Ready for Day Four of the Spring Cleaning Binge Series? Good, because you’re going to need a Venti latte to tackle this one. Today we’re jumping into the kitchen and giving it some major love. If you’re just tuning in and you’ve missed the days leading up to today’s post, you can take a step back into the archives and check out the rooms I’ve covered so far. Or you can be a brave woman and start with the kitchen, right here and right now. If that’s you, then I’m pumping my fist in the air with pride. You go Girl!
Spring Cleaning Binge Series: Day 4- Kitchen
How To Make Your Kitchen Sparkle
Who’s excited to do Spring Cleaning in the kitchen? Not you? Oh, come on. It’s going to be SO worth it. Aside from the bathroom, you kitchen may be one of the dirtiest rooms in the house, and no, just because you swipe Clorox wipes on the counters after dinner doesn’t mean it’s germ-free. Here are 10 kitchen cleaning tips to make your space sparkle and give you confidence that you’re serving up food in a bacteria-banished zone.
1. Baking Soda Is Your BFF
It cleans and deodorizes almost anything (except wood, which can cause irreversible scratching). Check out this article from Good Housekeeping for tons of baking soda hacks and all the places it can be used.
2. Break Out The Dentist Goodie Bag Brushes
That stash you pile up every time someone goes to the dentist is actually about to get some use. Those soft bristle toothbrushes are great for cleaning around sink drains and faucets, stove knobs, and detailed cabinet door grooves and hinges.
3. Empty That Fridge
This is the prime time to freshen up your fridge. Remove all the shelves and drawers and give them a good sudsy scrub. Find out how to get rid of stinky fridge smells in this recent post from my blog.
4. Don’t Forget The Sink Drain
Get rid of icky smells and built-up bacteria with lemon juice, baking soda, and white vinegar. Cut the lemon in half, rub the cut end all over the drain area, sprinkle on some baking soda, put the lemon cut-side-down on the drain, and pour some vinegar over the top. Kids will love to join in on this mini-science experiment and they’ll want to do it again in the bathrooms!
Bonus, because this solution gets rid of fruit flies, too, which often come up though drains.
5. De-crumb The Oven
Don’t disregard crumbs and spills in the bottom of your oven and toaster oven. They can cause smoke and stinky smells that linger on for days. Here’s a great post I found on how to clean an oven that doesn’t have an auto-clean feature. I’ll actually be doing this exact method this weekend.
6. Summon The Purge
Go on a purging spree and trash any expired food. Don’t forget about spices, seasonings, baking supplies, and condiments. Go ahead and get rid of the extra stuff in your kitchen that you no longer need, like duplicates and specialty appliances you never touch.
7. Clean The Rugs
They’re full of dirt, grease, gunk, and germs that you can’t even see. You know how gross your mop pads are after you’ve mopped the kitchen? Think of that times twelve on your rugs, because you know you’re not washing them weekly.
8. Don’t Ignore Cabinet Tops
If your cabinets don’t go all the way to the ceiling, I bet there’s a giant dust party happening up there that you didn’t even know about. Unless you have a “Throw A Party In My House Whenever” rule, I think you should probably climb up there and shut it down.
9. Clean The Dishwasher
“Say whaaaa??? You want me to clean the thing that cleans my dishes? Isn’t it already clean?” The short answer is, nope. It’s full of hard water and lime scale, leftover bacteria, and pieces of food from last month’s dinners. Here’s my tutorial on how to clean your dishwasher (don’t worry, it’s really easy) and you should definitely get in the habit of doing this monthly or bi-monthly to prolong the life of your appliance.
10. Clean The Coffee Maker, Too
Not the coffee pot, which you should be washing regularly anyway. I’m talking the whole coffee maker. The water lines, the filter compartment, the hot plate, the everything. Check your manual for specific instructions for the model you own, or if you tossed it, this post has a generic coffee maker cleaning tutorial that will work for most appliances.
Need Some Extra Kitchen Space?
I created a guide with you in mind! This list of 25 Things To Ditch From Your Kitchen will help you clear out cabinet space and avoid the dreaded cookie sheet avalanche every time you try to cook dinner. And best of all, it’s free! Just drop your email address in the box below and I’ll send it straight to your inbox so you can declutter your kitchen ASAP!
Need A Full Step By Step Spring Cleaning Planner?
Grab my 20+ page Spring Cleaning Planner on Etsy for room-by-room checklists of anything and everything you could possibly clean in your house. These checklists will keep you on track and help you breeze through your cleaning sessions without forgetting a thing. It’s only $12 and you can download and print it immediately after your purchase, so there’s no wait time! Click here to get yours!
Victoria says
April 23, 2019 at 2:37 pmThanks so much for taking out time to calmly itemized all we need to do to keep our kitchen extra clean.
I must say you are a professional.
This is a classic
I will bookmark your blog, so I can always come back.
Thanks once again.
Hemant says
April 20, 2019 at 7:35 amI love to read this post. Thanks for sharing your experience. It tips helps me a lot. Keep sharing your experience.
Thanks Again!!
Lela Burris says
April 20, 2019 at 8:49 amThank you Hemant! So glad it was helpful for you!