So...Spring Cleaning::Kitchen 1

How did week one go?
Anybody on board with me??
Are you enjoying your clean family room???
I know I am.
Even though the craziness of the kiddos makes it hard to keep things tidy, I love knowing that the room is clean, even when it gets messy quickly.

My goal for sping cleaning is to start in the rooms I spend the most time in.
That is why I started in the family room and am moving along this week to the most used room in the house (and the biggest job), the -

Kitchen
Declutter Goal::this week, while you're putting clean dishes away each day, get rid of anything that may be broken, worn out, or taking up too much space - any water bottles with missing lids? do you have that one cereal bowl that doesn't really match and you don't need anyway because you have ten others? quickly pull anything out you don't want/need. don't go through all your cupboards now - that comes later.

Day 1::clean up.  clean off counters.  clean out sink.  empty the dishwasher.  straighten small appliances, fruit bowls - anything that is on the counters.  throw away trash. 

sweep the floor.  mop the floor.

get the week started off right.  this is the basic cleaning that your kitchen needs regularly.

Day 2::wipe down.  plug the drain of your sink and fill the sink with hot water about an inch from the top.  pour about 1 cup of bleach into it.  set a timer for 1 hour.  this is going to be the water you use to wipe down the counters, cabinet doors, and outside of appliances.  you will also be sanitizing your sink in the process.  yay for multitasking!

with a rag you don't care about, use the bleach water to wipe down everything - including under small appliances, outside of large appliances, counters, doorknobs, fridge handle, any surface that you can wipe down.

when the timer goes off after an hour, drain the sink and scrub with cleanser (i like soft scrub), especially around the faucet and drain.  rinse and dry with a dry towel.  to get an extra shine, wipe with windex.  if you have a double sink, repeat the sink sanitation for the other side tomorrow while you clean out the fridge.

Day 3::clean out fridge/freezer.  pull everything out of the fridge.  everything.  throw away anything that has expired.  dump any leftovers that you do not plan to eat today or tomorrow.  consolidate any doubles you have of condiments/dressings.  get rid of anything that doesn't need to be in there.

wipe down inside of fridge with bleach rag before you put food back.  while you're there with a rag, wipe off the top of the fridge as well.  honestly, how often do you do that?

repeat with the freezer.

Day 4::clean appliances. today is the day to clean all the large appliances - oven, stove, dish washer, microwave, trash compactor (if you have one), and anything else (what else is there?).  i would start with the oven.  most oven cleaners require time for the cleaner to set.  follow the directions of the can, set the timer, and move on to the dishwasher.  this tutorial on how to clean your dishwasher works pretty well and requires that you run a couple cycles, so get the first one going.

while your oven is setting and your dishwasher is running, scrub your stove and microwave.  if you have removable burners, take them off and clean under them.  replace foil if you can.  if the knobs are removable, take them off and clean behind them.  scrub the inside of your microwave really well.  remove the plate and wash thoroughly.

return to your oven and complete the instructions on the oven cleaner.

while you're running the second cycle of cleaning your dishwasher, tackle a junk drawer.  don't be afraid to throw things out.  file things that need to be filed.  organize it as best you can.  do not spend more time than it takes to wait for your dishwasher.

return to your dishwasher.  scrub any spots that were missed in the cycles.

Day 5::clean out cabinets.  this is a big job.  we will not tackle all cabinets today, but only some.  we will finish the rest next week.  today we will focus on the cabinets/drawers you use the most. 
for me, it would be dishes, kids ware, glasses, silverware, pots & pans, spices. 
now you. 
pick six or so and go to work.

pull everything out.  wipe down inside and outside of those cabinets.  put back only the things that you need/love.  put things you don't need in the donate bag.  put things you are not sure about, or seasonal items in the save for later bag.  anything that is broken or cracked, or old worn out plastic dishes/cups that may not be healthy to use, throw them away.

put everything back in a neat, organized way.

take the next two days off.
tackling the kitchen is a huge job.  we got the big & hard stuff done this week, but there will be more next week, so rest up.

Yay for spring cleaning!!!
Keep it up - you are doing great!



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