that's where all of our bread

19:02

goes. So there is

19:04

a lot of stuff

19:06

that's always out in my

19:08

kitchen, but because it

19:10

is contained or even made

19:13

invisible like the bread,

19:15

it makes the kitchen feel

19:17

mostly clean. Okay, number

19:19

four. I rinse pots and pans

19:21

right after I use them. I hate

19:23

washing dishes, which is why Cause

19:25

kindly does it most of the time.

19:28

mostly because he's like a good partner and

19:30

just does things, but some of that is

19:32

because he knows how much I hate it.

19:34

But in order to make dishwashing for anyone

19:36

easier, I always rinse the pots and the

19:38

pans right after using them. I also try

19:40

to encourage the kids to do that if

19:43

they're making something like yakisoba or spaghetti or

19:45

whatever to rinse out your pan. It saves

19:47

so much time later and it also makes,

19:49

I know this sounds weird, but it also

19:51

makes the dirty pans, even when they're like

19:53

in the sink or even on the counter

19:55

waiting to be washed, it makes them look like

19:58

more clean like visually clean because they

20:00

are like they're not full of gunk

20:02

and tomato sauce and whatever else right

20:04

they're mostly cleaned off they're just not

20:06

clean so that's number four i rinse

20:08

pots and pans right after i use

20:10

them number five i don't let other

20:12

stuff live on the counter i'm a

20:14

little relentless about this now i already

20:17

mentioned all the stuff that does live

20:19

on the counter and that listen that

20:21

doesn't include my coffee maker my electric

20:23

kettle Arsono speaker in the

20:25

kitchen, the air fryer, the microwave, the paper

20:27

towels. There's like a lot of things that

20:29

live on our counters. We have like a

20:31

small L shaped counter like kitchen and then

20:33

an island. So we do have like a

20:35

reasonable amount of counter space, but our kitchen

20:38

is not a huge kitchen. Like it's huge,

20:40

you know what I'm saying, it's all relative,

20:42

but like it is a It's

20:44

like a mid -level size kitchen that

20:46

you would find in sort of most

20:48

American ranch homes. And so we do

20:50

have like a decent amount of counter

20:52

space, but not a ton. We've had

20:54

to be really creative, especially because of

20:57

all the things that we keep on

20:59

said counter. So because there is a

21:01

lot that already lives on our counters,

21:03

there is not space for anything else.

21:05

We are at like peak counter saturation. So

21:08

my kids have learned pretty

21:10

quickly, Because if

21:12

they leave something on the counter I will

21:14

ask them to find a place for it

21:16

like almost immediately Max a couple hours like

21:18

that stuff is not staying there like for

21:20

example the other day I came in from

21:22

I came into the house from working and

21:25

my mom had picked Annie up from school

21:27

and so she had like all of her

21:29

school stuff out and she had brought home

21:31

a deflated

21:33

basketball, a jump rope, and

21:35

a t -shirt that she had gotten as prizes for

21:37

reaching like a certain level of money in a

21:39

school fundraiser or something. And she had left all

21:41

those things on the kitchen island. Now, she showed

21:43

them to me. You know, she left them out.

