8 Week Cleaning Challenge: Kitchen

Welcome to week eight of the 8 Week Cleaning Challenge! This week we are working to clean and organize the kitchen.

 

It’s the final week of our cleaning challenge. I hope this series has helped you get your home clean and organized over the past 8 weeks. If you fell behind at some point, no worries. There is no prize for completing the challenge on time (except that your house is clean). This is simply a tool to help you consider how to deep clean the spaces in your home. You can start anywhere you’d like and take as long as you’d like.

I decided to save the kitchen for the last week of the challenge because there is so much to do in this area: refrigerator, freezer, pantry, microwave, sink, dishwasher, etc. I figured if one place may take a little longer than one week to complete, it would probably be the kitchen. Here’s the plan for this week:

Clean & Organize the Kitchen

• Wash The Kitchen Floor- If you have tile or linoleum in your kitchen, here is a DIY Floor Cleaner I use. Need to clean those grout lines? Try this DIY Grout Cleaner… it’s amazing!
• Wash Your Counters- Here is a DIY All Purpose Spray I use on my counters
• Organize Your Cupboards- This means thoroughly going through each cupboard and disposing of things that no longer work, donating items that are in good condition (but are never used), and organizing everything that’s leftover.
• Go Through Your Cookbooks and Recipes- I did this awhile ago and realized I had a large collection of cookbooks that didn’t get a lot of use. If any cookbook was used for just a couple recipes, I made copies of them and then donated the book. One of the best things I’ve done is to create a recipe binder for loose recipes.
• Go Through The Food In Your Pantry and Clean It Up- We are all known for finding items in our pantry that expired months (even years) ago. It is time to toss out all that expired food. If you have unopened items that have not expired, and you know it’s highly unlikely you’ll use them before they go bad, donate them to the local food bank. As you go through the food items, wash down the shelves. Check out some budget-friendly ideas to organize your pantry.
• Organize The Area Under Your Kitchen Sink- For some reason the space under the kitchen sink becomes a catch-all for a lot of stuff. Take time to pull everything out of this area and, again, toss, donate, & organize. Years ago, I organized the area under our kitchen sink and still use the system a decade later.
• Clean Your Garbage Disposal- Learn how to make your own garbage disposal bombs to freshen things up
• Thoroughly Clean Out and Wash Your Refrigerator- Don’t forget to clean your refrigerator coils as well as the water dispenser and drip tray. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also make your own DIY Fridge Deodorizer to keep the fridge smelling fresh.
• Thoroughly Clean Out and Wash Your Freezer- Check out some freezer organization ideas here… and a free printable.
• Wash Windows- These are my favorite cleaning product when it comes to cleaning glass (no cleaning solution needed).
• Dust Blinds
• Vacuum/Dust Baseboards
• Clean the Microwave
• Clean Your Oven and Stove Top Grates (if you have a gas stove) or Glass Stove Top
• Clean Your Coffee Maker/Keurig
• Clean Your Dishwasher
• Dust/Clean Heating Vents & Cold Air Returns

Here are a few other posts that may come in handy:

• Cleaning Stainless Steel
• Cleaning A Porcelain Sink
• Removing Hard Water/Mineral Deposits
• Naturally Polishing Silverware

As always, here is your printable for this week: 8 Week Cleaning Challenge: Kitchen

Click Here for Some Amazing Kitchen Cleaning Tips

Week 1: Bathrooms | Week 2: Bedrooms | Week 3: Laundry Room | Week 4: Closets | Week 5: Living Spaces | Week 6: Office | Week 7: Entry | Week 8: Kitchen

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