Spring Cleaning - The Kitchen

Note: I began this post on March 17 and am just getting around to posting it. So sad. It took me forever to load the pictures!! Oh well, better late than never.

I have really been in a cleaning frenzy lately. I kind of went into it on my frugal blog, but I think this post goes here, on the personal blog. Who knows? Basically what I'm saying is you should follow both blogs so you don't miss anything. :) So my spring cleaning adventure begins in the kitchen. Now, I had already gone over the counters on this section of the kitchen, so that was one less thing for me to do. First step - the baking cabinets.

Basically, the top shelf was a mish-mash of stuff - duplicate herbs, sugars, and other random items. The second shelf is measuring cups, sugar for the coffee, and more herbs. The lowest shelf is for items I use very frequently. It had all just kind of gotten out of order as I move things around hurriedly when I'm cooking, or when Stephen puts things back, or just because there's so much stuff in there!

I took everything off the shelves and wiped them down. Then I put everything back on the shelves (discarding some old herbs and sauces, and I combined all my powdered sugar into one large container which gave me some extra room).

Ahhhh, so much easier on the eyes! I also keep a list of what I have in here so I don't go and buy baking powder when I don't really need it or yet another box of powdered sugar! That has been really handy to me. Next to be cleaned were the cabinets. This was pretty easy. I started a box upstairs that will go in the attic of kitchen items we haven't used in a really long time but I'm not quite ready to give away yet. This includes a couple of bread baskets, extra bowls, our wok, and extra pans, but I'm not saving the extra cookie jar or the sixth (or more) cake pan I saw. Space was immediately cleared up and I'm already breathing easier!

I am loving these great chalkboard decals I got for just a couple of bucks! They are so cute, and now no one is confused about what is in the jar!

I was able to convert this unused cookie jar:

into a jar for powdered sugar. Voila!

Another thing that you just have to do is clean the oven and refrigerator! Now I clean the refrigerator every other week. But moving the oven and scrubbing it down is a once-a-year affair! I wish I had a "before" picture... actually, no I don't. It would gross you out. Tell you what, move your oven and look at the floor and post your picture. Then I will feel better about my oven's dirty little secret. BUT, my oven is clean now! At least for this year!!

Next on the agenda: the cabinets. Most of the cabinets just needed a little straightening, but one of the ones that was out of control was the one above the stove. It was half cookbooks and half miscellaneous eBay items.

Oh, and not to mention the random cookbooks in the living room.

Found a home for all the ebay stuff, and now my cookbooks fit here. Much better!

If you recall, my computer crashed several weeks ago. I finally got around to ordering a new one, and I decided when I was setting it up that this area needed a makeover.

Before:

After:

The other cabinet that was out of control was the tupperware: I got rid of a bunch of sizes we never use and some miscellaneous items in this drawer and it's much better now!

Here is my kitchen spring cleaning list, if you haven't started yet and are needing some ideas:

• Clean the oven. Clean the stove top. Move the range away from the wall and clean the floor and cabinets around it.
• Empty out the food cupboards. Throw away old food and old spices. Wipe down the shelves. Reorganize and restock. Make a list of items needing to be replaced.
• Empty out the refrigerator. Wipe down the shelves, wash the drawers. Throw away old food and condiments. Make a list of items needing to be replaced. Clean the outside of the refrigerator. (Note: I do this once every two weeks so that it doesn't build up and makes for a fast clean-up job!)
• Remove everything from the counter tops. Wipe down the counter tops, backsplashes, appliances. (Note: I try to do this every night right before going to bed. It, too, makes for less cleaning in the long run!)
• Break the garbage can down. Clean and sanitize.
• I have a large bookshelf with cookbooks: Pull cookbooks off shelf. Wipe down shelves. Dust cookbooks. Restock and reorganize.
• Steam mop the floors and baseboards.

Some other things that you may need to do that I don't do just because it's not necessary:

• Vacuum any vents.
• Clean any walls, door frames and door handles.
• Wash the front of the cupboards.
• Polish your stainless steel.
• Wash curtains and windows.
• Remove any light fixtures and wash them.
• Pull furniture away from walls and clean behind the furniture.

And most importantly, don't let your cleaning overtake you! I came home one night to see an item added to my checklist... Stephen had written in, "Enjoy your husband!!!!!!!!!"

Obviously I was spending too much time cleaning and not enough time with him. :) Lesson learned. I'll never clean again. Just kidding!!

Eventually I will post the rest of my rooms as I complete spring cleaning!