Archive for the ‘Home Tips’ Category

by Iza del Carmen, MomAuthority.com

With the fresh air flowing through the windows, this is a great time to use oven cleaner. Spray it on and let it sit while you tackle another task. Those with self-cleaning ovens might want to run their cycle the night before a spring cleaning to keep from heating the kitchen up too much and making themselves uncomfortable.

While the oven cleaner is doing its job, start tackling the cabinets. Again, working from the top down, remove everything from the cabinet and wipe out the shelves thoroughly to remove any dust. Before putting anything away, look for any broken items or things that haven’t been used in years. If you don’t think you will ever need it again, throw it out or put it in a box to be donated. Wipe down the fronts of the cabinets to remove dust and drips from spills.

When cleaning out the cabinets, you will likely come across storage containers and lids that have become estranged from their mates. Collect these strays off to the side, until your cleanup is complete. If you have finished cleaning and there is still no match for some of your food storage pieces, throw them away. No matter how much we wish, these mysterious missing pieces will likely never reappear.

Once the cabinets have been wiped out, sort your dishes, glasses, and cookware by its usage level. Replace the cabinet liners if necessary. Put the things that are used most often on easily accessible shelves. Things that are used more rarely can be placed on the top shelves, toward the back of your lower cabinets, or stored elsewhere until they are needed.

By now the oven cleaner should have done its job, so its time to tackle the stove. Follow the directions on the over cleaner that you used and don’t forget about the oven racks and broiler drawer, if you have one. Remove the burners on your range, if possible, and clean the stovetop and drip pans thoroughly. If the stovetop lifts up, wipe underneath to get all of the bits of food that have fallen through. Check the manufacturers directions before removing parts of the stove to be on the safe side.

Grab the trashcan and head to the pantry. Sort through the boxes and cans, checking for expired food, opened jar and boxes that may not be fresh any longer, and items that you will not likely ever use. Throw away the outdated food and opened, expired items and box up the things you won’t use to send to the local food bank. Wipe down the shelves and replace things neatly so that finding everything is a breeze. Get a head start on your grocery list while you’re at it, by making notes on things that you are out of or had to throw away.

Spring Cleaning In The Kitchen, Part 2 (c) 2008 MomAuthority.com

by Iza del Carmen, MomAuthority.com

Spring cleaning in the kitchen is probably the hardest task of all. As many call it the heart of the home, it certainly deserves some extra love and care when cleaning time rolls around. Here are some great tips that can help you get your kitchen clean and organized.

Start from the top and work down, to keep from having to clean the same areas over again. If you wipe out the cabinets after scrubbing the countertops, you will probably have to clean the counters again.

If you have areas around the stove that have grease build up, spray them down and let it sit while working on other projects. This will cut the time it takes to scrub off the set in grease significantly.

Start by cleaning the cobwebs and dust that has collected on the walls over the winter. As you are dusting, decide if the walls need a thorough scrub down, a quick wipe, or just a spot cleaning. Save yourself some elbow grease for other tasks, if the walls seem to be in good shape.

Wipe of the tops of the cabinets and higher shelves next. Declutter the top of the refrigerator while you have out the stepstool and are lugging it around. Also, while the stepstool or ladder is out, take down the curtains or blinds and clean them or replace them, if necessary. If you have a ceiling fan in your kitchen, now would be a prime time to clean the dust and polish the metal fixtures.

While your window treatments are out of the way, clean your windows and screens. Make sure to do both the inside and outside, to keep the room feeling bright and cheerful. Leave the windows open once the screens have been replaced, to let some fresh air in and the fumes of the cleaning products out.

Hit the fridge next, taking everything out of both the refrigerator and freezer. Throw away expired food, almost empty items, and anything that looks as if it has taken on a life of its own. In the freezer, trash anything that might be past its expiration date or has developed freezer burn. Get the trash bag full of food outside and in a sealed garbage can. This will keep the smells out of your house and the local wildlife from having a buffet in your yard.

Remove the shelves from the refrigerator and wash them well. Take out the meat and vegetable drawers and give them a good soak, as well. Defrost the freezer if needed and wipe out the inside of both the fridge and freezer. Before replacing the shelves and drawers, pull the refrigerator out, unplug it and vacuum the coils. Clean up the dirt and grime underneath and get the “hidden treasures” from under and behind the fridge.

Cleaning out the kitchen can be a big job! In Part 2 of this article, we’ll discuss some more tasks to give your kitchen a thorough spring cleaning.

Spring Cleaning The Kitchen, Part 1 (c) 2008 MomAuthority.com