Please Post Your Tips For A Clean Kitchen!!
Decorating By kdaze Updated 26 Jan 2007 , 8:09pm by ahmommy
Cake decorating is so messy.... By the time I'm done my kitchen looks like a the cake blew up in my kitchen! Its hard to find a clean place to take a picture of the cake! Please let me know if you have any tips for keeping it under control. TIA Karrie
Try to wash up as you go along - as your cakes are baking, wash up the mixing bowls. As soon as you've iced your cakes, wash up bags, tips, bowls etc. That way you'll at least have space to wipe down your counters for photos. Or, some people cover their counters with newspaper/plastic wrap and just gather the whole lot up and throw it away. Hope that helps a bit!
I come from a southern African American family and when I lived with my mother, she cooked ALL the time. And sometimes she was doing this while she worked 2 jobs. She's my hero. Anyway. My mother has worked in the food service industry (hospitals and nursing homes) for her entire career. So when she cooked at home, it was natural for her to clean as she cooked. She always had a wet dishrag or 2 on the table or the counter. And when she spilled something, she got it up right then. She has taught me just as much about cleaning as cooking. I have to have a roll of paper towels on hand when I'm cooking or it just doesnt go right for me. And when I went to Walmart yesterday, I decided that I was going to try the Viva method. Instead of getting the double rolls, I got the regular rolls and I really regret doing that because I went through almost one roll today. But I think it was abnormal because I did a lot of furniture dusting in addition to baking a sheet cake. My kitchen was clean before I started, and I live in a small apartment with two 20 year olds, so this is really out of the ordinary. Normally, I have to clean the kitchen before I bake anything. It works out good because it gives the oven ample time to preheat.
My routine is to mix my cake and get it in the oven. I make sure that I have my Crocs on so my cake doesnt fall! Then, I load the dishwasher with everything that I dont need for my frosting or you know cups that are lying arounds, etc. I wash my mixer bowl and beater and I set my mixer back up. I spray the counters with Fantastik OxyPower, sweep the floor, and get a little breather. After that, I go to my frosting. After I make my frosting, I transfer it to a plastic bowl and put the bowl, beater, and pouring shield in the dishwasher and then I turn it on. By the time the cake is finished baking, everything is clean except the cake pan(s). I NEVER put my cake pans in the dishwasher. (My sister did and let me just tell yall, it wasnt pretty.) Anyway, when its new to you, it may seem like you're spending a lot of time. But I really dont even notice that I'm cleaning when I'm in the kitchen. It's become something of second nature for me. If I took a picture of my cabinets and stuff, you guys would think that I'm weird because I have a place for EVERYTHING!. And I know when something has been moved and get sorta poed with my sister and our roommate. She put salsa on in the snack cabinet and I had a fit. No one puts anything in the freezer or cabinets anymore because they know I'm just going to move it around or if they just make me mad, throw it away completely. I like things to my my way because I spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
Gosh, that's a mouthful!
I just realized how evil I am. Ohh well!
The more I clean my kitchen, since I started this cake thing, lol, the more I realize I have no time to clean my kitchen! I am gonna have a girl come over today or tomorrow to clean it for me. I am so exhausted! I "only" work part-time, outside the home, and I have so many things to do, it is unbelievable. But, I do go cleaning the table as I decorate. I have a glass table so, it's really easy to clean. For the pix of my cakes, I either do them after I pass the Windex or else, I take the cake to my living room wood, freshly polished ) table, lol. But, please, any ideas would be SOOOO appreciated!
I clean as I go first off. And I also keep a pail of bleach water and several clean sponges or dishcloths around too. I use separate dishclothes and sponges for baking than I do anywhere else in my house. They are washed by them selves in hot bleach water and dryed on high heat with no softners. I also use non colored or purfumed detergent to keep down the residue they can leave behind on whatever you use them on. I sweep several times a day and mop every night after I bake to keep hair and dusts from running into my floor corners or under the fridge. I am probably a little too clean for some. But I feel better knowing I am doing all I can to prevent any dirty stuff from getting into my baking. I can't imagine making someone sick or a hair flying into something.
I pretty much clean as I go! But sometimes I have to cllean from the night before if the kids are a pain in the evening and I can't get to it than! I did find the best thing I do for my kitchen is I use a spray cleaner or the disinfecting wipes on my counters and my mixer! I try every night once the kids are in bed to put my clean stuff away and make sure that if there is anything dirty I wash it both I go to bed, but that doesn't always work with the kids! I NEVER use my sponge on the counters or my mixer. I feel the sponge is for dishes and dishes only!
