How to Spring Clean your Kitchen

Spring has finally arrived and with it has the tradition of spring cleaning the home.

I am not entirely sure where the tradition of “spring cleaning” came from, but warmer days are certainly making it easier to open the doors and windows to let the fresh air in and get washing out on the line, instead of in the tumble dryer.

We have already made a good start to our spring clean, moving furniture, cleaning walls and paintwork and decluttering the playroom.

Next on my list is the kitchen!!

The kitchen is the one room in the house where it looks clean and tidy, but open up the cupboards and it is another story and I am sure we are not alone.

How to Spring Clean your kitchen

Clean & Organise Storage Cupboards

Now is the perfect time to empty the storage cupboards, check the ‘use by’ dates on the contents, wash down the cupboards and re-organise them.

Make sure you throw away anything that you won’t use or is past its best into your recycling bin.

We have two waste bins in our kitchen – an integrated bin, which allows us to easily separate our recyclable material, plus a separate waste bin for generic household waste, although if you are tight on space Brabantia have a great range of bins that have two inner buckets to help you recycle your waste.

We also have a small food bin under the sink so we can dispose of our food waste onto the compost heap.

Fun Fact: Did you know that cardboard egg boxes can also go in the compost heap? – they are considered brown compost matter, but do make sure you break them down first!!

Clean & Organise Storage Drawers

I always find the cutlery rack can get grubby so give it a soak in hot, soapy water and give your cutlery an extra clean whilst you are there.

Now is also the time to empty and sort the “junk drawer” – do you really need to keep the local takeaway menu from 2017?

Check your Crockery

If your kids are anything like mine, their attempt at putting away crockery can be a bit lacklustre and there is no organisation.

Empty the cupboards, throw away any chipped or cracked crockery and re-arrange it in order of size

Clean & Organise the Fridge Freezer

Empty the fridge freezer and give all the surfaces a clean with warm soapy water.

Throw away any old food and defrost the freezer if necessary.

Clean Other Appliances

Don’t forget all the other kitchen appliances. Empty the crumb tray in the toaster, descale the kettle and coffee machine and run a cleaning cycle on the washing machine and dishwasher.

My least favourite job is cleaning the oven, I treat myself once a year to a professional oven clean, which is surprisingly cost effective.

If you can, move the appliances and clean underneath too, you will be surprised what gets under there!!

Clean the Floor

I use a mop and bucket for everyday cleaning, but I do like to steam clean the floors as the combination of heat and high pressure helps to eliminating dirt, grease, residue, mould bacteria, viruses and germs without relying on harsh chemicals.

We do make spring cleaning into a bit of a game, trying to find what is the most out of date thing we find. My Great Aunt was the winner of this, with a bottle of Ribena 19 years out of date!!!!

What is the oldest thing you have found in your cupboards?