21:46

She showed them to me, but they were on

21:48

the island. So after she showed them to me,

21:50

I was like, these are so fun. Can you

21:52

take them off the counter and find a new

21:54

place for them? Now, the shirt she knew what

21:56

to do with because she has shirts. She knows

21:58

to put it in her hamper so we can

22:00

wash it. but I could tell she

22:02

was a little like, hmm, about the deflated basketball and

22:04

the jump rope. And so I did suggest, I was

22:06

like, you know, we got that toy basket, you could

22:09

put the ball on the rope in there. Cause I

22:11

could tell she wasn't sure what to do. And then

22:13

she put them away. Now, sometimes we

22:15

have to help our kids figure out a place for

22:17

things, but that place y 'all is not the counter. I

22:19

don't think the place is the counter. I'm

22:21

not going to should you about that, but I

22:23

really think that a lot of our frustration

22:25

with quote unquote dirty kitchens is because there are

22:28

things living on counters that don't need to. Also,

22:30

if you have things that always

22:33

end up on the counter, it

22:35

means they don't have another

22:37

place. Mail comes to

22:39

mind, or just papers in general. If

22:42

you don't already have a place to put

22:44

the mail in the papers, you're going to

22:46

leave them on the counter. And then you're

22:48

going to be fighting with your gas bill

22:50

while you're cutting an onion. Find

22:52

a place for the things on your counter

22:54

that you don't want to be there. If

22:56

you want paper help, I just did an

22:58

episode on paper that was episode 410, how

23:00

to deal with all the paper. Also,

23:03

y 'all, I have an entire episode

23:05

on keeping your surfaces clear. If

23:07

that is something you would like

23:09

to experience more of in your home

23:11

and you don't quite know how

23:13

to think it through, that's episode 209.

23:15

So that's like over 200 episodes

23:18

ago, but it's called how to keep

23:20

your surfaces clear. And let me

23:22

use this as a good moment to

23:24

remind everyone that many of us

23:26

are not taught, nor are naturally wired

23:28

to think through every single aspect

23:30

of home. Y 'all, it's so

23:32

much stuff, learning how to tend to

23:35

a home and keep it in a flow and

23:37

keep it in, it's a lot of things. And

23:39

you're not just supposed to know how to do

23:41

things. It's okay if you're like, my counter's always

23:43

cluttered and I don't even know where to begin.

23:46

Be kind to yourself, please. And then you

23:48

can listen to that episode if you need

23:50

some help. All right. Number six,

23:52

my kids unload the dishwasher every day. We

23:54

all have different kitchen rhythms in our homes.

23:56

And when you start noticing them, when you

23:58

start attention and going, Oh, look at that.

24:00

That is a kitchen rhythm. I didn't even

24:02

name that yet. And you make

24:04

those things work for you. You might actually

24:06

feel closer to a mostly clean kitchen

24:08

than you did before. So much of it

24:11

is our perspective. So anyway,

24:13

our dishwasher, it has three levels. We

24:15

run it every night and then every

24:17

morning, each kid is responsible for one

24:19

level. They put away one level as

24:21

part of their routine before they go

24:23

to school. Annie and Ben,

24:25

my two youngest, they do their level without

24:27

prompting. That's just, they just do it. Sam

24:30

has ADHD and he

24:32

cannot neurologically develop habits. Instead,

24:35

he needs cues and he

24:37

needs reminders. So most mornings,

24:39

I'll just remind him. I'm like, Hey, do

24:41

your level bud. Do your dishwasher level and

24:43

he'll go do it. or I'll put it

24:45

on a checklist for him if I'm not

24:47

home when he's getting ready for school. But

24:49

my kids unload the dishwasher

24:52

every day. This rhythm of daily

24:54

dishwashing and then having people

24:56

designated to unload it at a

24:58

certain time, it helps our

25:00

overall kitchen rhythm flow and it

25:03

helps keep the kitchen mostly

25:05

clean. Even on the weekends, so

25:07

our kids will like sleep later, all

25:10

the things, I will... on

25:12

purpose, ask the kids like, hey

25:14

guys, I need 'all to do

25:16

your dishwasher level before lunch

25:18

prep begins at all. Cause we

25:20

can't really do anything while

25:22

the dishwasher is full of clean

25:24

dishes, right? So we even

25:27

try to preserve that rhythm within

25:29

reason on the weekends. Okay,

25:31

so that's number six. Number seven

25:33

is I wipe down my

25:35

counters throughout the day. Now, some

25:37

of this is easier because

25:39

I don't let things live on

25:41

the counters and because the

25:43

dirty dishes own exists, right? But

25:46

because of that, it's pretty common

25:48

for me to have a clear kitchen

25:50

island when I am not actively

25:52

cooking. And when it's clear, I

25:54

wipe it down. That helps the

25:56

kitchen feel more clean. If

25:58

you see a kitchen counter

26:00

that is clear of

26:02

items, but is still covered

26:04

in like crumbs and

26:06

condensation from like... or whatever.

26:09

There's the smudge of like peanut butter

26:11

or sun butter from the sandwich making. Like

26:14

the kitchen doesn't feel as clean as it could. You

26:16

can't really do anything on a counter that's

26:18

not cleaned off anyway. So

26:20

because you're going to get some butter

26:22

on your stuff. So I regularly wipe down

26:24

the counters. I have a

26:26

favorite spray. It's like a method

26:29

granite cleaner since our counters are granite.

