My Simple Trick for Easy Washing Up

frying pan

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #00adef;”] W[/dropcap]hat’s you least favourite part about cooking?

For me it’s washing up.

As I shared, I’ve had some success with changing my mindset around this chore.

However, I’m always looking for ways to make cleaning up easier.

My latest trick is incredibly simple.

It makes a big big difference.

I’ve been experimenting with washing out my frying pan (or wok) as soon as I serve up.

While the pan is still hot.

I just run it under the tap.

And give a good scrub with my kitchen brush.

That’s it.

If it’s especially dirty, I use a squirt of dish washing liquid.

Mostly I don’t.

I’m still surprised how much easier it is to clean a hot pan.

Literally the work of seconds.

It means I have one less thing to stack in the dish washer.

And it’s better for my pans.

What about you?

What’s your least favourite part about cooking?

Got any hacks for simplifying washing up?

I’d love to hear about them in the comments below…

More tips for washing up

Have fun in the kitchen (even when you’re cleaning up!)

With love,
Jules x

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23 Comments

  • Hi Jules,
    I thought washing a hot pan in cold water can cause the bottom to become uneven? Also, are you not worried about bacteria leaving toxins?

    • My pans are still even Bea! Maybe for something really thin it might be a problem.

      And I’m not worried about toxins – if there were bacteria producing toxins in the food that I’m about to eat that would be a worry ;0

  • I don’t enjoy clean-up either, but I’ve found washing smaller items (utensils, knives, small bowls, measuring cups) as I finish using them AND putting them away makes the final clean-up easier & quicker.

  • I’m definitely like you and I have never actually gotten to the place where I enjoy cleaning up but I have gotten to where it gives me joy to see the kitchen tidier faster. I don’t wash pans as soon as I finish with them but it is the first thing I do after dinner – I put a squirt of soap in the pan and then a small amount of water. After I’ve finished loading the dishwasher I go back to the pans and even if I’ve been frying or whatever, they seem to just wash right up – sometimes I have to use a nylon scrubby a bit but usually they just wipe out. My two most used pans are a heavy duty steel pan and a heavy teflon one. They both clean just as easily.

    I do have to say my best tip is to empty the dishwasher either before I go to bed or the first thing I do (while waiting for the coffee to drip through) in the morning. That way nothing really has to go into the sink all day.

    • I always clean as I cook. I have a drying mat on the counter next to the sink and a soapy sponge in the sink. When I finish with something I quickly wash and rinse it and put it on the mat. After dinner the things on the mat are dry and get put away. I even clean pans after I put stuff in serving bowls before we eat. Put dishes and eating utensils in washer after dinner and all done.

  • I do much the same with any pot or pan.

    I run it under water to easily remove any foodstuff that has been stuck on any surface.

    However, this is only a preliminary clean or rinse because I leave the item on the sink to properly clean it later with hot water and washing-liquid.

    If I am not going to scrub any matter off the pot or pan surface straight-away, I run it under hot water to just submerge the stuck-on food and let the water loosen that material, until I am ready to wash all dishes with hot water and washing-liquid.

  • Hi Jules,
    In my youth (many moons ago) I used to earn my ‘spending’ money by working during the summer months in the kitchen of a children’s home, preparing and cooking meals, then washing up, 3 times a day, for up to 60 children.
    There were 3 of us, no dishwasher and all meals were cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients -home-made vegetable soup was served every evening- so time was at a premium! (Imagine making fresh ‘frites’ (fries) for 60 children, every Sunday morning to serve with roast chicken!)
    Pots and pans were washed as soon as they were emptied. No soaking, no lolling about, no waiting. Then the glasses, followed by the plates and the cutlery to finish.

    Four decades later, washing-up is not a chore, but I tend to do the washing-up once a day. I don’t like filling the sink or bowl for a couple of plates and dishes, so I set everything aside until the end of the day. It’s easy as there are only two of us at home.
    And here is my tip: washing-up time is “me” time: I put my Bluetooth headphones on and select a a book from my Kobo or Audible library!
    I recommend ‘The Little Shop of Found Things’ by Paula Brackston or ‘The Marsh King’s Daughter’ by Karen Dionne, both captivating in very different ways.
    You might prefer a podcast or some 80s music!
    The trick for me is simply to turn an unavoidable chore into a more enjoyable break…

    All the best :)
    Claudine

    • Great minds Claudine!

      How fab it Audible.

      And thanks for the book recommendations. Always on the lookout for a good read :)

  • My husband, who is a germ-phobe would never stand for washing up that way (although he’ll have to with my new waffle maker…). Our solution to cleaning up is to have one of us cook and the other clean up. We do each “chore” two weeks on/two weeks off, and it works well for us. We’ll wash the pots and pans immediately after the meal if they will be needed quickly; otherwise we’ll leave them until the end of the day. This takes the pressure off.

    • Oh Susan…

      The thing is when the pan is super hot still there aren’t many ‘germs’ that would survive :)

      Great that you have a system that works for you both

  • I wash as I go so when all is over it’s only plates, glasses, knives and forks and the serving dishes if used. Not much to do for the washing fairy.

  • Clean as you go is my way, too. After the meal, it takes just a few seconds to throw things in the dishwasher or handwash the few things that aren’t dishwasher safe. It’s all pretty quick and easy.

  • I always start with an empty dishwasher and a clear sink. That way everything can go straight into the dishwasher as it is used and knives/pans have somewhere to wait until after.
    As soon as I have finished eating, I leave my hubman to finish feeding the kids (he is more patient with this job) I then go and finish the post cooking clean. This also stops me from eating seconds and picking at kids meals at the table.

  • Easy does it. Glass cooktops are all the rage on this aide of the pond and the cookware you use on them needs to be perfectly flat else all kinds of problems because the glass cooktop is not sensing the heat transfer and shuts off prematurely. So taking a hot pan and running it under the tap could warp all butbtje most expensive cookware and cause what I just described. I would captain to make sure the war is as hot as possible before you put hiybthe pab with it.

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