I find the worst part about decorating cakes.. and honestly, for me, it's the ONLY bad part about decorating cakes... is the CLEANUP.
How do the rest of you deal with cleaning all the decorator's bags and tips????
They just seem to compile.... (and the dishwasher doesn't do well enough)
I keep a big cup filled with SUPER hot water and dump my tips into that as I use them. I swiish them around a bit when I am done, and then fill my dish pan up ,with again, SUPER hot soapy water, soak for a bit, til I am done with all of my dedorating, and then wash with ease. I don't like putting my tips in the dishwasher because I have had some discoloration occur. HTH. 
Also, I pretty much use disposable bags. 
I also hate cleaning up! I have pretty much switched to disposable decorating bags. That way when I'm done I clip off the end and throw the bag away and then I soak the tips/couplers in a glass of hot water. Then when I'm done I put a drop of soap in with the couplers and use my spray nozzle and spray the frosting off and lay them on a towel to dry. I find if I'm done with a color and immedietely put the tips in water I'm much more likely to get them done(cleaned) than if I wait and do them all at once.
I do what crisseyann does with her tips--makes cleaning them so easy. I use disposable decorating bags-no clean up there, just toss--not green, but easy! I do use the big Wilton tip and a large bag to frost my cakes with BC--that one I rinse with hot water, then turn inside out and wash in the dishwasher--works really well and I just put that gigantic tip in the silverware rack of the dishwasher. My problem though has been with my drain or somewhere farther along the pipe clogging due to the excess shortening--any suggestions for combatting that?
i soak my tips too and then put them in a mesh bag in the dishwasher and it works pretty good. i don't bake everyday, but when i do i just try to wash dishes during the whole thing and soak my tips before they have a chance to get crusty. i HAAAATE the clean up. thats mine and my best friends thing that we dislike about making cakes or cookies. hehehe! be well everyone!
i HATE cleaning the bags and tips as well. but I do like this tip that I got on here a while ago...sorry if I stole anyone's thunder...put your tips in a microwave safe container and put water in it until it's over the tips...then put them in the microwave for like 2-3 minuets! (no soap) the water will keep the tips safe but then when the water boils it will turn the tips around and get all that frosting out of there! works like a charm!
I always just use hot water and the new Dawn 10x power soap...LOVE that stuff 
I also put my tips, etc. in hot water and let them soak which definately makes it much easier to clean. However; I have a terrific husband who lets me finish with the cake and then he will actually wash everything for me. This is still a hobby for me and I don't make that many but cleaning up is definately not my favorite part. Hubby is so good he basically does the dishes for me every day.
Disposable bags all the way. I really don't like to use the cloth bags because they are always too greasy or they smell funny later.
I use a degreasing dish soap. I use a ton of it, but I put it directly on the sponge and then go to town. I towel dry everything after.
I love to use the bottle brush from Munchkin, they have a tip in the end for the nipple on a baby bottle that works like a charm for tips. i just throw the tips in a glass of hot soapy water, wash up my pans, and let the tips soak... and who couldnt use a good pan scrubber if you are past the baby days...
I hate the clean up. I use disposable bags, and clean the tips the microwave way. When mixing the colors, I mix on paper plates and use plastic knives to do the mixing. It is kind of fun when you get ready to clean up and just bring the trash can around and dump everything.
The loud music helps also. Plus I keep my completed cake in sight so I can keep glancing at it and know it was worth all the mess.
I pay for DH to go golfing... he'll clean anything to get free golf!
CS girl - I do the soak method in a large jelly jar for my tips to wash later. Then I spray them out with the sprayer and hot water. I wash as I go. I have a sink that has one side that is deeper than the other and twice as big. I fill it about halfway with hot soapy water after I start baking. Since there is more than one size cake pan at a time, and I can only fit two in the oven, and some I don't have two of, I have to wash as I go with the pans, mixer bowls, scrapers. I have a stand mixer and my hubby bought me an additional bowl for it. I already had an additional mixer paddle. So I wash as I go. I don't decorate on the same day I bake, but do tort and ice the cakes, but the leftover icing goes into plastic large chinese food soup containers and then I divy it out into small chinese food soup containers as I color it. I thought I was going to be one of those green conscious types and use only the plastic washable bags, but I hardly get them out anymore. I thought I would prefer the plastic disposables to the paper too and I do use the plastic predominantly, since I have them. But I'm trying to be conscious about being green and so I do find myself using the paper ones when I can. My favorite part about the paper is that you can get four small triangles out of them to use for small amounts of icing and might not have to use a tip if you are just needing a thin line or a dollop for gluing things to the cake, and I'd much rather throw away than scrub after everything else you do for the cake. So, eventually, I'll be using only the paper when my plastic disposables are all used up.
