Recipe

My Eco-Friendly Cleaning Solution Recipe + Meal Prep Pro Cleaning Tips

Something we don’t talk about with meal prep (and food blogging) is the MESS.

As a former personal chef in NYC, I had to learn to work insanely clean! The homes that I worked in had staff. I used to have the housekeepers teach me all their cleaning tips and tricks. I would always ask them questions about what they were doing. It’s where I learned that there was such thing is pro-cleaning, not only did a have to be a chef but I had to work clean and efficient in order to keep up with my co-workers and contribute to keeping the homes I worked in immaculately clean.

Ingredients

2 cups vinegar
2 cups water
15 drops of tea tree oil or 1 capful of Thieves Oil Cleaning Solution by Young Living

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a spray bottle. Shake and use.
DO NOT mix with any other chemicals such as soap or bleach.

Chef Carla Notes

If you have marble or granite or any other special surface make sure you check before you use on your counters. I do use this for stainless steel and glass cleaner.

Now, that I work and recipe test at home, I deal with piles of dishes on a daily basis. Most days, I load the dishwasher (so, grateful to have one) at least twice! I drive Ed crazy because I use 20 spoons to taste my food, it’s a hard habit to break.

One of the things the housekeepers taught me while I was working was to spray down the counters, stove, fridge and any surface I used after cooking. At home, I wanted a more eco-friendly solution so I developed my own spray (recipe below). I also use microfiber cloths instead of paper towels to clean.

Below are some of my non-negotiable cleaning habits:

Clean as you go!
Dishes must be washed and put away after cooking.
The floor must be swept in the kitchen after cooking.
Counters, table, stove, fridge, sink must be sprayed down — with my vinegar spray. I make my own below is the recipe.
Here is the Thieves Oil I use to make the vinegar spray. There are more recipes and uses on their site. If you have marble or granite or any other special surface make sure you check before you use on your counters. I do use this for stainless steel and glass cleaner.