I am glad I'm not the only one with this problem. I thought maybe it was just my inexperience. I clean as I go (as with everything I make), but it still manages to end up looking like a tornado blew through my kitchen (I also live in an apt, and it's a pretty small space). My biggest problem is powdered sugar, any advice for keeping that under control? I find it for days in places you would never guess. I add it slowly when I'm mixing, my big problem occurs when I pour it to measure it. POOF all over the place.
I clean surfaces as I got and make sure to put used dishes/pots/pans in the sink to soak while I decorate. As I decorate if I'm done with a tip and won't use again, I have a cup of hot water on the table and put the tip in there. It helps later when I'm ready to wash the tip, the grease is a bit easier to get out. Hope this helps!
If you can't hire a cleaning crew like 'most' of us, the next best thing to do is ''CLEAN AS YOU GO'' with several cloths/sponges/papter towels at your finger tips.
Clean as you go is the only way. I always do this when I cook as well. When you're always in the kitchen like I am, it just makes sense. Like Puglady, I also keep a bowl filled with boiling water, to put used tips and other small items into during the icing stage.
I buy a ton of paper towels and use these for wiping surfaces - never the dish sponge.
I also have my plastic apron and a cap for covering my hair hung in the kitchen so I don't forget. I was watching a cake decorating show last nite and noticed that none of the decorators had their hair covered! Not good.....
I get all of my ingredients out, then put each thing back as I use it. I also clean as I go, I can't bear to face a huge mess when I am finished. I use paper towels rather than cloth and a sponge rather than dish cloth. My sponge goes into the silverware basket of the dishwasher ever time I do a load of dishes.
The rule in my kitchen would be no animals and no small children.
wipes are the way to go. They do a great job on the mixer getting all the crisco/butter off and you can really get into all the grooves.
Clean as you go. Definitely.
When making cookies (which is messier than cakes!) I agree with the suggestion above about laying newspaper down. I put in on my counters under the KA and even on the space where the cooling racks are, to catch the crumbs. For a big baking session, this makes all the difference in clean up time! Wrap up the mess, throw it in the trash and just wipe down the counters, as opposed to scrubbing a big mess off of the counter.
I transfer many of my ingredients to large mouth containers for easy measuring. Well-washed Folger's red plastic coffee containers are great. I washed out a large-mouth peanut butter jar for my cream of tartar (I buy it in huge bulk packaging). I have large tubs that fit on my shelving unit for flour, sugar and powdered sugar, so I'm never pouring the ingredients into anything, but I'm scooping them out. To avoid the 'poof' in the mixer, I always add my powdered sugar into a wet mixture, a little at a time, until the dry is absorbed.
With the large-mouth containers, I can pull the container from the shelf, scoop my measuring cup into it to get what I need, replace the lid and replace the container back on the shelf......no "putting stuff away" at the end of the baking session because it's all back where it goes immediately. My shelving unit (stainless steel, 5 shelves ..... bought it at Sam's Club for $75) is set up right next to the counter where I have the mixer, so it's easy for me to stand in one spot, reach over to grab the cream of tartar, flour, chocolate chip container, etc., get what I need and put it away immediately.
But with all of this, I still have the dreaded final clean-up to do!
My tip would also be to clean as you go and my other would be to keep your husband out! My husband hovvers......not good!
The one thing I can not live without is my dust buster. I use it ALL the time. Especially because I have 3 children. You would not believe the amount of crumbs I find under the table after they get done eating. Plus it's really good for vacuuming up things like flour or powdered sugar. The one I have has an attachment that makes getting up under the cabinets and along the floor boards a whole lot easier. The other thing that I can't live with out is my antibacterial clean up wipes. They are great for cleaning off the kitchen counter and any other surface you want disinfected, especially when the kids are sick. I also agree with what other people were saying...clean as you go. That way there's not a huge mess waiting for you when you are done baking, because I know when I finish baking something the last thing I want to do is clean.
I agree with clean as you go too.I work in a very small kitchen so you can imagine the MESS.I managed to follow a routine to keep everything in order.Also keep kids and husband AWAY!!! during that process.And I agree with sweetness:antibacterial cleanup wipes are great.
