3. Clean Your Kitchen like a pro
Every night you should have all of the dishes washed and put away and counters wiped down before you go to bed. OK, you caught me. I do leave the dishes to dry on the rack overnight and put them away in the morning 😉
Wipe things up while the spots are still fresh saves a lot of time – instead of struggling to scrub it off after it’s hardened. The same goes for dishes!
Sinks -To clean up porcelain sinks, use plain old Comet. For stainless steel sinks, daily wipe down with scrubby sponge and dish soap, rinse and shine up with paper towels. As needed, clean with Soft Scrub.
If a little more help is needed place just a capful of bleach in a gallon of water. Clean sink. Rinse well immediately.
Many of the newer sinks recommend good old Bon-Ami. Always check manufacturers instructions.
To shine up chrome- put a little rubbing alcohol on a rag or paper towel. Works like a charm. It will remove some grease build up, but otherwise not effective as a cleaner. This trick only works on chrome, not stainless steel.
Do one of these each night during the week after you’ve done the dishes –
- Wipe down all counters and back splashes. Accessories and small appliances should be wiped and glass cleaned, and move them to clean behind and under. I just use the dish water and a dish rag.
- Stove- Soak and clean burner covers and drip pans. Most can be put in the dishwasher. That Dawn Power spray helps clean it up a lot faster! Use it to clean under the range-hood too. Soft Scrub and a scrubby sponge work too. Do not scrub too hard, even with a scrubby sponge. You can take the paint off. Open your stove top and clean out crumbs and spills. All accessible surfaces should be cleaned and glass cleaned. Take the knobs off and clean under them too!
Use only the recommended cleaners for your glass cook tops.
Danger! Using steel wool is dangerous. You can scratch the surfaces if you are not very, very careful. Even scrubby sponges can scratch. Be very careful. Do not use any steel wool or scrubby sponges on the glass fronts on the stove, especially around the timer and clock. They scratch very easily. So many of the new surfaces scratch easily. That makes it even more important to keep grease and dirt from getting built up.
If you have some built up burnt on stuff, you can soak it with soapy water and work at it with your thumbnail. If that still doesn’t work – very carefully use the pointy tip of a nail file. Soak it first, and be very gentle so you do not scratch the surface. I questioned whether to include this tip, but sometimes you need a little extra. I’m going to assume that you will be responsible. Please be very gentle and careful. I don’t want you scratching your stove!
- Cabinets- Wipe all cabinet fronts with a damp rag. You can use Murphy’s Oil Soap if needed. I like to lemon oil my wood cabinets once every couple months to keep them looking like new. My cabinets are over 20 years old and still looking great.
- Microwave- clean inside and out. For stubborn stuck on stuff, put a cup of water in the microwave for 90 seconds. The stuck on stuff will come off easily. I can only think of 2 times when this trick did not work. Shine the outside with with glass cleaner.
And – Refrigerator and dishwasher- clean the outside with soapy water and shine with glass cleaner. Use the recommended products for stainless steel. Whoever thought that was a good idea that your appliances should need polishing and buffing to look good should be shot in my opinion… It had to be a man!
- Dust all windows and treatments. Vacuum rugs and floors. Wash floors and baseboards.
For greasy build-up, Fantastic Orange or Formula 409 work pretty well.
Here’s a homemade solution that works pretty well –
¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup blue Dawn dish soap
clean spray bottle
Heat vinegar in a glass measuring up in the microwave to just boiling. Microwaves vary. Just watch carefully.
Pour in the Dawn and mix well. It gets creamy.
Let it cool a minute or two.
Pour into the spray bottle.
You can use this as an all purpose cleaner. It has spread far and wide on the internet as a magic solution for water spots on glass shower doors. I’ve tried it, and it did not work, and its very hard to rinse. Use sparingly. But I have been happy with it for cleaning the stove, the rangehood, stainless steel sinks, walls, and more.
