My cooking style is to have as much as possible washed and put away as food is being served. When the wife cooks I am running cleanup behind her. My MIL makes good Spaghetti but the cost in cleanup is not worth it. Literally sauce on the walls and every counter top.
Funny story, when the wife and I were dating she made BLT sandwiches and german potato salad for dinner. She cooked the bacon and was off prepping other items as I was cleaning. Later she said "where's my bacon grease?"... I already had the pan washed and put away. Did not occur to me that bacon grease was an ingredient to her potato salad.
Last year thanksgiving we had 24 people to feed and I was cleaning till early AM Friday. This year the wife and I are doing most of the cooking, now for 6 people, so it's going to be a cake walk.