26:31

And then I also have those

26:33

reusable paper towels that I use one

26:35

of those to wipe it down.

26:37

In fact, I usually just drape the

26:39

towel over the bottle of cleaner

26:41

and then I will put the bottle

26:44

back under the sink. So

26:46

we use that to wipe off the counters for

26:48

like a couple of days and then we'll trade

26:50

out that reusable paper towel. We'll wash it and

26:52

get a different one. But it's

26:54

so quick to do wiping down the

26:56

counters is so quick to do,

26:58

especially if the counters are already clear

27:00

and it. Like I cannot communicate

27:02

how much of a difference it makes

27:04

in our kitchen and how my

27:06

kitchen feels when the counters are actually

27:08

cleaned. So I clean them throughout the

27:10

day. Number eight, I

27:12

reset the kitchen every night. Okay,

27:15

reset does not mean that I put

27:17

away all the clean dishes. I already

27:19

said that there are still bowls from

27:21

several days ago out in the thing,

27:23

but they're contained. They're where the

27:25

clean dishes live. So it's fine. Resetting

27:28

the kitchen is what I need.

27:31

It's getting the kitchen to a

27:33

place where I don't feel

27:35

stress when I'm going to enter

27:37

the kitchen the next morning,

27:39

right? It's ready for me. So

27:41

in general, the way it usually works

27:43

for us, cause cleans up after dinner or

27:45

most nights and the boys will help

27:47

him and I go and get Annie ready

27:50

for bed. So when I come into

27:52

our main living area after putting Annie to

27:54

bed, The dishwasher is usually

27:56

loaded and like set to run. The

27:58

dirty dishes are washed or they are like

28:00

rinsed and they're just contained in the sink, which

28:02

is great. I don't mind that and we'll

28:04

wash them the next day or whatever. It doesn't

28:06

matter. And the food is put away. Now,

28:09

again, the counters are usually

28:11

clear because we have places for most

28:13

things that would clutter the counters. So

28:16

resetting. is making

28:18

sure those counters are clear, but it's

28:20

really doing the things that cause rarely remembers

28:22

to do or cares as much about

28:24

doing, and that's okay when he cleans up

28:26

the kitchen. He doesn't really wipe off

28:28

the counters, so I wipe down the counters. Y

28:31

'all, he always leaves the dish soap out on the

28:33

counter. It has become like a bit at this

28:35

point. It is so funny, so I will put the

28:37

dish soap away under the sink. He

28:39

just doesn't see it. It cracks

28:41

me up. I will push the kitchen

28:44

chairs into the table. that feels

28:46

good to me for the kitchen chairs

28:48

to be like aligned under the

28:50

table rather than you know kind of

28:52

haphazardly like we all just got

28:54

out of them. I'll put away the

28:56

items that causing the kids like

28:58

didn't notice which that's fine too because

29:00

they don't often notice as much

29:02

as I do and then I will

29:04

vacuum the kitchen floor. All

29:07

of that wiping down the counters

29:09

putting away the straggling things and

29:11

vacuuming the kitchen floor three minutes

29:13

max. It's so quick, but that

29:15

reset makes the whole kitchen feel

29:17

clean, even if there are still

29:19

dirty pots in the sink. And

29:22

it makes the next morning feel so much

29:24

better. So I re set

29:26

the kitchen every night. And then, and

29:28

that's again, that's my own definition

29:30

of reset. You get to decide what

29:32

that would mean for you if

29:34

you chose to do that. And then

29:36

number nine, I notice what's not

29:38

working. and I make small

29:40

changes. All of these other things are

29:42

daily things. This one's not as daily. The

29:44

noticing could be daily, but you

29:47

notice what's not working and you make small

29:49

changes. Okay, let's talk about the bread box

29:51

again. This is a great example. It

29:53

started out, I would have

29:56

just bags of bread laying around on

29:58

the counter. We love

30:00

Trader Joe's sliced

30:02

sourdough. three three -fifths of the

30:04

family love that stuff the other two fists

30:06

of the family They don't they just

30:08

want a different kind of bread. Well, then

30:10

we also have like sandwich bread Then

30:12

we have hot dog buns because of course

30:14

we have hot dog buns and then

30:16

sometimes I'll get those brioche rolls from Aldi

30:18

to make like fun sandwiches for lunch

30:21

They're quite tasty and that's not like the

30:23

little box of donuts we might get

30:25

or I made cookies or you know, it's

30:27

