Welcome to Clean Enough, a new kind of cleaning column for busy home cooks who have better things to do than scrub and sanitize around the clock. Every other week, neurodivergent writer and mom Emily Farris shares tips, tools, and products that can help you stay on top of the dirtiest spots in the kitchen while also dispelling a few cleaning myths and cutting down on clutter.
Nobody wants to prep dinner or pack lunches on a crusty countertop. That’s why, even as the rest of my house descends into total chaos throughout the week, I manage to keep my kitchen clean-ish.
I do my best to keep up with dishes, regularly sweep and wipe the counter, quick-clean the floor, take care of spills and splatters as they happen, and beg my husband to take out the trash when it gets too full because I don’t want to touch it.
It’s not that I don’t like to clean. In fact, when the circumstances are just right, I think cleaning can be fun. But with a full-time job, a book project, a partner, two small kids, a rowdy rescue mutt, three backyard chickens, and not enough childcare, I simply don’t have the time or energy to deal with housework during the week. I’m also not great at moderation, so after days of letting everything go to hell, I’ll often spend an entire Saturday tidying the common areas and catching up on laundry—and if I’m lucky, I’ll get a chance to more thoroughly clean the kitchen.
Even then, there are a few spots I tend to overlook because they’re less pressing and far less visible than those sheet pans I put off hand washing or my dirty sink that I want to make bright white again. But when I eventually do get around to cleaning them, my kitchen always feels cleaner and I’m more excited to cook in it.
That’s why, for the month of March, I’m taking over the Friday Well Equipped newsletter to bring you manageable tips for spring cleaning those out-of-sight, out-of-mind spots in the kitchen. Instead of freaking out about them all at once, we’ll tackle them one week at a time—together.
Though these are all small jobs, each one will make a big difference in the overall cleanliness of your space. My hope is that when you’re done, you’ll be more inspired to cook in your own kitchen, too.
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