Motivation Spring Cleaning| weekly cleaning routine to keep the house clean

Spring is upon us, and it's time to do a deep kitchen clean. Not feeling like it? Watch me clean in this video, and maybe you will be motivated as well.

Today I am doing a full kitchen clean from range hood, cabinets, countertop to floor.

Spring has sprung. A little spring cleaning is needed after a long winter in our house. I will tackle the Kitchen as it needs the most cleaning up.

I hate cleaning. That is why I try to keep my best to keep my surroundings neat and clean as I go, so I do not have a huge mess to clean up afterwards. When you have young kids, your countertop and kitchen floor is bound to have some food and handprints smeared somewhere. The bare minimum that try to I do daily is to keep my countertop and kitchen sink free of clutter and clean.

These are my routines on daily/weekly cleaning to help keep my kitchen area clean. These routines are easy and just make sense.

Cabinets

o Cabinets get overlooked easily, but accumulate a lot of dirt because of the frequent usage. My cabinets are overdue for a good cleaning. Especially the ones closest to my stove.

o I use one part vinegar and one part water as my cleaning solution. As cabinets are very close to stove and countertop. I want to use natural cleaning products as much as I can.

o I have a lot of storage in my kitchen, but it also means a lot of cleaning up.

o Microwave is also another often used small appliance. It’s gathered a lot of dust and dirt over time.

Range Hood

o My range hood is really gross. Oil and humidity created this sticky film over my range hood. This was overdue for a good cleaning. I’m glad I’m doing this today.

Oven wipe clean

o I do a high level wipe down on the oven stove each week. Because the stove is right on top of the oven, the oven door gets dirty easily. Over time, the grease can accumulate and collect dirt.

o By that time, you will use a bit more elbow grease to scrub everything. It is also a fire hazard. I find that it’s much easier if I make it a habit to just do a quick wipe after each use. the top side of the cabinet door is also important

Window blinds cleaning

o I started out wiping down the blinds closed, but this was harder and taking longer than I expected, so I looked up how to efficiently clean leaflets. Turns out, it’s much simpler if you opened the blinds and pinch the blinds with your thumb and index finger, and slide it over.

o Honestly, I do not wipe down the blinds that often. However, because this window blinds is so close to the sink, it gets a lot of splash from the sink. Also since we always keep this window open while cooking, it gets a lot of moisture and dirt from the outside. I use a wet wipe to clean the leaflets. The dirt accumulated is so gross.

Countertop wipe down with vinegar

o My countertop needs constant cleaning. After every meal, the countertop and table would be scattered with food particles. I use soapy water to do a deep clean every week, but most of the time I just use water and a little bit of vinegar.

o Today I am doing a deep clean on the counter top. I want to wipe down on places where I normally do not get to.

Sink scrubbing cleaning

o Sink is another most used kitchen area. Scrub the sink to clean out bacteria growth. I scrub the sink down about two to three times a week. Taking that extra step to keep the sink clean and free of dirty dishes from the night before just makes my mind freeing and relaxed the next morning.

o Run hot water for a bit to rinse out the drain.

Floor sweep daily

o Floor is another part of area that needs constant cleaning. My kids come home with muddy shoes, and I cannot always stop a toddler running into the kitchen with her muddy shoes still on.

o These are Anti-fatigue mats from Costco. You can find them at any big name stores. They range from $20 - $40 CDN. Very good investment if you have to stand for a long periods. I bought them for my standing desk in the office, but have moved them here since I started working from home more.

o Kids drop food everywhere. Vacuuming is a must after a snack or a meal time.

Backsplash wipe down

o Backsplash can be wiped down every time after cooking. I make it a habit to just do a quick wipe down so the grease and dirt do not accumulate over time.

Dish drying rack

o As much as I trust the cleanliness of a dishwasher, there are a few things that I just prefer to hand wash. For example, my children’s water bottles and utensils. After washing them, these items will sit on the drying rack, and needs to be cleaned out every morning. Over time, the water collected will also accumulate dirt.

Dishwasher twice a week

o We run the dishwasher probably twice a week. We are a family of four so we accumulate most of our dishes at dinner time. We scrub dirty dishes with water and sponge to rid of any residual food, and leave it in the dish washer for the next load.

Dish towels twice a week in laundry

o Dish towels get the most use daily. It starts to smell after a few uses no matter how you much wash them after each use. It’s time to put them in the laundry. I put them in the laundry twice a week, and run a cycle with a little bleach once a month to help sanitize any bacterial growth.