just like the carbs We have so

30:29

many in our house We would

30:31

just have bags of bread laying around. And

30:33

that just wasn't working for me. It wasn't

30:35

working. No, I didn't, I didn't like panic. I

30:38

didn't threaten the family that we're going to

30:40

go gluten -free because I couldn't take all

30:42

the bread. You know, I just got a

30:44

basket that we already had. I know that

30:46

containment matters. That helps a lot. So I

30:48

went and found a basket in like a

30:50

random closet in my house and I put

30:53

all the bread in it. Now the bread

30:55

didn't all fit, but it was a little

30:57

better. Right? And I lived that way for

30:59

a while. Later on, I had the idea

31:01

of like, oh, maybe I could get one

31:03

of those like little sticky shelves, a little

31:05

wire basket to stick to the backsplash to

31:07

put on the wall. And that could hold

31:09

some of the bread. And those two things

31:11

did help for a little while. It was

31:13

a little better than everything just being out. But

31:16

it still wasn't quite my ideal.

31:18

The problem that I was able

31:20

to identify was just like all

31:22

the plastic and color. coming

31:25

from the bread bags and they were just like

31:27

poking out in different directions or whatever. I realized

31:29

I wanted the bread to be invisible. I wanted

31:31

it to be invisible. Plus, we also had multiple

31:33

places. Like I said, we had a couple baskets.

31:35

We had the little one on the wall. We

31:38

had several places where you would keep bread. And

31:40

the family didn't always know where to

31:42

look for what they needed. So I also

31:44

was like, gosh, I wish we just

31:46

had like one spot where we could put

31:48

all the bread. It would hold everything,

31:50

but it would also make the bread invisible.

31:53

So I kept an eye out

31:55

for something to do the trick

31:57

because even like buying a brand

31:59

new bread box, it still was

32:02

just not enough space because I'd

32:04

tried that before. Anyway, I found

32:06

this white bread box that I

32:08

mentioned before. weeks and weeks and

32:10

weeks later when I was a

32:12

goodwill. It took a long time,

32:14

but now I have a bread

32:17

solution that works freely, really well.

32:19

So notice what's not working and

32:21

then make small changes. Don't turn

32:23

everything upside down or resent your

32:25

kitchen or your people. You

32:27

don't have to, you can wait, you know, you

32:29

don't have to fix it right away. Just look

32:31

at what's not working. Identify a way to make

32:33

the problem. Smaller and then

32:35

just take one tiny step just

32:37

one small step to make it better

32:40

and Let it take however long

32:42

it takes you know and then finally

32:44

number 10 I make the visible

32:46

things Pretty so I had the clementines

32:48

and a plastic bowl for a

32:50

while and it was fine But then

32:52

I found this beautiful wide white

32:55

ceramic bowl at Goodwill for six dollars

32:57

and I snatched that puppy up

32:59

so fast. I was so excited because

33:01

the bowl is so much prettier

33:03

now, right? I like that our

33:05

drink spinner is wood instead of plastic because

33:07

I find the wood to be very

33:09

pretty. The pills in the

33:11

kitchen were at one point in like

33:13

this shapeless, dingy fabric basket and

33:16

it worked fine, but it wasn't as

33:18

pretty. Now they are in

33:20

a basket that functions more like a crate,

33:22

you know, like it's got edges, like

33:24

it doesn't move. And it's also just a

33:26

lot prettier. It's like wire and woven

33:28

and it's beautiful. The breadbox

33:30

is way prettier as just a

33:32

white container rather than an

33:34

overflowing basket of red and blue

33:37

plastic bags. So

33:39

I still have, listen, I

33:41

still have all the same

33:43

things living in the same

33:45

spaces, but the containers for

33:47

those things, the trays they

33:49

sit on, the drying basket

33:51

the dishes live in, they're

33:53

all prettier. This is

33:55

another thing. that the

33:57

Nester says. One of

33:59

her house rules is if it's out,

34:02

it's decoration. If it's

34:04

out, if you can see it, it's decoration. So

34:06

make the things that are out as

34:08

pretty as you can. Like

34:10

I got a glass hand

34:13

soap dispenser because it's out and

34:15

it's prettier than the plastic

34:17

one that you just buy that

34:19

sits in the kitchen. We

34:21

keep our dishwashing sponge and scrubber

34:23

out in like a basket

34:25

attached to the wall above the

34:27

sink. Because they're out, they're decorations.

