The kitchen is a constantly rotating door of food, pets, humans, mail and dishes. With so much activity a mess can pile up despite your daily cleaning. Most kitchens could use a nice deep clean more often than the rest of the house, but where do you start? Here’s your to-do list and a few tips to give your kitchen it’s shine back.
Countertops
To get things rolling, clear off the countertops. This includes the sneaky pile of mail as well as countertop appliances such as a kitchenaid or toaster. Liberally spray your countertops with an all purpose cleaner and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then use a sponge to wipe it away. If you run into any stuck on pieces, enlist the help of a bench scraper. Don’t just put everything back right away, get rid of what you don’t need to keep your countertops clear.
Countertops
To get things rolling, clear off the countertops. This includes the sneaky pile of mail as well as countertop appliances such as a kitchenaid or toaster. Liberally spray your countertops with an all purpose cleaner and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then use a sponge to wipe it away. If you run into any stuck on pieces, enlist the help of a bench scraper. Don’t just put everything back right away, get rid of what you don’t need to keep your countertops clear.
Backsplash
The backsplash is there to do one thing: keep your walls protected from grease and dust. Turns out that’s a messy job. Outside of the frequent wipe downs, your backsplash needs a good scrub about about once a month. Use a good all purpose cleaner and strong sponge to give this hard worker a good dep clean.
Refrigerator
Since food continues to get added to the fridge, older food often gets pushed to the back and lost. Plus, it turns out salad drawers often contain 750 times the safe level of bacteria. Take everything out of the fridge a throw away expired food and wash your drawers. Take a disinfectant wipe to the rest of your fridge to remove bacteria build-up.
Stove
It’s time to pull out the elbow grease to work on those burned on spots. A cream cleaner such as Mrs. Meyer’s baking soda cream cleaner and a good sponge is all you need to scrub away spots with ease! For gas stoves remove the grates first and allow those to soak in the sink if necessary. If you notice food remnants between the range and countertop, use a butter knife to gently slide across the end of the counter to pull food out. Then wrap a paper towel around the knife and spray with cleaner and slide against the edge of the counter.
Sink
First, gather anything in the kitchen you may need to clean (including food containers from your newly cleaned fridge) and wash them. Once the dishes are done, use a gentle cleanser and soft cloth to wipe everything down. Follow up with 1 tsp. of baking soda and ¼ cup of lemon juice over your whole sink and down the drain. Let this sit for about 10 minutes and rinse away with hot water. If you have a stainless steel sink use a dry cloth to eliminate water spots.
Cabinets
When was the last time you cleaned the top of the cabinets or the fridge? All you need is a long armed duster to work around the perimeter of the kitchen. Use a rag and warm soapy water to wipe down the cabinet doors and pulls. Open the doors and wipe down the sides and insides.
Microwave
Ideally the microwave should be cleaned every week, depending on the frequency of use. Don’t worry, we have a slick trick for you! Mix half a cup of water with half a cup of white vinegar in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high until the microwave window steams up. Wipe out with a clean sponge and ta-da. A beautiful microwave is yours!
Oven
Great news! Your oven doesn’t need much regular attention unless it begins to produce smoke or odors from food remnants. Just spot clean as needed with a damp rag. Resist the urge to run the self-cleaning cycle often as it can damage your oven.
Floors
Tackle the floors last. Sweep right up to the baseboards and as far under the cabinets as you can get. If you’re feeling adventurous, pull out your appliances and tackle those floors too. After everything is swept get the mop and bucket out (remember, your sink is sparkly clean). If you have any pesky stains soak a rag in a mixture of 4 cups water and 1 cup bleach and let it sit on the stain for about 10 minutes. Empty the mop bucket outside or in a utility sink.
A sparkling clean kitchen will bring a sigh of relief to the whole house and maybe inspire you take on the bathrooms… or not! Happy cleaning!
The backsplash is there to do one thing: keep your walls protected from grease and dust. Turns out that’s a messy job. Outside of the frequent wipe downs, your backsplash needs a good scrub about about once a month. Use a good all purpose cleaner and strong sponge to give this hard worker a good dep clean.
Refrigerator
Since food continues to get added to the fridge, older food often gets pushed to the back and lost. Plus, it turns out salad drawers often contain 750 times the safe level of bacteria. Take everything out of the fridge a throw away expired food and wash your drawers. Take a disinfectant wipe to the rest of your fridge to remove bacteria build-up.
Stove
It’s time to pull out the elbow grease to work on those burned on spots. A cream cleaner such as Mrs. Meyer’s baking soda cream cleaner and a good sponge is all you need to scrub away spots with ease! For gas stoves remove the grates first and allow those to soak in the sink if necessary. If you notice food remnants between the range and countertop, use a butter knife to gently slide across the end of the counter to pull food out. Then wrap a paper towel around the knife and spray with cleaner and slide against the edge of the counter.
Sink
First, gather anything in the kitchen you may need to clean (including food containers from your newly cleaned fridge) and wash them. Once the dishes are done, use a gentle cleanser and soft cloth to wipe everything down. Follow up with 1 tsp. of baking soda and ¼ cup of lemon juice over your whole sink and down the drain. Let this sit for about 10 minutes and rinse away with hot water. If you have a stainless steel sink use a dry cloth to eliminate water spots.
Cabinets
When was the last time you cleaned the top of the cabinets or the fridge? All you need is a long armed duster to work around the perimeter of the kitchen. Use a rag and warm soapy water to wipe down the cabinet doors and pulls. Open the doors and wipe down the sides and insides.
Microwave
Ideally the microwave should be cleaned every week, depending on the frequency of use. Don’t worry, we have a slick trick for you! Mix half a cup of water with half a cup of white vinegar in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high until the microwave window steams up. Wipe out with a clean sponge and ta-da. A beautiful microwave is yours!
Oven
Great news! Your oven doesn’t need much regular attention unless it begins to produce smoke or odors from food remnants. Just spot clean as needed with a damp rag. Resist the urge to run the self-cleaning cycle often as it can damage your oven.
Floors
Tackle the floors last. Sweep right up to the baseboards and as far under the cabinets as you can get. If you’re feeling adventurous, pull out your appliances and tackle those floors too. After everything is swept get the mop and bucket out (remember, your sink is sparkly clean). If you have any pesky stains soak a rag in a mixture of 4 cups water and 1 cup bleach and let it sit on the stain for about 10 minutes. Empty the mop bucket outside or in a utility sink.
A sparkling clean kitchen will bring a sigh of relief to the whole house and maybe inspire you take on the bathrooms… or not! Happy cleaning!