Michiganders Spend 1,000 Hours a Year in This Room

When you think of your childhood, what room in your home do you think of first? For many Michigan residents, myself included, the kitchen was the epicenter of our home. After all, it was the room you entered through the garage. That's why it didn't surprise me that, according to a study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Whirlpool, the average red-blooded All-American Michigander spends 1,000 hours a year in the kitchen.

Related: YUMMY! Top 5 Favorite Snacks in Michigan and Every Other State

To be clear, this isn't the room we spend the most time in. That honor goes to the room with the TV, the living room. But kitchens, significantly growing up in Michigan, were 'the heart of the home.' It's where we talked, cooked, did our homework, and ate dinner every weeknight. We had a dining room, but it always seemed too formal.

The 1,000 Hours Annually Michiganders Spent in the Kitchen Aren't Spent Cleaning

Even though we spend nearly three hours a day in the kitchen, most of that time is spent doing anything other than cleaning. According to OnePoll, the average Michigander uses their microwave, dishwasher, and stove or oven seven or more times a week. Despite the high use of these kitchen appliances every week, they are only cleaned once or twice a month, if not less often.

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Let's be honest with each other. You do not clean your oven once a month. If you do more power to you, but I think that appliance lets you know when it needs to be cleaned when it sets off the smoke alarm.

Michigan's most popular means of heating food is a microwave, followed by countertop appliances like toasters or air fryers. The oven is used least often. When was the last time you cleaned your toaster?

Related: Michigan Restaurant's Tacos Named Best in the State

Whichever way you spend your time in the kitchen—cooking, chatting, spilling the tea, doing the dishes, or cleaning the oven (sure, you clean it once a month)—be sure to double-check that the butter you grabbed out of the fridge is, in fact, butter and not left-over stuffing—Michigan folks like to reuse everything.

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