I agree that cleaning as you go is the way to go but I don't always follow my own advice..
The other thing I do is to wear a kerchief on my head so no stray hair is going anywhere...I use blue shop towels which are stronger than paper towels and I am a fan of bleachy water
Keep animals, DH's and kids out...they will leave if you start asking them to put stuff away or in the DW!!!
Though my house is fair sized, the kitchen is designed for a family that would only eat via "drive thru"..not big at all so I have to keep things at least off the counter..(the DR table is another matter completely lol)
In addition to clean as you go, begin with a clean kitchen! Don't start if you already have dishes in the sink, clean those first. It really makes a big difference. Also, keep hot soapy water in the sink.
In addition to clean as you go, begin with a clean kitchen! Don't start if you already have dishes in the sink, clean those first. It really makes a big difference. Also, keep hot soapy water in the sink.
oh my gosh double amen on this one! Thanks for posting this most important step!
Thanks for all the good tips. I think the biggest problem is taking on more than you have time for. Now if I could just learn how to say "nope I'm alrady making 2 cakes tonight" lol
To me...baking cakes is alot like surgery. You need to start w/ a sanitary kitchen -no leftover dirty dishes, etc., You also need to have your decorating station established as well as a place to cool those cakes.
Depending on how often you make cakes, this may/may not work for you.
I make the frosting in advance -about 2 days before, colour it, then store it in tupperware containers. Then the day I'm baking the cakes, I will have the pans on the counter, prepped for the batter, and while the cake is in the oven, I will wash out any utensils used, spatulas, measuring cups, mixing bowl, etc., and voila...clean mixer, and so far, pretty clean kitchen. Next thing is to make sure I have an area of counter devoted to the cakes cooling, this normally entails, wax paper, and on top the waxed paper a cooling rack.
While the cakes are cooling I set up my decorating area (kitchen table). My decorating supplies are set up like you would imagine a surgeons tools.
I have a bath towel set up, on which I place my pastry bags, my plastic wrap, my icing tips, my turntable, my spatulas, and the frosting, and on the floor I have a bucket of water in which to place any icing tips that I no longer will need.
I will bring my cake over, and will begin the crumb coat, then while it dries, I will start filling and assembling my pastry bags...this is where the plastic wrap comes into place. I use a method that my instructor showed me called the "plastic tube" method, it makes clean up a breeze (I have previously posted this on the CC site -and it includes pictures, the topic is called "great tip from my instructor")
So after I have my crumb coat, I will start frosting the cake and then let it crust over where I can smooth it. From there decorating is a breeze b/c the frosting bags are prepped and ready. Clean up is virtually non existent at this point, as I have contained the "mess" to a bath towel.
*If you find yourself using the same tip for icing over and over again, invest in the same style tip - I often have three of the same if I use the tip that much.
*Invest in the disposable decorating bags...using the % off coupon brings the big box to about $10 - very good buy.
Happy decorating!
Wow everyone has such great tips! I read about putting the wax paper down by the mixer to place spatulas on best tip ever! Prevents batter getting all over the counter.
All are great ideas, but sometimes no matter how organized I think I am I get overwhelmed. My "triangle" in the kitchen seems like a lot of work to clean. So I do my Flylady thing - set everything into zones and spend 15 minutes on each zone.
I also buy the 50 white towels at BJ's and use those to clean up. I make sure my washing machine is empty and just load it up with those as I go.
Nickluke
I now have a really small kitchen, so if I didn't clean up as I go there would be total chaos. I have always been neat but now I am extra tidy. I only use paper towel for clean up. I have a large sheet of plastic to cover my dining room table (that is where I decorate). It is really tough working in small spaces, but I am learning to deal with it.
June
I live in an apt too. It is not considered "small" but, it's not as big as a house. U guys gave me some really great ideas about getting me a bin, I think I'll go to Home Depot and pick one up. Sheesh! I thought I was the only one with this problem, lol.
As for avoiding the prob of having the powdered sugar spray all over when u turn on the mixer, my instructor told us to "drape" a kitchen towel around the mixer b4 turning it on, and that really helps. It's just annoying sometimes bc sometimes it starts going around with the bowl, lol. But, it does reduce the mess.
I have a plastic shopping bag one the counter close to where I am working and I use this as a trash can. It really helps at the end to be able to just pick up one thing and throw it away.
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