Considering the kitchen is where we prepare food, it’s really in our best interests to keep it clean. Alas, this is too much work most of the time and the kitchen falls foul to a number of bad habits. You’re sure to know someone guilty of committing these kitchen crimes… 1. Leaving the Milk Out This one is simple. You take the milk out of the fridge and when you’re finished you put it back. It’s hardly rocket science, but for some unknown reason the milk is always sitting on the kitchen counter waiting for someone else to put it away. 2. Teabags in the Sink Tea is probably the most common drink in Ireland. With so much tea drank, you would think we would know where to dispose of the teabag. There are a lot of people who seem to think the sink is an appropriate place for used teabags. It’s not, that's where the dishes go. 3. Letting Dishes Pile Up Between teabags, dirty dishes and food scraps the sink is not a friendly place. However, it would improve if people stopped to wash their dishes after using them. That way, you avoid the disgusting task of cleaning away week-old dishes and the kitchen looks tidy, for once. 4. Knife in the Butter Now we’re not pointing any fingers here but… it does seem that the male species are most guilty of this crime. Use the knife by all means, but please clean it and put it away when you’re finished. It’s not that hard once you get used to it, we swear. 5. Smelly Food in the Fridge There are certain foods such as tuna that will go off very quickly and it would be better for all involved if they were disposed of before that happens. Left in the fridge for more than a couple of days and you will have a smell on your hands that a skunk would be proud of. 6. Sugar Everywhere There’s no avoiding the fact that sugar is a messy business. Sugar in tea, sugar in cereal, sugar while baking… the list is a long one. Just please remember to clean it up, no one wants to be sweeping up sugar on a daily basis, it’s a thankless task. 7. No Water in the Kettle Possibly one of the most heinous of kitchen crimes is leaving an empty kettle back without filling it first. Imagine this, you’re drenched wet after a long trek home and all you need is a hot cup of tea. You go to switch the kettle on and there’s not a drop left and now you have to wait for the water to boil. Your flatmate better watch out… 8. How High Can the Bin go? In theory this might sound like a fun game but in reality it is never a good idea. When the bin shows no signs of filling up, empty it. If not, you’ll have a delightful smell to contend with plus your hands will feel dirty no matter how many times you wash them. Gross or what, you have been warned. 9. Dishwasher Etiquette This goes for both filling and emptying this wonderful machine. It won’t empty itself nor will it fill itself and contrary to popular opinion, it’s really not a big ask. In fairness, it's a lot easier than washing them by hand! 10. Empty Cartons If a carton is empty it goes in the bin. For some reason we have a tendency to put cartons and bottles back in the fridge even if there’s only a dribble left… because as we all know walking to the bin is like climbing Mount Everest.