With it still being spring, you may have thought about doing some spring cleaning. Or, maybe you thought about how to avoid it. While it may not be your idea of fun, it is an important step in keeping you and your family healthy and keeping your household organized. Here are some basic tips for cleaning your kitchen:

• Go through your pantry, and kitchen cabinets. Check the expiration dates and throw out whatever is old, and for any food that you find that you no longer eat but isn’t yet expired, you can donate to a food pantry. Dust the shelves and wipe up any old sticky spills. Once the shelves are dry, place food items back in the pantry/cabinets by using the “first in, first out” method—meaning the older items should be placed in the front so you can use them up before they expire, and the newer stuff goes in the back.
• Go through food in the refrigerator and freezer and throw out anything that’s expired or that you want to donate. To wipe the shelves, go through one shelf at a time and, if you think it will take you more than hour, place food in a cooler so that it’s not sitting at room temperature. Wipe sticky bottles before putting them back and remember the “first in, first out” rule.
• For cabinets and drawers that are used to store kitchen items and not food, start with one drawer/cabinet at a time and toss anything that is broken. Once dry, place items back. Replace shelf paper if you have any.
• Garbage cans and recycle bins should be cleaned and sanitized to prevent the spread of bacteria. To sanitize, you can use one tablespoon regular bleach to one gallon of water after cleaning and let air dry (Hart, 2015).
• Clean cabinet doors using a cleaning product that is meant for the type of cabinets you have. Don’t forget the knobs.
• Clean and sanitize counters once you are finished going through cabinets, drawers, and the pantry. Remember to clean the backsplash too.
• Lastly, the floors: sweep, and then mop or steam mop.

Featured image by Syda Productions – stock.adobe.com

References: Hart, J. (2015). Kitchen Spring Cleaning-Part 1. Retrieved from http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/kitchen_spring_cleaning_part_1

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