Blog Categories

A Fresh Life New Year’s Resolution: How to Purge, Clean & Organize Your Kitchen and Pantry

 

Deep cleaning your kitchen for a fresh start to the New Year is not for wimps. You must be absolutely detached and ruthless, the focus on one thing - a clean, well thought out kitchen and pantry. Think of clutter as the enemy and you as the hero or heroine of your precious time and space. In a single day one of the most used and pivotal rooms in your home can be refreshed and repurposed.

EMPTY OUT THOSE CABINETS - If your kitchen table is big enough that is great, if not use the adjoining dining room table. Cover the table with your protective custom pads and a sheet or make padding from layers of sheets or blankets. Now pull everything out of your cabinets. Use the tables as a staging area to sort and organize. While emptying the cabinets review your findings. If it is trash then quickly put trash inside of dark trash bags. Why dark? Because out of sight is out of mind, and you are not tempted to pull out discards.

RECYCLE - Before beginning your purge find a local charity or a newly married couple to donate kitchen items to. These people would love donations of kitchen items; and emotionally if you know that you are parting company with your items for a noble reason it is easier to let go. Remember the old rule - If you have not used something in a year chances are you just will not use it. DONATE!

THE PLAN - Tackle one cabinet at a time to make the job less overwhelming. Start at the ceiling and move from one side of the room to the other. Next tackle the cabinets below the counter. Under the sink and the refrigerator should be last, since they are usually the hardest. Use the same method for the pantry as for the cabinets. Remember when organizing to try to combine like items and toss, toss, toss!

TRASH IT -

• Old cleaning supplies.
• Food six months old or more, unless there is a later expiration date, or unless you know there is no way you are ever using even by that date. Check any open boxes for bugs and freshness. If possible put them in plastic bins and label with dates and contents.
• Pots and pans and baking ware that you don’t use or have extras of.
• Pots and pans and baking ware that are in horrible shape, burned, warped, etc.
• Excess serving dishes and utensils. Think ahead and realize how many you would really need at your biggest gathering.
• If you store medicines in the kitchen follow the same rules as food. Check for expiration dates and throw out medicines that were not useful, or that you know you won’t use.

CLEAN IT - Wipe down empty shelves, doors and drawers. If it is needed, reline the shelves and drawers.

Clean all the appliances inside and out. This includes the refrigerator, dishwasher, stove, stove vent and hood, toaster oven, microwave, and even the coffee maker and espresso machine following the manufacturer’s suggestions.

Fill the sink with warm, soapy water to wash items that have picked up grime. When you are done then clean and detail the sink and faucet with a toothbrush. Clean the drains, disposal, etc. Pour baking soda in the drain for freshness and grind lemons in the disposal.

Dust any appropriate items.

Next vacuum from ceiling to floor, including all stove vents and a/c ducts.

Don’t forget to clean the windows.

Wipe down chairs and table, including the legs.

Finally sweep and mop the floor last.

Think you’re finished? Then go through the kitchen again. Check for unused spices and cookbooks you’ll never use again. If you look hard enough you can get rid of a few more items. Think of the fresh new life you can enjoy by purging, cleaning and organizing your kitchen for the New Year.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 12:57 am and is filed under Accessories, Custom Dining Room Table Pads, Custom Dining Room Tables, Dining Room Chairs, Kitchens, Metal Ware, Organization and Storage, The Art of Dining at Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.