#DawnPowerClean

I was thrilled to receive the new Dawn Power Clean Dish Soap and to take the 5 Minute Challenge. If you know me at all, you know I loathe washing dishes, and do everything possible not to purchase or use any dishes that are not dishwasher safe. EVERYTHING goes in the dishwasher around here! However, sometimes, dishes are just too dirty to go directly into the dishwasher. You see, our oven is ancient. It cooks at the temperature it wants. The temperature I set it too, is merely a suggestion. So, I have to keep a careful eye on what I’m cooking, so I can adjust the cook times. It also means that sometimes food gets caked on and baked onto my pans. I have been soaking them overnight (or longer) to get them clean enough for the dishwasher to finish the job, but then that’s a disgusting mess to leave soaking in the sink. For this challenge, I placed a pan that normally I would’ve had to soak a few times, changing the water often. After just ONE SOAK, I poured out the water, rinsed the pan, and it was clean! I still put it in the dishwasher, because I love the hot water sani-rinse feature for all my dishes, but I couldn’t believe I didn’t have to keep soaking it 3 or 4 times! I am sold 🙂

Here are some other helpful tips for creating an efficient and time-saving daily kitchen routine that I use:

•  Set aside time on Grocery Shopping Day to chop veggies that you’ll need for meals throughout the week and place into freezer safe containers, so you can just pull them out on the day you need them.
• Also take time to prepare any meat you’ve purchased for the meal you plan to make with it. I season/marinade meat and place it in freezer safe bags before freezing, and it can soak in the marinade as it un-thaws in the refrigerator.
• I keep my pantry organized with canned goods on one shelf, breakfast items on one shelf, snack items on another shelf, etc. so it’s easy to see what you have on hand and what you need to re-stock.
• Put things away when you are done with them, so the clean up doesn’t get overwhelming.
• Soak or wash as you go, or load the dishwasher, if you are waiting on things to cook or boil. It will reduce your clean up time later.
• I empty the dishwasher each morning so I can put dirty dishes in throughout the day, then run it overnight while we sleep.
• Organize your cabinets placing things near where you use them, keep the most frequently used items on the lower shelves for easier access. Move less used items to the harder to reach areas.

I’d love for you to leave additional tips in the comments. Also, be sure to “like” the Dawn Facebook Page and follow @dawndish on Twitter, or just visit the Dawn Website for more detailed product information.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Dawn blogging program, to earn My SocialMoms Rewards Points, and I received free product for participating. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.”