First, let’s prepare ourselves to clean. If you are in your nice clothes, you probably aren’t going to be very inspired to really get things clean. I suggest you dress in something comfortable that allows you to bend and move freely from room to room. Pick something to wear you don’t mind getting dirty. I like wearing my gym clothes and tennis shoes for this task. Let’s address how to deep clean your kitchen.

First, gather your materials. I like to use the following to deep clean my kitchen:

1. Empty laundry basket (to gather items that belong in another room)
2. Cleaning cloths
3. Cleaning spray
4. Sanitizing spray
5. Long handled duster
6. Broom
7. Mop
8. Fresh trash bag

HOW TO DEEP CLEAN YOUR KITCHEN

1.Pick up what doesn’t belong:

-Put trash in trash can

-File away or toss any papers

-Gather items that belong in another room

2.Scour the Sink:

-Empty sink and load dishwasher

-Scour sink with cleanser and sanitize sink surfaces

-Buff faucet

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price. Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

Today, we’ll address the top things to declutter and clean in each room. But, if your home is dirty and cluttered, it is probably already affecting your health, your finances, and your relationships. If you are ready to jump right in and get started decluttering, check out my plan here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Cleaning Checklists here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Below is a sample page of what you’ll get.

Bonus Tip: Need some cleaning inspiration? Check out this great video.

3.Wipe surfaces with cleaner:

-Start high and work down: start with ceiling light fixtures and stove hoods

-Cupboard doors and handles

-Drawer fronts and handles

-small appliances

-stovetop

-range hood

-oven exterior and oven floor

-appliance fronts/exterior (dishwasher, fridge, oven)

-light switches, door knobs, phone/kitchen electronics

4.Clean the microwave:

-heat water inside to get steamy to loosen dirt

-wash the turntable

-wipe all surfaces

5.Clean out the fridge and freezer:

-Toss old food

-Wipe any spills

6.Empty the trash:

-wipe down interior and exterior of trash can

7.Clean the floor:

-sweep

-mop

8.Walls and pantry doors:

-Spot clean any visible dirt

9.Spot clean windows and doors

10.Lay out fresh towels and wash cloths and enjoy your clean kitchen

Need to Deep Clean the Interior Areas of Your Kitchen? Let’s start with the Refrigerator.

To Clean Interior of Refrigerator:

1. Remove all expired food and toss any leftovers you don’t intend to use.
2. Sort all items by category: salad dressings, jams and jellies, condiments, etc.
3. Wipe down interior shelves with dish soap and water.
4. Remove any drawers that are removable and rinse with dish soap and water in your sink.
5. Wipe down all door shelves and racks.
6. Return items to refrigerator and group by category.
7. Extra credit: Label areas to keep it organized. I keep all breads in one area, all fresh fruits and veggies together, etc.

To Clean Interior of Microwave:

1. Remove turntable and any removable parts.
2. Wash removable parts with dish soap and water
3. To loosen stuck on food inside microwave, heat a large cup of water for 2-3 minutes. The steam loosens the grime.
4. Wipe down the interior with dish soap and water

To Clean Interior of Oven:

1. To remove baked on food and grease, we need to soak surfaces overnight. So, first, remove your oven racks.
2. Spray down the interior surfaces of the oven with a mixture of lemon juice, dish detergent, and water. I like to saturate some paper towels with this cleaning solution and spread them over all of the surfaces so that I can to make sure the surfaces get really saturated.
3. Next, to remove very difficult baked on grease, I recommend using ammonia on the oven racks. To do so, you’ll want to move these outdoors because of the fumes.
4. Once you’ve moved the oven racks to a well ventilated area, place your oven racks inside some large trash bags. Then, spray the ammonia liberally all over the inside of the bag onto the oven racks. Tie bag closed.
5. Let the oven racks soak overnight in the ammonia solution to really break down the grease.
6. The next day, you should be able to easily rinse the oven racks and see a huge difference without all of the scrubbing.

Emergency Clean: If you have company coming over and you have been given little notice, you are going to want to just do an emergency sweep of your home. This is just a surface clean, and it will make your home “guest ready” in a short time.

To do that quick sweep, grab an empty laundry basket or a large box and go throughout the living area grabbing anything that is out of place and tossing that into you basket. This is just a temporary fix, but it is intended to give you some immediate satisfaction just by clearing the room of clutter. When you have time to deep clean, I have checklists below.

Next, grab some multi-surface spray and wipe every counter top and toilet seat from the kitchen to the bathrooms. Then, make each bed. Don’t have time to make beds? Just close the bedroom doors. If you have time, focus on the floors. If you have guests coming over for a visit, just focus on the main living area floors. Don’t do a “full sweep, vacuum, and mop job” if you are in a time crunch. Instead, just sweep and spot clean. Again, this is just a quick fix. When you have the time, I have some deep cleaning checklists below.

Need to deep clean every room? I have lists for you to guide you along.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.

Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.

First, I though it might be thought provoking to look at some statistics on clutter.

1. US consumers buy 40% of the world’s toys, but bear only 3% of the world’s children.
2. Most people wear 20% of their clothing 80% of the time. (source )
3. 9.4% of U.S. households rent a storage unit. (source)
4. People do not look at 80% of the papers and information they keep.(source)
5. The average American house is double the size it was in the 1950s–and getting bigger. (source.)

• The U.S. Department of Energy reports that one-quarter of people with two-car garages have so much stuff in there that they can’t park a car. (https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)
• According to the National Soap and Detergent Association, getting rid of clutter would eliminate 40 percent of housework in the average home.(https://www.becomingminimalist.com/the-statistics-of-clutter/)

Maybe your house is clean but cluttered. If so, you need to know a few declutter motivation tips before you start using the Step By Step Decluttering plan I use. Does a Cluttered House Cause Stress? Let’s look at a reputable, mental health site to answer that question. They have given us 8 ways mess leads to stress. According to Psychology Today:

Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves. Can a Messy House Affect Your Mood? You bet! How Does Clutter Affect Your Life? Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives. (source)

Why does mess lead to so much stress? (source)Getting rid of all of that stress can be one of the best declutter motivation tips.

1. Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t necessary or important. (source)
2. Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on. (source)
3. Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.(source)
4. Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.(source)
5. Clutter makes us anxious because we’re never sure what it’s going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile. (source)
6. Clutter creates feelings of guilt (“I should be more organized”) and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly drop by our homes or work spaces. (source)
7. Clutter inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think, brainstorm, and problem solve.(source)
8. Clutter frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly (e.g. files and paperwork lost in the “pile” or keys swallowed up by the clutter). (source)

How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.

How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.

Need some Inspiration to Declutter? Join us for the Year Long Through Declutter Series by subscribing by email below. We declutter 30 minutes  a day, 5 days a week. You’ll receive your daily task by email each day when you subscribe below. To subscribe, just leave e a comment below.

Happy Decluttering!

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here. You can see sample pages below.

Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3:   How do you remove clutter?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered. 

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.

Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com: 

14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered

How to Do A 1 Day Declutter

How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule

How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter

What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?

Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.

For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.

I hope you have benefitted from my post on How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen. Leave a comment below to subscribe to my daily declutter task email series.