Kitchen cleaning checklist

Nov 07, 2012 1:19 AM by
Posted in Food & Recipes / Quick & Easy Recipes
Woman cleaning kitchen

The kitchen is the hub of the household and keeping it clean can be a challenge! Using this simple checklist, you'll have your kitchen to spic and span in no time.

How to keep a clean kitchen

Refrigerator

Think about the number of times unwashed hands open the refrigerator door! Keep your tallest appliance nice and clean with daily, weekly and monthly cleaning routines.

Daily

Wipe down the exterior with warm soapy water and dry with a clean cloth, or use a disposable wipe, such as Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes (especially good for those germy refrigerator handles).

Weekly

Clean the shelves and drawers inside the refrigerator and toss old leftovers and expired foods. (Plan to do this the day before the garbage man comes.) Reorganize and update your grocery list.

Monthly

Move the refrigerator and vacuum behind and underneath it. Keep an open box of baking soda inside the refrigerator to absorb odors and replace monthly.


Countertops

Your kitchen will look and feel cleaner if the countertops are always clean.

Daily

Wipe down the counters at least once a day — probably more, if you’re a three-squares-a-day family. Use warm soapy water or a disinfecting wipe — and try to contain crumbs before they hit the floor.

Weekly

Clean the backsplash as you would the countertops. Dry to prevent streaks and water spots. Use a basket to gather things that don’t belong on the counters — jewelry, mail — to return to their rightful homes.

Monthly

If you have specialty countertops, refer to the manufacturer’s cleaning methods, solutions and sealing recommendations.


Stove/Oven

Cooking on a dirty stove is unappetizing, so keep yours nice and clean!

Daily

Wipe up spills before they can bake onto the surface of the stove. For tough jobs, sprinkle baking soda onto a damp cloth, scour and rinse. Remove any foods that may have fallen to the bottom of the oven while baking.

Weekly

Use a disinfecting wipe to clean the microhood or vent. Remove the stove knobs and clean behind them. Wipe down oven door.

2–3 Times a year

Pull out the stove and clean the walls and floors behind it. Run the self-cleaning oven.


Floors

Save floor cleaning for last since much of what you cleaned from other parts of the kitchen may end up there…

Daily

  • Use a damp paper towel or a disinfecting wipe to clean small spills and scuffs... and get to them before they have a chance to dry.
  • Working from the walls toward the middle of the room, use a dry sweeper or dust mop and dustpan to take care of errant crumbs.

Weekly

  • Using a damp paper towel or your vacuum's crevice tool, clean the corners you may have missed with daily sweeping.
  • Wash the floor using a cleaner that’s recommended for your flooring type or a safe homemade solution of water, vinegar and a drop of dishwashing liquid.

Sinks

Ew! Bacteria love kitchen sinks and faucets. After you've cleaned the rest of the kitchen, make sure your sink is germ-free.

Daily

After washing dishes and/or loading the dishwasher, clean faucets and sink with disinfecting wipes. Dry (because germs prefer damp places).

Weekly

Deodorize drains by pouring 1 cup baking soda down the drain followed by 1 cup hot, distilled vinegar. Let sit for five minutes, then flush with hot water.

Monthly

Sanitize the garbage disposal with a commercial kitchen cleaning solution or a homemade cleaning agent like those found on How To Clean Stuff.

Expert Tip

Clean from the top down so dust from the cabinets doesn’t fall onto clean countertops and then onto clean floors. ~Bruce Lubin, author of Who Knew?

More helpful kitchen tips

No-mess cooking
How to prevent food borne illnesses
Stop the spread of salmonella

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Comments

Comments on "Kitchen cleaning checklist"

Kendra November 08, 2012 | 4:12 PM

Great list! I like the expert tip about cleaning from the top down. A lot of times I clean the floor (I clean it daily, a little OCD) and then the counters which leads to crumbs on my just-cleaned floor!

Celeste November 07, 2012 | 12:09 PM

Great kitchen cleaning checklist! I like the tip about cleaning the exterior of the refrigerator because sometimes people overlook this and only focus on keeping the inside of their fridges clean. I also like the idea of pouring baking soda, vinegar and hot water down the sink drain. Lots of food and liquids go down our sinks and germs love to live there.

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