Kitchen

The the way you want to find your kitchen is clean and ready to use.  Below is what you can expect from them.  Therefore, after using the space, housemates are thankful that you also return it to the condition in which you found it - or better.  Some guidelines include:

• Cleaning sinks, counters and the stove so they are ready for the next person to use.
• Putting dishes away on a regular basis so others can use the dish drainer, too.  
• Keeping the refrigerator and pantry areas clean and accessible.   
• This kitchen has at least three users.  Welcoming newcomers by making sure they have adequate space in cupboards and the fridge was really nice when you arrived.  That these spaces are left clean by those who use them is a memorable kindness!  
• When cooking, using the range fan to exhaust moisture is common sense. 
• The compost bucket is under the sink for food scraps and does not smell or attract insects when emptied daily.  
• Taking a turn emptying the garbage and recycling, or some responsibility for the municipal waste stream should really be everyone's job.  Keeping informed as to what goes, and where, is an ongoing responsibility, conversation and research project.
• Cleaning floors is a shared responsibility.  Thanks to everyone for making time to take a turn!      
• When opportunity presents, nature finds in our built environment a good source for food.  "Sugar ants", meal months and fruit flies feel invited in when preferred food sources are readily available.  As with most predators, removing food resources is a good solution to living in harmony with them.  To prevent ant intrusion, food is encouraged to be kept in the kitchen/dining area.  Furthermore, ants and fruit flies are both attracted to food residue anywhere (another reason to keep food areas clean, with soap and water, between uses).  Meal moths can be prevented by keeping dry goods in sealed containers.  If food preparation, consumption and storage areas are kept clean, insects will go somewhere else where survival is easier.  If ants do present, a drop or two of Terro should be given to them in a corner near their chosen point of entry and replenished until they lose interest in it. 
  
• Wet sponges breed bacteria.  Please wring out the kitchen sponge and dish cloth and facilitate their drying out at some regular interval - overnight is a good time.  
• Thank you for keeping the refrigerator door closed when not actively getting items in or out.  It's more about the environment than the utility fee.  Even in the Pacific Northwest, we get a sizable percentage of our electricity from coal!