Can You Clean Your Kitchen in Under 2 Minutes?

Stopwatches at the ready

Photo by Danie LIU on Unsplash

How long does it take you to clean your kitchen after dinner? Have you ever timed it? 

A while back I became obsessed with the idea of a 2-minute kitchen clear-up. Could I — someone who 6 nights out of 7 will make 3 or 4 course dinners — get my after-dinner clear down to just 2 minutes?

It turns out that yes, I can. Most nights, my clear down is something between 2 and 4 minutes. Very rarely more than 5. I’ve timed it. 

And mate, when I cook, I cook. We’re not talking one-pan wonders here.

Here’s the how, the why, and the when about the 2-minute clear-up.

This is a game-changer.

For benefit numero uno, look to the Spanish

Ever heard of the Spanish concept of sobremesa? It’s the part of the dinner you spend at the table after eating.

For Spaniards, I’ve seen sobremesa last into the early hours of the morning. The wine gets drunk, the gin copas come out and before you know it, it’s 2 am. This is the time to catch up with friends and family. To connect with your spouse. Hell, I know people who manage to get their kids involved, for half an hour at least until their attention is directed elsewhere.

As someone who has wholeheartedly embraces sobremesa in my own home, the last thing I want to get in the way is the washing up. I also don’t want to sit amongst dirty dishes.

Enter the 2-minute clear-up. It’s so fast, it hardly interrupts the flow of the evening. And the flow means more time for sobremesa.

Even if sobremesa isn’t part of your evening, getting your clear down to 2, 3, 5, even 10 minutes means more time for…everything. Playing with your kids. Watching whatever boxset has you hooked right now (anyone else watching The Bear?) Going out for a walk or a drink.

However your evening looks, I’m sure you don’t want it to include hours of washing up.

You want it to be more like this. This is my husband and I clearing up after lunch today. ⏬

@thecapsulepantryI'm obsessed with the 2 minute kitchen clear up, so much so I time myself. Sad? Perhaps, but I'm the one sitting down with a glass of wine in hand after just 120 seconds 🍷 #cleaningtiktok #cleaning #kitchenhacks

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How to establish a 2-minute clear-up routine

Embrace the household appliances

Alas, if you don’t own a dishwasher, a 2-minute clear-up is going to be unrealistic. If you do, then happy days.

Make use of it. Get good at stacking it. Let it do the brunt work.

Clear as you go 

Thanks to me and my husband’s hospitality background, we’re fastidious about clearing up as we go rather than leaving everything to the end. I’d rather spend my time doing dishes whilst dinner is simmering on the stove than let it interrupt sobremesa.

Cleaning as you go means far, far less time spent after dinner clearing down. Put those mugs away. Stash the dishwasher. Clear the countertops and the kitchen table. Do all you can to minimise the after-dinner part of the clear down and a 120-second wipe-down could be within your sights.

Declutter your kitchen

The more stuff you have in your kitchen, the more likely you are to use it. The more you use stuff, the more you need to clear up.

That’s the bottom line.

You might think you need a peeler and a mandolin to cut your potatoes, but all you probably need is one really good chef’s knife. You might think you need a garlic press / egg slicer / onion slicer, but all you need…is one really good chef’s knife.

After living in Airbnbs for nearly three years, I’ll never return to a gadget-filled, stacks-of-crockery, five-wooden-spoons-when-one-will-do life again. 

Because I remember how much time it took to clean all that.

Rope in reluctant helpers

If you live with more than one person and you’re solely responsible for the kitchen clear up, tell them Charlie says get off your ass and help the f**k out.

Because 2+ people = two minute clear up. 

Make it competitive

Can you beat yesterday’s time? Can you guess to the second how long the clean-up is going to be?

Yes, this is what my husband and I do for entertainment these days. But hey, it’s more fun than arguing about whose turn it is to clear up today.

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