I Cleaning the HEART of the home:

The Kitchen!!

 

 

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Your kitchen likely caries the weight of your household. It’s where people gather, it’s where your always sure to find yer mum, and it’s generally considered the largest value in your home. But do we take the time n attention to care for it like it is? All too often we keep it running without any maintenance like getting in the car without ever filling it with gas. We NEED to keep our kitchen running. It’s also commonly where bacteria’s like salmonella, E-coli, Listeria and staph accumulate. Ew! So let’s give cleaning this area some respect, and set aside a time each week to do a thorough job it, no?

Pick a day in your week n set aside45minutes – 1.5hours to keep your kitchen in running shape, so that after each use only a quick touch up will be needed to carry you onto the next task and of course the daily dishwashing n running of the DW.

So let’s tackle that kitchen already!

All that kitchen staring at you in the face. Is there a rhyme or reason to cleaning it? Well yes there is….first and foremost, it’s to maximize your time and conserve your energy. We all know how anxious we are to move onto bigger and better things. So first, load up that DW with anything left in your sink and get it running while you work; your appliances should be working with you. Throw extra things in it if you don’t have a full one just yet, like sink grate, drain stoppers, soap dishes, range good vents (monthly), cast iron stove gratings, pet food bowls, coffee pot n filters whatever you can to load it up and get it going. Take your garbage bag out of the bin and spray the bin with disinfectant to sit and kill germs while it’s waiting for you to get to it. Collect all your kitchen towels and any pot holders or oven mitts that need a laundering n throw em in the washer too.

Now you have successfully prepped for your clean;)

I have some recommendations on great products and tools to maximize your results n minimize your effort for this task but you will have to check out my blog on “Tools for Tasks” for that info. For now let’s just focus on WHAT to Clean not HOW to clean it…..

First step, DUST!

This step is all too frequently skipped or put on the back burner, and it’s ironically one of the most impactful tasks in housecleaning. It’s like exfoliating in the shower. Have you ever seen the instant glow of your skin when you have exfoliated? To me, dusting has he same impact on your house. Gives it a shine and sparkling glow that is so beautiful, not hat you can’t enjoy the freshness of their air in a home hat is dust-free. So start by using an extension duster on things like the trim, molding, window sill/panes, baseboards and the ceiling lighting (recessed/hanging/wall etc) be sure to disinfect any switch plates. And be sure to run a swifter or preferably a microfiber extension duster under the cabinets bases along the toe kick where cobwebs and dust bunnies are sure to accumulate.

Now we’re ready to begin the actual kitchen cleaning. I like to think of it as the ABC’s: appliances, backsplash, cabinets, countertops. Dampen a cloth with Dr. Bronners liquid Castile or a like soap and begin with your cabinetry.

CABINETS> top to bottom approach, attention on scrubbing the handles, if your speed cleaning just do the area on the handle side of the cabinet, the handle and spot clean where necessary, otherwise if this is your thorough week, get the whole cabinet face including any lip/ledge bordering it and if it’s a drawer, pull it out and get the top of it. Chances are your wall cabinets have a lighting system under it or even if it doesn’t it can get splattered and greasy so clean under there as needed as well. Your toe kicks at the bottoms of your base cabinets should get wiped down monthly, also on your deep clean week.

 

Depending how deep you want to clean this kitchen, spaces above cabinets can be done Weekly with an extension duster and monthly washed down by hand or just the latter, per your preference.

Next up BACKSPLASH> regardless of wether you have merely a painted wall space between your upper cabinets and your countertop or a tiled one, it needs to be cleaned, and it can be done with the same Dr. Bronners soap (gosh I love this versatile stuff!) As well as any wall outlets and switch plates there. They are gonna get nasty from all your culinary art covered fingers touching them all week;)

COUNTERTOPS>you guessed it, Dr. Bronners soap, love the lavender scent, it really soothes and helps me enjoy the cleaning process. Just rinse your cloth n wring it out, apply more soap for this, and really scrub down that countertop and wipe down anything on it. Be sure to pay attention to lifting and moving items and cleaning under them as well as any cords to things like coffee pot, chargers or toaster oven. They get greasy and dusty. Your Dr. Bronners soap is gentle enough for sentive elements like marble and soapstone but if you have a high sheen element like granite you may need to buff it up with a solution 50/50 water alcohol to get a streak free disinfecting. Do not use vinegar on any of these elements (a very common mistake in green cleaning). Clean out your SINK when doing countertops. First scrub and buff the faucet, get around the base of the faucet where it meets the counter and especially behind it where it meets the wall. Wipe down any bottles of dish/hand soap or soap dish, and then scrub out the sink and give attention to the drain stop. These are usually bacteria ridden. If you have a garbage disposal, halve a lemon n throw it down there, then run the water into it and as you drop some dish detergent into it, run the disposal til the Rines are gone. It should smell fresh n clean afterwards. Never stick your hand in it to clean it. If you have a regular drain be sure to clean that well to, it gets gunky.

Now for your APPLIANCES> I like to work cleanest to dirtiest to utilize the same cloth, so I’m gonna mention,  first, the DW front, if stainless steel wipe WITH the grains and then buff immediately. I like to finish with a polish at least monthly. Open the door and wipe the rims of the sides and get under the handle and across any control panel of off/on buttons. Clean inside DW semi-annually as an add on with a cup of white vinegar and some citric acid in the detergent section and run like normal. Then get the front of your fridge/freezer, handles as well as the top of it and if you open the doors, along the sides too. Holy cow! This is a tough job but think of how much money your saving yourself in hiring out! And all those negative comments from MIL of you had just left it;) Anyways, How often you do inside your fridge is personal and based on how fast it gets nasty, but I do quarterly and the most I’ve seen is monthly excluding a quick wipe of a spill or crumbs Weekly. If your fridge front is covered in the same material as your cabinets I do them with your cabinets. We’re kinda cleaning element by element here as well. MICROWAVE>do this one inside AND OUT! Run the plate in the dishwasher from time to time too. Last  but not least….. that stove! Top AND front. Hood range vents as a monthly add on but wipe down the top of the hood each week and it’s hdberside of any grease splatter especially the perimeter and by the lights and buttons/switches. If your stove is glass top do that first, a razor blade with soap or coconut oil on it, pushing  in one direction, not scraping back n forth, will eliminate scratches and still remove really touch burnt on messes. Sometimes pouring a little boiling water of it first will soften real problems, otherwise a simple degreaser n a buff n shine should do the trick. Get the knobs and the handle and the front of the stove too and open the door just to get the top n sides of the door as well. Inside ovens are a semi annual add on to be done as needed. The hood range vents can be soaked in the sink With warm water n vinegar to loosen grease and then drip dry or run in the DW monthly. Never scrub by hand as I e sliced many a finger on the metal panels. Those suckers are sharper than they look.

Ok so if you have fancy schmancy stove top, not glass with cast iron grating or even more awesome, griddle and drip pans etc. Dr. Bronners soap is perfect for the cast iron grates or they can be run through DW as well. The rest a simple degreaser and buff or polish.

Lastly, scrub out those trash bins and the pull out drawer of you have one, feline with a new bag and you are DONE!!

Restock the kitchen with your dish towels when their through and you have thoroughly cleaned your kitchen and should be proud of it too cause you on top a’dis 😉