5 Tips For Spring Cleaning The Kitchen

Here are 5 tips for spring cleaning the kitchen, as well as organizing it, to make it easier to clean and get meals on the table.

Spring is finally in the air, and after a cold winter it's time to throw open the windows to let in some fresh air, and get the house back into order after a long hibernation.

A great place to start your house revitalization projects is in the kitchen, so here's my top 5 spring cleaning and organizing tips for your kitchen.

Decide How Much Time You Have To Devote To A Deep Cleaning

Just like with about anything in life, you can decide how thoroughly you want to do a task. A light spring cleaning, if that's all you've got time for, is much better than no spring cleaning at all.

But what is bad is making a worse mess because you bite off more than you can chew and then have to stop the project in the middle, when things are messier instead of actually cleaner.

So before you begin pulling your kitchen apart trying to clean it all you should realistically consider how much time total you've got to devote to the project, and if you have to break up the total amount of time, how long each stretch of time is as well.

If, for example, you want to devote an entire afternoon to deep cleaning, jump on in and get going.

However, if you want to devote 30 minutes a day for a week to the project (which is still about the same amount of time as a whole afternoon, but broken up over several days), arrange the projects to be completed within those shorter time periods so you always leave your kitchen at least no messier than you found it, and hopefully actually cleaner!

That often means at the end of each cleaning session, cleaning up from your clean up for a few minutes.

This simple step of developing a realistic cleaning plan before you begin will lessen your frustration with any cleaning project, significantly.

Do Your Normal Kitchen Clean Up Before You Begin Deep Cleaning

Before you get started on real spring cleaning you need to go ahead and clean up the basics first within your kitchen.

This includes things like washing dishes, putting them away and wiping down counters and other surfaces.

This gives you a base of general cleanliness within the kitchen to later build off of, once you begin the bigger tasks.

Here are the 6 daily tasks for a clean kitchen to make sure you've hit all the basics first.

Clean From Top To Bottom

When doing a deep clean you should typically begin at the top and work your way down. This allows any dust, dirt or grime to float downward and be cleaned last instead of scattered over already clean surfaces.

I suggest starting with cleaning your kitchen cabinets, and then work downward in the kitchen, next hitting major appliances like your oven and stove top, and then your refrigerator and freezer.

Next deal with cleaning smaller kitchen appliances sitting on counters, and then focus on cleaning the counters themselves, along with the sink.

Then move on to deep cleaning inside your cabinets and drawers, including cleaning your pots, pans and bakeware thoroughly, as well as focusing on cleaning and odor removal from drains.

Lastly focus on a deep clean of your kitchen floors.

You can follow along with the schedule I've created, as part of the 31 Days of Spring Cleaning, in the kitchen section, to see the order I recommend (along with a free printable!)

Don't Forget To Clean Behind & Under Appliances

One difference between a general cleaning and a major kitchen spring cleaning is finally cleaning those hard to reach areas. And one of the biggest hard to reach areas in your kitchen is behind and under your appliances.

It is amazing to me, each time I move these large and heavy objects in my kitchen, how much dirt and dust and debris I find under and behind them.

Only do this step if you can do so safely though, and know how to properly move each appliance. You definitely don't want to hurt yourself or your appliances just in the name of cleaning. After all, always observe spring cleaning safety rules!

But assuming you can do this step properly it really does make a huge difference, plus it can also lengthen the life of your appliances, especially if you'll clean your refrigerator coils!

As You Clean Each Area Be Sure To Declutter & Organize

As you are moving around all these objects in your kitchen to clean them you are bound to come across things and ask yourself, "why do I even have this?" If you come across obvious junk, trash, or items you haven't used in years take the opportunity, right then, to get them out of your home so they aren't taking up valuable space in the kitchen.

You can find a long list of types of items to at least consider decluttering from your kitchen here.

Similarly, you may also notice you've got related items stashed in lots of spaces in your kitchen, like kitchen utensils in three different drawers. Use this opportunity, while you're doing your kitchen spring cleaning, to also put like items together so you don't have to search three different spots to find your favorite stirring spoon anymore.

You can get lots more tips for how to get your kitchen organized here.

What tasks do you think are must do's when spring cleaning in the kitchen? I'd love to know, so, tell me your own tips and ideas below in the comments.

In addition, while you'll need an annual good scrubbing down of your kitchen, that by itself wouldn't be nearly enough to keep it clean. Instead, kitchens need to be cleaned regularly. You can make the task faster with these tips for speed cleaning your kitchen here.

Related Pages You May Enjoy

How To Clean Anything In Your Home: A Room By Room Guide

Round Up Of Kitchen Cleaner Reviews

Over 30 Kitchen Cleaning Hints & Tricks To Make This Task Easier

Go From 5 Tips For Spring Cleaning The Kitchen To Home Page

CAUTION: This website is provided for informational purposes only. It is provided as is, without warranties or guarantees. Some stains and messes just won't come out, and are permanent. Further, some cleaning methods can harm your item, so if what you want to clean or launder is sentimental or expensive call a professional. See disclaimer of liability for more information.