Mencked try throwing away as much of the icing as you can so you don't have to put very much down the drain. My garbage disposal is temperamental about some things and doesn't want to work right if it gets too much buttercream, guess the poor thing doesn't like to eat icing. I always use hot water, as hot as I can stand touching my hands. If worse comes to worse use rubber gloves when using the hot water so that it's not so uncomfortable on your hands. I have also put vinegar down the drain afterwards if it started acting up a little, also while running the hot water.
I can't stand to clean up after. I usually take a break after decorating before I clean up....a long break. It's the only part I really dread doing when I know I have a cake to do. Wouldn't it be great if we could just toss it all in the garbage and start with new clean stuff the next time...one can only dream!
Wow, it sounds like I am in good company! I hate the clean-up too! I always use plastic disposable bags and recently bought one of those little bags for the dishwasher to place my tips and couplers into. I used to soak them in hot water in a bowl. They would sit on the windowsill over the sink while they soaked, and my kids would get grossed out by all the icing colors melting into each other in the dish! I usually have the TV on in the kitchen to keep me company while I work, so that helps a bit during the drudge of cleaning up the monumental mess that I usually make. 
I'm confused.........do some of you clean the metal tips in the microwave? Doesn't that cause problems with the microwave?
How funny guys!! I had just finished a cake and got on CC for a break before I cleaned up. I found this thread and it made me go clean my kitchen up real quick. Thanks for the hot water tips, it really worked!!
Am I the only one that reuses the disposable bags? I hate to throw them away after only one use. I usually get 3-4 uses out of 1 bag. Yes, the clean up sucks...but so does throwing away so much plastic. Hot water is the best friend for greasy clean up.
In my house, if you cook you don't gotta clean...but my dad doesn't think that rule appplies to my hobbies
my mom usually feels guilty about me baking in our REALLY small kitchen and is always saying she's sorry its not more "rocket friendly" so she usaually ends up cleaning up after me! I am so lucky.
Not this time tho. My parents went out of town and I have a wedding and grooms cake. I am planning on having the WHOLE kitchen and dining room spic and span
When I do clean, I scrape out as much frosting as I can and put everything in the sink then i boil a big pot of water, put some soap in the sink, and fill it up! let it sit till i can put my hands in the water and I scrub like heck. I usally wash the sink out with another big boiling hot water dump, becuase I think it helps the shortning from sticking and clogging things up.
I know it's wasteful but I use disposable bags....
I'm confused.........do some of you clean the metal tips in the microwave? Doesn't that cause problems with the microwave?
If you make sure ALL of the tips are covered with water, and if you put them in for only 2 to 4 minutes, the metal does not affect the microwave. I not only do it this way at home now, but I also do it at work every day. I have been doing it for well over a year now and both my microwave at home and the one at work are still doing fine. I heard about this method here on CC and have used it ever since.
I know it is crazy, and it is not because I like to clean the kitchen, but before I even start, I wipe down the counters, empty the dishwasher and put everything away. I have caught myself doing this when I cook too. UGH. With just my hubby and I home now, we don't usually have enough dishes for a full load in the dishwasher and I've even started washing as I cooking so it's over with for the most part when I'm through eating. It's sad how somethings just start sticking to you. SIGH
The thing I hate to clean is my measuring cups after I have measured crisco! I finally figured out to line the cup with plastic wrap before I put the shortning in and the just pull it out and none sticks to the cup.
oooo great idea. 
I hate cleaning the measuring cup with the shortening. I don't mind so much the tips because I soak them too in soapy hot water. As for the bags, I use the wilton bags, but I also use disposable, if I feel like it, I will wash those too and maybe get a second use out of them. I usually try and clean as I go.....it seems like I wash dishes all day though. 
I will try using the plastic wrap on that measuring cup.
Thanks for the tip. 
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