34:29

So guess what? I buy white or cream

34:31

sponges. I do not buy the green and yellow

34:33

ones. And our like dish

34:35

scrubby guy, the pot scrubby

34:37

thing, it's like cream and wood.

34:40

It's not a bright color. Now

34:42

that would be fine if you picked

34:44

a bright color, but that sort of thing

34:46

is so helpful. I love that house

34:49

rule from the Nester because you're like, oh

34:51

wait, if it's out, it is kind

34:53

of a decoration. So let's move towards making

34:55

things prettier. I do

34:57

wish my kids had more muted tastes

34:59

in water bottle choices because those are

35:01

out on the drink spinner all the

35:03

time and there are some harsh colors

35:05

just sitting out there. Like Benz is

35:07

a Kansas City Chiefs water bottle. So

35:10

that's like we're always decorating with a Kansas

35:12

City Chiefs water bottle. But

35:14

it's okay. Like I don't mind, I don't mind

35:16

that so much. I've also heard

35:18

people talk about their fridges that

35:20

stuff on the fridge is decoration

35:23

and can be even like cluttered

35:25

decoration. So having a clear fridge

35:27

is something you could do. We

35:29

don't do that because that doesn't matter

35:31

enough to me. I also actually really love

35:34

the photos we have on our fridge.

35:36

And you know this, if you listen to

35:38

my paper episode, the fridge is where

35:40

we keep the most urgent papers. So

35:42

we do use our fridge, but maybe you

35:44

don't as much and you're like, you know

35:46

what, I actually think it might be really

35:48

nice if I clean off all the things

35:50

off the front of my fridge. I think

35:52

that might make my kitchen feel more clean.

35:54

So you can do that if you want.

35:57

So. A clean kitchen.

36:00

Y 'all, it is relative and we

36:02

all live differently. If you

36:04

make a lot of your food from scratch, you

36:06

have more dishes to hand wash than

36:08

I do. If you homeschool, or your

36:11

kids are just home throughout the day, you're

36:13

gonna have more dishes throughout the day than

36:15

I do. If you don't

36:17

have a dishwasher and you have

36:19

to wash everything by hand, your rhythms

36:21

will look different than mine. The

36:23

point, as we know, is not for you

36:25

to do what I'm doing. It's not for you

36:27

to copy things. It's more to show you

36:30

how the things that I do and the things

36:32

that you observe other people doing when you're

36:34

in their homes, those things contribute

36:36

well to how a specific

36:38

family can operate in the kitchen.

