13 tips for kitchen spring cleaning

Day one of my spring cleaning challenge.

The kitchen!! 

Oh boy this is definitely the biggest and most daunting area of my home. I don't know about you but we pretty much live in the kitchen. Besides 3 meals a day plus snacks. We also do homework, art projects, science projects, exc in the kitchen. I am excited to get this one out of the way. If you haven't printed off a cleaning check list from my last post do that before you start. There are 2, a cleaning the surface basic check list and a getting the nitty gritty super detailed check list. I plan on using the detailed check list. As I picked up my list to make notes for this blog post I picked up the basic one and after going through it thought this isn't going to be that bad at all. Then I realised I had the wrong list! Lol but even after going through the actual list having it written out all ready for me to start made the task at hand seem way easier.

The first thing I like to do before spring cleaning is to get the area to it's normal clean. For the kitchen I don't sweep, mop, or wash counter tops, I just get the crumbs off because I will be getting them dirty by dumping drawers out on them. 

Here we go I have made a list of my favorite kitchen cleaning tricks. I hope they will help you as you are spring cleaning. 

1. Junk drawer- the best way to clean this area is dump and sort. Just take it all out and sort it into similar piles. Put away things that don't belong in the drawer. Then put like items together in littler containers or as I am currently doing bags. Check out my whole junk drawer organization post here.

2. Dishwasher- it might seem weird to clean out your dishwasher but trust me you need to and it is easier than you think. First run a load empty with some vinegar in a bowl. This will loosen things up in the bottom. When this is done take out the bottom drawer, and then for my dishwasher you can twist off this bottom strainer plate thing. Take that off and there you have all the icky stuff. Just clean all the pieces out in the sink. Then run the dishwasher again without the detachable pieces and that cleans out the bottom for me. After the wash it is still stained orange from iron in our water and tomato sauces. To clean this I could get the powdered Clorox stuff, but I am just going to leave it since I can't see it any ways.

3. Microwave- put a 1:2 part mix of vinegar to water mixture in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave it for 3-7 mins and it will soften all the cooked on food on the sides so it is easy to wipe off.

4. Oven 1-  Clean in-between the glass on the door. I have not mastered this but I made a YouTube video for you any ways so you can see what I do.

 I have also just started taking the whole front pannel off to prevent the bottom of the pannel from bending at the where it connects to the oven door. To do this I just take screws out that are on the bottom of the door pictured below. 

5. Oven 2- if the racks are burned black I like to use magic erasers to clean them up. I do love the name brand magic erasers but I have also found these off brand ones that I really like for these deep cleaning times where I can use a lot! You will see me using them all the time over the next month.

6. Drawers - vacuum out first and then wipe down. 

7. Toaster - get all crumbs out and then for toaster oven clean outside and door with a name brand magic eraser it cuts right through all the built up grease. Name brand is best for grease.

8. Sink- rust stains in stainless steel sink from metal items "soaking" too long. Haha can you guess what I use... You got it a magic eraser, off brand is normally fine for this. It also polishes the steel nicely.

9. Walls and ceiling - my mom found this dusting microfiber mop top at the dollar store and put it on this extending mop handle. What ever you have make it work! 

I also like to put a wash cloth on my broom, securing it with a rubber band to dust the high areas.

10. Counter tops - Razer blade. I love using this to get stubborn food off of the counter tops or even burned on food off of my glass top stove. I just use my fingers, but they have these fancy Razer holders so you don't cut yourself. That is a much better idea lol.

11. Garbage can - drill a hole in the sides of the can a few inches from the bottom so a full bag can more easily be pulled out. Also a few inches from the bottom so if any thing leaks it is still contained to the garbage can.

  

12. Window - to get all the grime loose use an old tooth brush.

13. Cover your toaster oven tray with a piece of aluminum foil to prevent it from getting all dirty.

Those are my most used cleaning hacks, there are so many more out there but I just stick with the practical ones. Nothin too fancy here 😁

Join me tomorrow for some more cleaning and don't forget to tag me in Instagram with your progress @_countrysparkles_ and follow the hashtag #springcleaningdoneearly