What’s the Grossest Place in Your Office?

The grossest place in your office is probably the microwave. Exploding food, lava flows, and spills line the walls and cake around the carousel. And no one feels compelled to wipe it out. Microwaves are handy, but after a day of penetrating rays that food can adhere to the walls and ceiling of the microwave. Almost like it was bolted on.

Many companies have instituted rules to help guard against a messy microwave, but who has time for that? Lunch times are short and everyone needs a break. The best thing I’ve seen is covering food with paper plates. Some companies provide those super thin, super cheap paper plates and ask that each meal be covered with a clean plate. It works pretty well. Anything to keep the microwave looking inviting for your lunch.

One of the most egregious infringements, and least necessary, is the making of oatmeal. Instant oatmeal is very popular for breakfast in the office, and oh so good for you. When you cook it in the microwave, oatmeal tends to bubble, spit, and flow all over the place. It’s time to stop cooking it in the microwave forever. Here’s what to do instead. Put your oatmeal and sweetener in a coffeecup and add the hot water from the spigot on the coffee machine. The water is super hot and will cook your oatmeal in the cup. You don’t even have to cover the cup. Just stir in the water, wait a few minutes (you don’t want to eat it with the water that hot anyway), and stir again. Tada! Fresh, hot oatmeal. If you don’t have a hot water line on your coffee maker, here’s the next best method. Put your water in an empty coffeecup and microwave using the beverage button. The water gets super hot in the microwave and it doesn’t make a mess. Immediately, stir in the oatmeal and sweetener and wait for the oatmeal to cook. Stir again and eat. It’s still hot when you eat your oatmeal and no mess.

Feel free to share these suggestions with everyone you know. I love making the world a cleaner, easier-to-care-for place. That’s me – Saving the world from gross microwaves one office at a time.