Spring is the perfect time of year to deep clean your entire house. With warmer weather comes pollen and allergies and one way to minimize their effects is to make sure the inside of your home is rid of any dust or animal fur. Even though spring cleaning may seem like a chore, it can be a great way to formally welcome the happy season. Open the windows, throw on your favorite playlist and follow along with our ultimate kitchen cleaning checklist.
Starting your deep clean in the kitchen will make sure you’re all ready to go for Easter breakfast and Mother’s Day brunch when it rolls around. You won’t need to spend time digging around for the good pots and pans or searching for a clean towel. Everything you need to make a fluffy batch of pancakes and pitcher of sangria will be right at your disposal.
The fridge and freezer are good places to begin (you‘ll need a clean spot to put all of your fresh spring produce). Take out everything you have stored in each appliance and throw away any items that are old, moldy or have freezer burn. Wipe the fridge and freezer down with warm soapy water, including any drawers and shelves. Once clean, return the food and condiments that you’ll be keeping back inside and wipe down the exterior and handles of the appliances.
Of course you'll also need to deep clean your oven, stovetop, dishwasher and any other common kitchen appliances you use on the daily. But there are some other kitchen cleaning steps that might not seem as obvious. After giving everything a good wipe down, go through your pots and pans and throw away anything that’s chipped. As a general rule of thumb you should buy new nonstick pans every five years (one of many things you should know about your kitchen appliances and tools).
You should also use this as an opportunity to wash your reusable grocery bags, kitchen towels, hot pads, oven mittens and kitchen runner or rug. These things build up dust and grime just as easily as your appliances and kitchen tools. Toss them into the washer with some laundry detergent and hot water. Be sure to read the labels first to make sure everything is machine washable and dryer safe. If not, you can wash it by hand in the sink and hang to dry.
Giving your kitchen a deep clean every so often is an easy way to make sure you don’t get sick, but don’t think you need to run to the store and buy a bunch of cleaning supplies. There are plenty of natural cleaning techniques you can try out using the stuff you already have in your house, like baking soda, lemon and vinegar.
