Spring Cleaning the Kitchen

How to Clear the Clutter

• 1Label the two big boxes with the marker as "Give Away," and "Put Away."
• 2Go through each drawer, countertop, and cupboard, one section at a time. Throw away anything that's broken, expired, or that is trash right into the black bag. Do you really need that pan with the scraped off non-stick coating?
• 3Ask yourself if you need each item. When was the last time you really used a melon-baller? How about that special hot dog cooker? Do you need 4 sets of dishes? Eighteen sauce pans? Anything that is still good, but you just don't use, goes into the "Give Away" box. Anything that is not a kitchen item goes into the "Put Away" box.
• 4After you have culled out what you don't need, put away the items that don't belong in the kitchen to their proper places. Take the "Give Away" box to the Goodwill store donations. Others can use what was languishing as clutter in your kitchen. You can smile about that.

How to Clean and Arrange Your Kitchen

1. Working top to bottom, clear off and clean each surface in the kitchen, using spray cleaner and paper towels. Start with the highest cupboard interiors, and door surfaces. Work quickly, going over each shelf and door, high to low. Move everything to clean under it.
2. Use fresh eyes to analyze how you use your kitchen. It's helpful to me to pretend that the kitchen is not mine, and that I'm seeing it for the first time. Then I think," If this were MY kitchen..."
3. Arrange kitchen items by where and how they are used. Think about where you want to do prep work like cutting up ingredients. Move the knife block and cutting boards there. Make sure the pots, pans, and potholders are stored close to the stove. All the baking equipment should be stored together. Infrequently used items should be stored up high or farther away from work areas.
4. Clean all counter top items with your spray cleaner and paper towels.

How To Clean Out the Refrigerator

• 1First, take all the magnets and coupons, notices, and kids' drawings, etc. off of the refrigerator exterior. Quickly go through them, checking expiration dates, etc. Do I need it? Has it served its purpose? If in doubt, throw it away.
  
  Wipe down the exterior of the refrigerator with a sponge and warm, soapy water. Clean the rubbery seal on the door too.
• 2Next, empty one shelf at a time, and throw away anything that is old, moldy, or that you know you will not use, ever. Just dump it right into your big black trash bag. Do the same thing with the door shelves. Get rid of that gooseberry jam from 3 years ago, the tidbit of hardened cheese, and definitely those mystery morsels. Anything questionable is out!
  
  Place all the good food in a cooler while you clean the inside of your fridge.
• 3Now it's time to pull on the rubber gloves, and wipe down the shelves and sides of the refrigerator with warm sudsy water. Take out vegetable bins and other removable drawers to clean them in the sink. Wipe down the inside of the door after removing door bins. Wash all removable bins in the sink too.
  
  Wipe everything down with cool, clear water afterwards.
• 4Replace the food into your sparkling, fresh refrigerator. Put all the sandwich makings together, and group other foods together in categories too. Take this opportunity to adjust the height of any shelves that need it.
• 5Now, follow the same steps for the freezer. Throw away anything that is freezer burned, unmarked, or suspect in any way. Frozen things go bad too.