How To Deep Clean Your Kitchen

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The kitchen is the heart of most homes. A lot of love is poured out in the meals prepared and eaten, in the conversations that happen, and among the coffee that is brewed. Kitchens are busy, crumby, and filled up with ingredients to make delicious meals.

But that also means that they need a lot of love and care - and a deep clean every few months.

But where do you start? Is there a best way to do it? Being in lockdown is a good time to tackle a kitchen deep-cleaning. Here are a few ways I approached the project when I took it on this week.

Preparation
Before you start the deep clean, make the whole thing easier for yourself. Wash up, put all of the dishes away, clear down all of the countertops, wipe clean (roughly) all of the surfaces. Declutter anything that isn’t supposed to be in the kitchen. This is the perfect time to book repairs or maintenance. Like the HVAC system, plumbing, and a fridge repair if you need one.

Organization

It’s time to start the organizing of your cabinets, countertops, and pantry. I started with my pantry first. I removed all of the tins, containers, boxes, bags, packets, and jars. Checking the expiration dates, make sure they are all in date, and still fine to eat. If there are items that you aren’t going to be using, then set up a box ready for donations. And make a note of everything that is going in there, so that you don’t buy it again.

Start cleaning all of the shelves with warm soapy water, or kitchen cleaner.

Do an inventory before you put the food back in the cabinet. Download a pantry and fridge organization app to help with this.

If possible, arrange items in a way that makes sense to how you would use them. For example, grouping baking items together.

Containers

If you want to get super organized and increase your recycling and declutter, then consider getting a range of plastic storage containers for your dried goods. Make sure they are all labeled. Not only will containers save space, but they look neat and tidy too.

Drawers

Drawers can be tricky little places filled with crumbs, useless items, knick-knacks, and junk.

Empty all the drawers one at a time, and spread the contents out on the floor or on the countertop. Go through every single item, remove, toss, and donate what you don’t need. Scrub the drawers, and return ONLY the items you will need. Moving forward, be conscious of putting unnecessary items in drawers.

Clean and wash any of the drawer organizers, and consider rearranging items for a more efficient flow. It is a perfect time to wash all of the utensils and cutlery too.

Appliances

The fridge, freezer, microwave, and all of the other appliances in the home work really hard. And are often forgotten when it comes to cleaning time. Clean and polish the exterior of all of the metal appliances and use the recommended cleaning chemicals.

The kitchen is one of the rooms that when it is finished, you'll enjoy cooking and spending time in there even more. They smell fresher, everything is easier to find, and it is a joy to be in. A deep clean only takes a few hours for weeks of benefits for you and your family.