'Tis the season to make a mess. From baking gingerbread men, to preparing five-course meals for family and friends, it's all extremely daunting and stressful for this non-domesticated 30-something-year-old.
Overflowing sink full of dirty dishes, pots and pans that always seem to have a strange residue left behind, a Vitamix that looks like it's straight out of a horror movie and a sticky fridge that is too overwhelming to actually acknowledge. I never got a chance to really learn the tips and tricks of cleaning. As a klutzy kid, my mom pretty much banned me from all things kitchen related after the infamous "egg incident of 1987." Lets just say I will never run with a handful of raw eggs around expensive furniture again.
With no budget for a live-in maid and an innate dislike of cleaning, I enlisted supermom entrepreneur Kalpana Kundra for advice. Somehow with twin six-year-old girls, a hubby and a start-up business, her house is always spotless. Kalpana is such a cleaning fanatic that she even created her own revolutionary line of reusable cooking liners that eliminate all those wasted hours scrubbing grills, pots and pans. The former high-powered marketing manager used to pull in six figures and gave it all up to raise her daughters and help other moms save time and energy.
Kalpana's motto is "spend less time cleaning, more time doing what you love." So here are her five tips for easy and quick cleaning:
1.Problem: Grimy steel pots and pans
Solution: Pour a tablespoon of lemon juice into the pot before you start cooking. Swirl it around and dump the excess. Start cooking and after you are done, wash the pot and it will be spotless.
2. Problem: Dirty and sticky fridge
Solution: Buy shelf liners from the dollar store and line the drawers in your fridge. This will help avoid any messy spills.
3. Problem: Messy counter tops filled with food scraps
Solution: When cooking, keep a large bowl on the kitchen counter for scraps. You will have all of your scraps in one spot and then can dump them into a compost. Easy and quick, no back tracking or anything to wipe up.
4. Problem: Dirty Blenders/ Vitamix
Solution: Immediately after using the blender, put water and a drop of dish soap or lemon juice into the pitcher. Place it back on the blender and turn it on for 10 to 20 seconds. Rinse with water and voila. It should be as good as new.
5. Problem Dirty grill, pots, pans, oven etc.
Solution: Use a reusable liner when cooking. This will avoid hours of scrubbing and cleaning.
Kalpana's "Unstick" products have only been on the market since the summer and she is already a finalist for The 2015 Product of The Year Award. Winners will be announced early next year.
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