Now that we are heading back to the indoors for a few cooler months, let’s tackle the busiest room in most houses — it’s time to deep clean your kitchen! Are you in with me?
1.
Let’s tackle your drawers – remove the items, one drawer at a time, to wash and vacuum your drawers and get all the nooks and crannies squeaky clean.
2.
Before you place the items back into each drawer, taken an inventory and ask yourself if there are any items that can be donated or discarded? Since they’ve been just sitting in these drawers, you rarely use them. Or, consider if they should be replaced, or moved to a more useful spot?
3.
Next, tackle the cupboards – remove everything shelf by shelf, wipe them and again take inventory. Ask yourself do you really need all the thermos or plastic cups?
4.
Don’t forget to wash the outside of the cabinets, too. I learned a tip from my mom. She lines the tops of her cabinets, (if they don’t extend to the ceiling). So once a year, I replace the parchment paper, so the grease doesn’t build as much on the tops of the cabinets.
5.
Here’s your annual chance to streamline your Tupperware / plasticware cupboard. We can always recycle a few mismatch items. Come on and be brave!
6.
Next, tackle your pots / pans / and bakeware. Ask yourself, when was the last time you baked a cake? My name isn’t Betty Crocker, so it’s been a few years since I last actually baked a cake!
7.
Open your microwave and don’t be afraid to give this appliance a little bit of elbow grease. It’s good to wipe all the sides — and don’t forget the top inside of the microwave. Give the turntable a good cleaning too. Lastly, wipe the outside on the microwave — and remember to clean the screen, too. You may need to use a degreaser for this as well.
8.
Dishwasher time – remove the bottom rack to clean and vacuum the debris on the bottom. Remove the cutlery organizer and wash that in the sink. Some experts suggest that you can run the rinse function on the hottest cycle with a quarter-cup of baking soda in the detergent dispenser. Finally, wipe the outside of the dishwasher and it’s done.
9.
Let’s cook up a clean stove – open the oven door, remove the racks and wash them separately. You should wipe down the inside and remove all the crumbs. Next, wipe the sides, top, bottom and front of the oven door. If you are fortunate and have a self-cleaning model, use that feature, otherwise you can search online for the “best ways to clean your specific oven.” You should also wipe the gasket. I’ve used the degreaser brand “Simply Green.” It worked really well on the window portion of the oven.
10.
During Covid, I watched the interesting Netflix TV series “The Home Edit.” They used a lot of acrylic containers to simplify each pantry. I personally used them on an unpack job in Delaware and it made a big visual impact.
11.
Finally, try to keep your countertop item clutter down to a minimum. If it’s too full and too busy, your kitchen looks dirty, plus you don’t want to move 20 items off the countertop each time you wipe it down.
When we’re done cleaning and organizing our kitchens, we remember why it’s the busiest room in each home. We do lots of things there! And, you can look forward to winter with a clean conscience… in your clean kitchen! Have fun in making decisions and send me pictures of your “before” and “after” views, if you’d like. I always welcome photos, questions or comments to me at betty@logicalplacement.com.
Your local professional organizer, Betty Huotari
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