Spring Clean Your Kitchen any Time of the Year

By Glynnis Whitwer

Although spring is the traditional time to deep clean our homes, it can be productive at any time of the year. Our kitchens are a great place to start since we spend many happy family hours in this room. In addition to making your kitchen more sanitary, cleaning also helps us get organized, thereby saving time and money. Get started today with these four easy tips to sprucing up your kitchen.

1. Clean out the food in the cupboards, freezer and fridge.

Use this time to go through all the food items in the pantry and throw out items past their expiration date. Don’t forget your spices and seasonings. Then go through your refrigerator. Throw out anything growing or suspicious looking. If you can’t identify something in your freezer, toss it too. This is especially important to do before holidays when you’ll be entertaining. It will give you room for all the yummy leftovers.
Then, commit to using up items close to their expiration date. Design your menus in the upcoming weeks to use those items. If you’ve got unusual items you aren’t sure how to use, then use an Internet search engine. Type in the name of the product and the word “recipe” and see what shows up. Foodnetwork.com offers a great search program for their recipes.


2. Reorganize your pantry.

We spend lots of money and waste time buying duplicate items. Take an hour and group similar items. If you’re really organized, I suggest you alphabetize your spices too. A lazy Susan is a great tool for this.


3. Deep clean.

There are lots of little spaces that need attention. Even in the cleanest kitchens, grease builds up on the most surprising surfaces. Spend some time cleaning these often-neglected spots:

• Microwave oven – To soften built-up food, microwave 2 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove bowl and wipe with clean cloth. Repeat if necessary.


• Coffee maker – Run with equal parts of white vinegar and water. Run clean water several times until vinegar smell is gone.


• Underneath your refrigerator and oven.


• The hood over your stove – Remove filters and soak in hot soapy water.


• Inside your oven.


• Top of your stove – Remove your knobs and run through a dishwasher cycle.


• Top of the refrigerator – When clean, use this area to display plants and decorative items – not cereal boxes.


• Light fixtures.


• Fronts of cabinets.


• Cabinet shelves.


• Tile grout on floor or counter tops.


• Windows and window treatments.


• Mini-blinds.


4. Add new accessories.

Now that your kitchen is sparkling clean, invest a small amount of money in brightening it up. Toss out ragged towels and dishrags and replace them with crisp clean new ones. Treat yourself to some fresh flowers and place in an attractive vase. Buy a new canister set that makes a statement. Replace your grocery store plastic hand soap dispenser with something ceramic and attractive. To really get creative, pick a color theme for each season and add accent pieces in that color.
Since our kitchens are often the heart of our homes, they deserve some extra attention. Break up your cleaning project over several days to avoid feeling overwhelmed. You’ll find renewed interest in cooking and baking, once your kitchen is shining clean.