Kitchen clean checklist

The Kitchen - The most used space in the house. 

I know what its like after cooking a meal, the last thing you want to do it clean up! So don't feel ashamed if your kitchen gets a little bit on the grubby side and needs a deep clean. This happens to most families!

Before we get into this, there’s 2 ways to clean a kitchen

1. A full, pull your kitchen to pieces, appliances and crockery all over the place and declutter, then clean

OR

2. A deep clean that focuses on appliances and the outside of your cupboards.

For this we’re going to focus on the latter.  We all know we have cupboards that need sorting and that stupid potato masher that keeps catching on the utensil drawer is telling you to give it a clear out.

For now let’s focus on getting things clean, declutter can come later.

Let’s start with the dishwasher (if you’re fortunate enough to have one):

Start by emptying all the dishes and put them away.  Each dishwasher is a little different, but most will have a filter on the bottom of the inside.  Remove that filter and give it a scrub in the sink with hot water and washing up liquid.  It can get quite slimy from all the food that gets trapped and it’s so important to give it a scrub regularly. 

Once cleaned, pop it back in and grab a cloth.  Wipe around the edges of the dishwasher door which collects a lot of grime and doesn’t get cleaned when the machine is turned on – I’m always surprised how grubby mine is!

Now it’s time to let the machine do the cleaning.  There are lots of dishwasher cleaners out there, but bi-carb and lemon works great.  Spread a layer of bicarb on the bottom of the inside and cut 2 lemons in half and place on the top drawer.  You might want to squish the lemons into a spot so that they don’t move around.  Close the door and put it on the hottest wash your machine offers.

Wipe down the outside and let it do the rest.

Now let’s get on with the rest of the kitchen.  Start from the top down, this is the biggest tip I can offer you for cleaning anywhere.  Stuff falls down so there’s no point in giving the skirting boards and floor a scrub when you haven’t cleaned the bench yet!

If you have wall cupboards, start there.  Give the doors and handles a good clean with an all-purpose cleaner.  I like to use my DIY cleaning spray of ½ water, ½ vinegar and a generous squirt of high-quality washing-up liquid.  Using a microfiber cloth will help to clean up any marks on the doors and leave them streak free.

We’ve started at the top, so now work your way down to the wall in between the bench and wall cupboards.  In our house this spot ends up with food splatters, especially around the stove as everyone pays attention to the bench and not the wall!

Again, with my DIY spray and an microfiber cloth it will get cleaned up in no time at all.

Next up is the fridge/freezer.  It’s usually the biggest appliance in the kitchen and can seem like a really daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.

Firstly, go through all the shelves and throw out those leftovers you kept from last week and no one ate (top tip – instead of putting left overs on the fridge, put them in a freezable container and straight in the freezer, that way they won’t get forgotten about and thrown out because they’ve gone off!).  Be sure you check all the use by dates on the sauces and spreads too.

Start from the top and work your way down, I like to move everything from the top shelf down, remove the shelf and give it a wash and dry in the sink with good quality washing up liquid before putting back.  Wipe over the things you moved off the top shelf and put them back there.  Continue this as you go down the shelves and don’t forget to do the doors.

The same principle applies for the freezer but can be a bit trickier to keep everything frozen as you clean.  I grab my trusty esky and dump as much as possible in there so it’s easier to sort out what’s in there.  Top tip – if you have frost on the inside of your freezer you need to remove, try a plastic spatula and a hairdryer!  Gently melt a little of it with the hairdryer and the spatula will ping the ice off in no time – no need to fully empty and defrost your freezer.  If you can, move the fridge/freezer out from its place and see what surprises you can find!  We once found a missing pair of glasses!  So much gathers under the fridge/freezer and it needs to be cleaned up, so now is the time!  Vacuum up all the bits and pieces and give the space a mop before putting it back in it’s place.  It won’t look any different, but you’ll know that its super clean!

Now that you’ve tackled the biggest job, the others are going to be so easy!

Next on to the Air fryer (if you have one) The air fryer might be the most used appliance in our house and no one seems to realise that it needs to be cleaned!  So much grease can build up on the bottom, so remove any trays that might be in there and use a paper towel to wipe up the grease that’s collected.  Be sure to check which parts of your air fryer can be submerged in water before moving on to the next step.

Before we move on with the air fryer, let’s get started on the microwave.  Remove all parts that can be, i.e. turn table etc and grab a microwavable bowl and fill 1/3 of the way with water.  You can also add vinegar, or lemon at this stage, but I find water works just right.  Pop it in the microwave and turn on for 4 minutes on full power.

Now back to the air fryer…

Fill the sink with hot water and good quality washing up liquid and give those baskets, or whatever is washable, a good scrub.  Hot water and good quality washing up liquid is a must to dissolve all the grease that has collected.  Depending on when you last got around to this task, it might take a few goes to get them clean.

If you hear the microwave finish while you are cleaning, set a timer for 7 minutes and keep on with cleaning the air fryer.

Place your air fryer baskets on the drainer to drain off a little and let’s head back to the microwave.  After 7 minutes of waiting, it’s time to give the inside a wipe.  By letting the water bubble away in the microwave for 4 minutes and then sit for 7, it allows the steam to work on the bits that might have got stuck to the inside and now you should be able to just wipe them away.  If you’ve got a lot of stuck on bits, you might need to do another round of water and waiting.  Once the inside is clean, wash up the bits and pieces you removed and pop them all back in.  Use your cleaning spray and a clean microfiber cloth to give the outside a wipe over, and don’t forget to move the microwave and clean underneath!

It's not just the inside of the air fryer that gets grubby, make sure that you give the outside a good clean with your cleaning spray and again, clean underneath, you’d be surprised at what hides under appliances!

I like to give my air fryer basket a dab dry and them pop them back in and turn onto the hottest temperature for a few minutes to fully dry everything.

Your almost there, just one more appliance to go.  The oven!

I’ll admit, it’s probably the one I put off the most too. Recently though it was in dire need, and I managed to persuade my oldest daughter to clean it for me (tip #1, get someone else to do it 🤣)

If that can't be achieved, start by removing all racks and trays from the oven, I’ll tell you how to get them sparkling clean shortly. Tip: Make a paste from bi-carb and water and cover the stubborn baked on stuff with it. Allow to dry and then spray with vinegar. The fizzy chemical reaction helps loosen up gunky messes, then wipe away with a clean wet cloth. Be sure to rinse the oven well. Now for those racks….The quickest and easiest way I’ve found over the years is to pop them in the bath! Yep, you read that right, the bath. Place a towel or 2 on the bottom of your bath so that the racks don’t scratch it. Cover the racks with the hottest water you can get out of the tap and throw in a dishwashing tablet. Leave overnight and in the morning wipe clean, viola!  Don’t forget to wipe down the outside for the oven too.

Grab your cleaning spray and starting on the bench, go under all your appliances and anything else you might have sitting on the bench, give everything a clean and dry.  Keep working down and clean all your cupboards and eventually get down to the kick boards.  Those boards get so grubby, and we often don’t notice because they are so low (Top Tip – I get my kids to grab a cloth and wipe them for me, saves me getting down on the ground!)

Once you get to the floor, it’s time to sweep or vacuum up and give it a mop, but before you do, if the dishwasher has finished, open the door and remove the lemons from the top drawer and let the inside dry.

Giving the kitchen a really good clean can feel like a daunting task, but when you break it down to the essentials and get stuck in there, you’ll find it gets done quicker than you think.  Now go reward yourself with a cuppa (or wine) and rest knowing your kitchen is sparkling clean!