April 24, 2015

Homekeeping Skills You Need In the Kitchen

Keeping house is not instinctual for most people, it’s a learned behavior and habits that need to be repeated (all the time, unfortunately) to be effective. Here are my top 4 clean kitchen techniques for you to try out for yourself. Keep an eye out for more posts in this series. Happy homekeeping!

How to Clean a Refrigerator

With all the activity that goes on in the fridge, it’s doesn’t take long for crumbs, spills and drips to take center stage. With 15-30 minutes and this simple DIY cleaner, you can get your fridge sparkling clean and debris free! The warm water and soap help to dissolve those spills, drips and crumbs while the baking soda acts as a natural deodorizer.

Three ingredients are all that’s required with this cleaner. Mix together:

-4 to 6 cups warm water
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon castile or liquid dish soap

Start by emptying your fridge and be prepared to work quickly to assure that your food stays cold. Submerge your microfiber cloth or dishcloth in the mixture and wring out until almost dry. Wipe down the shelves, repeating until all the shelves and drawers have been wiped clean. Rinse and wring as necessary. There is no rinsing of the shelves required but you can dry if desired. Put all your food back, taking care to group like items together and dispose of expired and unnecessary items while you are at it. That’s all there is to cleaning out your fridge!

Streamline your time unloading and putting away dishes with these tips on loading your dishwasher correctly. Bonus: get your dishes cleaner, too!

How to Load a Dishwasher

Start by rinsing your dishes with a quick rinse to remove excess food. If you aren’t ready to load your dishwasher quite yet, stack your dishes on the counter according to type. This is a big time saver when you are ready to load the dishwasher because everything is all ready to be placed together.

Use a small colander to rinse the silverware and keep it contained after meal time. Simply bring the colander to the dishwasher after rinsing and load. Keep your glasses and glassware on the top and bowls and plates in the bottom. Keeping them grouped simplifies putting them away as all you need to do is stack or group them and put them in their proper spot.

Don’t forget to wash your sponge nightly to keep them germ free. If you have the option of using a sanitize cycle on your dishwasher, use it in order to kill all the germs on both the sponge and dishes. Be sure that you aren’t  blocking the arms of the sprayer with any large pots and pans as well.

Start your dishwasher off right by running the hot water in your sink so the dishwasher starts out hot. This helps to rinse dishes and clean the dishes more effectively from the get-go.

How to Clean Your Oven

Skip the toxic chemicals and clean your oven with ingredients you probably already have on hand. This DIY cleaner works like a champ to remove baked on, caked on, leftover food and crumbs.

Mix up:
-1/2 cup water
-Enough baking soda to make a paste, or approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup
-1 tablespoon Castile soap or dish soap

Dip a sponge in to the paste and spread all over your oven to coat. Allow it to sit for 15-30 minutes. Use a clean sponge and wipe clean, rinsing with warm water. Repeat the rinsing with a sponge and warm water until the oven is thoroughly clean and has no residue.

With all of the soapy water and washing that goes on in a kitchen sink, you’d think that it would stay clean but unfortunately sinks can get grimy in a hurry. Try one of these natural, non-chemical based scrubs to clean and shine up your sink in no time. No scratches!

How to Clean Your Kitchen Sink

Stainless Steel:
-2 cups baking soda
-10 drops lemon essential oil
-10 drops clove essential oil
-Squirt of castile or dish soap

Put the baking soda in a jar, add the essential oil and top the container. Shake well to combine. Sprinkle up to 1/4 cup in your sink, add a squirt of dish soap and scrub well using a scrub brush. Rinse well and air dry or wipe with a paper towel or cloth

Porcelain Sink:
-1/2 cup baking soda
-1/4 cup vinegar
-5 drops lemon essential oil
-5 drops clove essential

Mix the ingredients in a small bowl until it is a paste-like consistency. Add more or less vinegar as needed. Apply to sink and use a scrub brush in a circular motion. Rinse well with water and dry with a paper towel or dry cloth to give it a little shine.

Solid Surface Sink:
Use the stainless steel scrub recipe to keep your sink shiny and debris-free.

Cast Iron Sink:
Use the porcelain sink recipe to keep your sink from dulling or scratching.