Kitchen cupboards and kitchen drawers, yes, they need to be cleaned this spring.

Now, before you start kicking and screaming (because I know this is a big job), I am going to show you how to make it as simple and methodical as possible.  That way when you are doing it, at least you have a plan of action and know what you have to do.  I think it will help you stay focussed and goal-oriented also.

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It feels oh-so good!

I’ll also mention how great it felt once this job was done.  My kitchen has so much more space and is less cluttered, not to mention felt cleaner.  Now, this is admittedly a bigger job, since kitchens have several cupboards and drawers and stuff which hasn’t been touched in a while.  My house is about 1800 square feet, and I have a fairly small kitchen with minimal storage (side note: I can’t even find drawer organizers for our little micro drawers – of which we have 4.  Anyway, I’ll rant about my kitchen size later.).  My kitchen took just under 3 hours to do, but keep in mind we were also filming.  So, without filming (which is how I suspect you’ll be doing this), it could take about 2 hours.

What you’ll need:

• microfiber cloths
• step stool
• all-purpose cleaner
• garbage bag
• recycling bag
• donation bag
• baking soda
• sponge (scrubby)
• Shelf liners (optional)
• music
• handheld vacuum (or, a vacuum with a crevice tool or brush attachment) – if you don’t have this you can use a little handheld broom

If you are interested in any of the tools or products I’ve used to do this task, check out these items on Amazon!

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Let’s get cracking!

1. Start by choosing your music, I chose some 80’s playlist on Songza and at some point during the video you can actually see me turn around and sing passionately (it actually looks like I am yelling and waving my fist at Chad…).
2. Clear off your kitchen counter or table entirely.  You’re going to need a lot of space to put everything on.
3. Then, start at one end of the kitchen and tackle all top cupboards first working your way to the other end, leaving bottom cupboards and drawers for the second round (and the repeat, one end to the other).
4. Remove everything and put it on the counter.
5. Vacuum the cupboard shelves/drawer to remove debris.
6. Spray the cupboard shelves/drawer, hinges/sliders, doors (inside and out) and then wipe clean with your microfiber cloth.  If you encounter a stain, sprinkle baking soda over the stain and scrub it out with a sponge.  Wipe clean and dry.
7. Sort through items, decide what gets tossed, recycled or donated.
8. Put everything else back in an organized fashion.  If you want to get funky fresh, you can find some organization solutions for cupboards and drawers.  I have a neat one for cans (but I can’t find it online anywhere, I bought mine at Dollarama, a Canadian dollar store).

That’s it – so methodical it could be in a 10th grade science textbook.

Zee Junk Drawer

Now, if you have a junk drawer (ours contains random kitchen tools, #storageproblems), empty the entire thing out and place all contents in a bin (but sort the items first and get rid of anything you are sure you don’t need).  Then, keep it on the counter for 3 months (hide it when guests come over, of course).  Whenever you need something, take it out of the bin, use it and then place it in the drawer.  At the end of 3 months, anything remaining in the bin likely isn’t needed so you can donate the items.

Cutlery Trays

Now, this got cut out of the video because it was already 10 minutes long, but it’s a key point and I want to tell you about it.  When you take your cutlery out of the drawer, you’re going to see all kinds or atrocities in that cutlery storage tray.  Crumbs, plastic thingies, shrivelled noodles, brown stains etc.  So, empty it out, place it face down on the top rack of your dishwasher, and run it through.  It’ll come out nice and clean and your drawer will look doubly awesome.

If you want to dig deeper and start taking your cleaning a bit more seriously then check out our E-Book Bundle! It encompasses 3 fantastic e-books (Complete Guide to Essential Oils, My 3-Wave Cleaning System, 50 DIY Cleaning Recipes) that will get you started in the right direction!

 More “Spring Cleaning Season” Videos!

Spring Clean Your Front Closet! 
Cosmetics & Toiletries Spring Cleaning Purge! 
Spring Cleaning Motivation! 

Ok you, good luck – I know you can do this!