Tips For Teaching Kids How To Clean Up In The Kitchen

by Tonya Staab
Published: Last Updated on

When kids heat up food for themselves they also often create a mess. Teach them how to clean up kitchen messes with these easy tips.

Disclosure: I’m sharing how to clean your microwave in under 5 minutes and featuring Zep’s Microwave Miracle as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars #ZepSocialstars

Marisol loves to learn how to cook, clean, and take care of the house. She did not get this from me. The cleaning part I mean. I hate it. Like really … avoid it like the plague … do it because it’s necessary … bribe myself with treats … watch episodes of Hoarders to get me inspired hate to clean.

A few weeks ago while I was busy working she wanted a snack, not a help-yourself kind of snack, but a mummy you need to get up and use an appliance kind of snack. She wanted leftovers heated up. Normally I would get up and do this for her, but I thought it was time she learns how to use a microwave. She’s 8. She was thrilled. Check that off the list of things I have to do. Now she’s the re-heating queen, every time something has to be heated quickly, she’s on it. She even heats food for her brother. Without complaining. She just doesn’t always remember to cover the food so it doesn’t splatter though.

a girl standing at a kitchen counter with hot wings on a plate

It’s important when kids are in the kitchen that they also learn how to clean up after themselves. I don’t expect her to do the dishes yet (although I should really be teaching her). I also worry about her using cleaning products, but it’s important for her to observe and be a part of the process so that as she gets older she knows how to do these things on her own.

Today after she heated wings for her after school snack, I had her help clean the microwave.

girl putting a plate of wings in the microwave
inside a microwave with food splatters

Zep Commercial Microwave Miracle makes quick work of this. I could have had her just wipe up the mess with a paper towel, but I find that over time the microwave looks stained and there is always a lingering smell after heating. Quite frankly, it grosses me out when I go to heat something else up and still smell the last thing that was in there.

How it works

a bottle of zep microwave cleaner on a kitchen counter
  • Apply a generous amount inside your microwave (I did this part).
cleaning fluid inside a microwave
  • Close the microwave door and turn on the microwave for 2 minutes (Miss M did this part). Note, if you have a powerful microwave try adjusting the time to as little as 30 seconds.
a person pressing buttons on a microwave
  • Watch the microwave steam clean itself. Grab a rag and wipe it out. You’ll notice a citrus scent that’s left behind.
inside a microwave oven

Looking for more kitchen cleaning tips? Try these:

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