36:41

Mostly clean on a daily

36:43

basis. is something that

36:46

matters to me for my own stress

36:48

levels and for just my practical

36:50

enjoyment in the kitchen. So it's okay

36:52

for me to put more genius

36:54

energy into keeping it that way. Other

36:56

parts of the house, not so

36:58

much, but the kitchen really does matter

37:00

to me. So that means I'm

37:02

gonna give it more energy, okay? So

37:05

you can do the same for your own

37:07

kitchen. So to recap the 10 things

37:09

that I do to keep my kitchen mostly

37:11

clean, I have a place for dirty dishes. I

37:13

have a place for clean dishes. I

37:15

use baskets and bowls and trays

37:17

to corral stuff or even to make

37:19

them invisible. I rinse

37:22

pots and pans right after they are

37:24

used. I don't let other stuff live

37:26

on the counter. My kids unload

37:28

the dishwasher every day, which really is

37:30

just about maintaining kitchen rhythms. I

37:32

wipe down the counters throughout the day. I

37:35

reset the kitchen every night. I

37:37

notice what isn't working and make small

37:39

steps to make it better. And

37:41

I make the visible things pretty. And

37:43

that's how I keep my kitchen

37:45

mostly clean. Okay, if

37:47

you have been feeling overwhelmed by

37:49

your kitchen recently and you need a

37:51

new framework like even beyond this

37:54

episode, I wrote a whole book, a

37:56

whole book on how to lazy

37:58

genius your kitchen. It's called, you guessed

38:00

it, the lazy genius kitchen. It's

38:02

not a cookbook. It's not even an

38:04

organizational book. Really, it's

38:06

a kitchen lifeline. It deep dives

38:08

all the aspects of your

38:11

kitchen that don't live in cookbooks

38:13

or organizational books, but they're

38:15

vital for how your kitchen operates.

38:18

You will learn the lazy genius

38:20

method, which is five steps to

38:22

help you lazy genius. Anything, particularly

38:24

the areas of your kitchen that

38:26

have you feeling a little, a

38:28

little drowny, you know, it's illustrated.

38:31

It's so cute. It's hardcover. It's

38:33

full color. It's got the

38:35

coolest appendix around with lots of

38:37

hacks and lists and help

38:39

to make your kitchen work for

38:41

you. If cost is

38:43

an issue, it's usually around $11 on

38:45

Amazon, and that's the hardcover.

38:47

It's usually marked very low on

38:49

Amazon. Now, if you have

38:51

extra cash and you would like to support

38:54

an indie or a different retailer, it'll

38:56

be worth every penny of the $26 cover

38:58

price. So that is the lazy genius

39:00

kitchen. Have what you need, use what

39:02

you have, and enjoy it like never before.

39:04

Okay, before we go, let's celebrate the

39:06

lazy genius of the week. This week

39:09

it's Anya Gates. Anya writes, a

39:11

decide once in our house is

39:13

Wing It Wednesday. I do

39:15

all my meal planning on Thursdays and

39:17

try to do grocery shopping on Saturdays.

39:19

So Wednesday night dinner is Wing It

39:21

Wednesday, where I pull out all the

39:23

food that has a limited shelf life

39:25

and any leftovers. My partner and

39:27

I both make our own meals using

39:29

the food I've taken out and some pantry

39:31

staples. If we have creative energy, we

39:33

can come up with some new like we're

39:35

playing chopped. If we don't,

39:37

it's a night of reheating what we

39:39

can and making mismatched dinners. The

39:42

decision helps my priority of minimizing food

39:44

waste and my partner's priority of

39:46

getting to have a free night in

39:48

the kitchen to play with food. Well,

39:52

this is magical in every way.

39:54

First, I always love a reminder

39:56

that a meal planning rhythm does

39:58

not have to be weekend to

40:00

weekend. So often we get

40:02

caught up in that convention, but

40:04

y 'all, we do not have to be

40:06

caught up in that convention. Anya and our

40:08

partner go Thursday to Thursday because it works. That's

40:11

so great. And of course,

40:13

we all love the chopped energy here. Like,

40:15

that's so great. What a fun adventure to

40:17

look forward to every Wing It Wednesday. I

40:20

bet a lot of you listen to

40:22

your like, I want Wing It Wednesday. This

40:24

is great. Such a great idea with

40:26

a really fun name that serves specific priorities

40:29

that matter. So well done, Anya. Thank

40:31

you for sharing and congratulations on being the

40:33

lazy genius of the week. This podcast

40:35

is part of the Odyssey family and Office

40:37

Ladies Network. This episode is hosted by

40:39

me, Kendra Adachi, an executive produced by Kendra

40:41

Adachi, Jenna Fisher, and Angela Kinsey. Special

40:44

thanks to Leah Jarvis for weekly production. Thanks

40:46

y 'all for listening and until next time,

40:48

be a genius about the things that

40:50

matter and lazy about the things that don't.

40:52

I'm Kendra and I'll see you next

40:54

week. I've

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been counted out, dismissed, passed over, told

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one arm. But the only thing that

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feels better than proving people wrong is

41:26

out driving them. I'm 14-year-old golfer Tommy

41:28

Morsi, and I want to be remembered

41:30

from my ability. As a champion partner

41:33

of the Masters, Bank of America supports

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everyone determined to find out what's possible

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you like the power to do? Bank

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