Kitchen Cleaning Hacks

No one loves a clean kitchen more than me, but every now and then we need to touch up areas. Which ones? Well let's talk about kitchen cleaning hacks!

These days it seems like I have the most time ever at my house. And since there's no where to go, I've found myself cleaning some odds and ends.

At first, I was super ambitious.

I cleaned the toy room except - there's no where to take my donations.

Mismatched socks, be gone!

And then, I started running out of projects. And that's when I started seriously in the home cleaning department - particularly my ktichen.

Kitchen Cleaning Hacks

Let's talk about some areas in the kitchen that don't get enough TLC.

Clean behind the fridge

Pull out the refrigerator and vacuum out the coils behind the fridge. It will run more effectively and cost efficiently.

How do I know this? Well, about a week into our state's stay at home order, our fridge went out.

Great timing, right? Luckily we were able to get the part and replace a fan.

Along the way, we did a little clean up in areas behind the fridge.

You can see how I organize our French door refrigerator here.

Wipe down your cabinets

I'll give this tip with a disclaimer that you should follow whatever your cabinet manufacturer says when cleaning your kitchen cabinets.

But today I spent an entire morning working on random kitchen cleaning like my cabinets.

I used a little Murphy's oil soap diluted with water and a soft rag. I wiped the outside and inside of all my cabinets, tops, bottoms, hinges, everything.

And then I got to the cabinets around the stove. Have you checked those out lately?

Well mine had some gummy sticky residue all over them. Gross!

The fronts had little dots, probably of grease or spatter because hey - I cook!

But the very top of my cabinet doors had gunk plus some dusty residue thingy going on.

The solution?

I used Goo Gone on a dry, clean rag to remove the residue. I'm guessing that lemon essential oil would likely work as well! It took a few passes, then I wiped the area clean with a different wet cloth.

Be sure to wipe everything down at the end so you don't have oil residue. The cabinets look so much better now!

Wipe down your kitchen cabinets - again!

Yep, you read that right! I was done wiping down the upper and lower cabinets and then I moved to scrubbing floors.

Oh, and make sure you do a great job vacuuming before you move onto scrubbing. Much easier.

So like I said, I was done with the cabinets, scrubbing away and for whatever reason - it's really hard to say around here - I found myself looking at the underside of the lower cabinets.

Y'all!!!! They were so gross! I was slightly mortified.

But think about it. You spill something on the floor and it spatters, right? Well it makes sense that in addition to spattering on the floor, it also hits the baseboards and - you guessed it - the undersides of the cabinet.

But not to worry! It's nothing a damp rag and some mild dish detergent can't solve!

Done!

More Smart Kitchen Cleaning Hacks

Shine your stainless steel appliances

I always, always wanted stainless steel appliances. They're so shiny and sparkly and clean....in the showroom.

Then you get home and if you have kids, you know where I'm going.

Fingerprints, everywhere!

I like to clean my fridge and then shine with with glass cleaner. It wipes up sticky fingerprints in a matter of minutes.

There was a time (before I had four kids) that I used to wax my fridge once every few months to avoid fingerprints. I mean, it worked, but then I got a life and I no longer have time to obsess about Turtle Wax on my fridge!

A shiny and clean french door refrigerator.

Open your dishwasher

Seriously, go over to your dishwasher and open it.

Now, look around the sides of your dishwasher. The areas where the dishwasher seals does not get cleaned.

I bet it's a little gross like mine was. The word of the day appears to be "gross".

Before:

But mine had some crusty grossness along the seal plus on the door itself. And that was after I had run the dishwasher.

There was strawberry jam along the panel where the door shuts. Guys, this is my life!

Anyway, it was easy to clean with a rag and some mild detergent. Much, much better!

After:

Freshen up your sink

I am fully in support of all things disinfectant these days. But sometimes the sink just gets a little smelly. Not unbearable, but like it needs a little freshening up!

Disclaimer: Our sink is a composite, not a stainless sink so I haven't tried it on anyone else's sink.

My favorite way to tackle the smell and clean the sink is to scrub it down with baking soda, lemon and lime essential oil and white vinegar.

Take about ½ cup baking soda and put it in a cereal bowl. Add a few drops of lemon and lime essential oils. Add 2-3 tablespoon white vinegar and watch the mixture bubble!

Give it a quick stir with your fingers or a spoon and pour over your sink. The abrasiveness of the baking soda eliminates stains, the vinegar helps cut through the "stuff" and the lemon and lime smell delicious!

Wipe down the inside of the microwave

Admittedly, this is one of my least favorite chores but boy does it feel great to have a clean microwave.

I am forever on the family about covering their food when they reheat it in the microwave. I hate spatter!

But hey - I'm not perfect and the other day I exploded a cup of spaghetti sauce in the microwave. We know it had to be cleaned and we know I'm the one that had to do it.

I like to grab a coffee cup, fill it with water and add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Set the microwave for a minute or two with the water filled coffee cup and give it a spin.

The acid from the vinegar or lemon will help soften any particles in the microwave making it waaaaay easier to clean it out.

I hope these kitchen cleaning hacks are helpful to you!

Is there an area you're trying to tackle? Comment below and I'm happy to help you out!