Spring… We’re all praying it’ll come soon.  Blossoming flowers, vegetable boxes, baby chickens…spring cues in new beginnings.  It’s a step closer to summer.

Maybe you’re still burrowing inside those thick blankets, but fairly soon, you will need to do a kitchen spring cleaning.  It’s time to put behind you the cold dark days of winter.  It’s time to start tackling all the leftover Christmas ingredients and get rid of the stale, musty smell of your kitchen.

Here are PraticoGood’s awesome tips on how to give your kitchen a thorough cleaning.

Do a Pre-Clean Organization

This means you have to wash and put away all dirty dishes.  You have to clear countertops and wipe them clean.  Make sure that your kitchen is free of non-related kitchen clutter.

Organize Your Pantry and Cupboards

•  Place all the food on the table or your countertop
• Check the labels and throw out items that are expired, empty or inedible
• Grab a box and throw out things that are near expiration date or items that you won’t be able to eat
• Wipe down the shelves with soapy water
• Put the remaining food back inside the pantry.  Make sure to get airtight containers for your baking and cooking staples like sugar, bread crumbs, and flour, and store items properly.
• Separate closed items from open items, and group similar items together.
• Place old food items in front, and place the new ones in the back.

Clean Your Fridge and Freezer

• Take out everything in the fridge or freezer
• Check the labels and throw out items that are expired, stale or inedible.
• Wipe down the fridge or freezer with soapy water
• Remove the drawers and wash them.
• Place the drawers back into the fridge or freezer and put the food back in
• Make sure to group similar items together
• Clean the exteriors and polish them well

Clean Storage Cupboards, Shelves and Drawers

Image Credit: telegraph.co.uk

• Remove all items from the storage cupboards, shelves, and drawers and place them on the table or countertop
• Toss out items that are broken, and get a donation box to store items that are unnecessary and items that you haven’t used for a year.  Of course, this doesn’t include seasonal items.
• Wipe down the shelves, drawers, and cupboards with soapy water.
• Place remaining items back inside the shelves for storage.  Rearrange them for efficiency.
• Group similar items together, and place frequently used items in front and rarely used items in the back.

Clean Other Kitchen Appliances

• Wipe and clean microwave inside and out
• Clean and polish the exterior of the dishwasher
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to clean your oven
• Clean and polish your oven, stovetop and countertop appliances

Clean Sink, Countertop, & Cabinets

• Remove any clutter from your countertops.  Ideally, your countertop should be free from clutter
• Remove appliances from your countertop
• Spray countertops with kitchen cleaner, and wipe them clean.  Dry them well.  Use glass cleaners for your granite countertops.
• Wipe down cabinets and polish wood panels with polish.

Clean Floors

Image Credit: houselogic.com

• Sweep the entire kitchen floors clean.  Remove moveable furniture first.
• Do spot cleaning for sticky or dirty areas
• Use heavy-duty floor cleaners to mop your floors
• Throw kitchen rugs into your washing machine

When you break down your spring cleaning into sections like this, the whole thing becomes doable.  But here are a few more specific tips to help you give your kitchen a thorough cleaning:

Be Eco-friendly with Natural Cleaners

If you are not a fan of harsh cleaning chemicals, you can go eco-friendly with natural cleaners.  On top of the list are lemons.  If you like using lemons for cooking, avoid throwing them out.

You can use the squeezed halves to clean kitchen equipment like the chopping board.  These things are excellent disinfectants.  You can use them to deodorize counters and tables as well.

You can also use bicarbonate of soda for cleaning.  Aside from being the baker’s best friend, this is also great for cleaning grease in sinks and removing stains from surfaces.  Just sprinkle it on a damp cloth and wipe surfaces and crockery with it.

It easily softens hard water and removes grime without scratching.  This is great for cleaning chrome and steel surfaces.  Like lemons, it’s also great as a deodorant.

Plant Small Pots of Herbs

Image Credit: rodalesorganiclife.com

If you had planted bulbs and seeds last year, they are probably now ready to be plucked and used as ingredients for your cooking this spring.  Your new potatoes and spring greens will likely be ripe and ready to be harvested come April or May.

However, it’s not too late for you to do some planting.  You can plant a few pots of fresh herbs – basil, coriander, parsley – and keep the pots in your kitchen.  So sprinkle a few seeds into a pot of soil.

Place a cling film over them to allow them to germinate.  You will see the first leaves sprout after a few weeks.  You might want to sow seeds of beans and shallots as well.

Clean Out Your Cocktail Cabinet

Image Credit: flickr.com

Winter drinks are different from your spring and summer cocktails.  It’s also time to say goodbye to your heavy cocktail drinks.  So, clean out your wine cabinet.  Use up the last Irish cream and add it to your desserts.  Use sherry on dishes like garlic prawns.

Once you’ve used up all the leftover winter drinks, you can replenish your stock with new spirits.  Get bottles of Campari and gin and tonic.  Stock up on fresh mint, cucumber, rosemary and ice.