Bree here, from Home Zone Furniture.
Whether you’re hosting out-of-towners over the holidays or simply planning a festive cocktail party, one thing’s for certain: A clean kitchen is a must! At our house, the kitchen becomes the gathering place where drinks are poured and dinner is made. If you’ve also got people congregating in the kitchen this season, you’ll want to be sure that it’s spick and span.
While there are many powerful cleaning solutions on the market to make your kitchen shine, I suggest using products you already have on hand at home for a truly safe and effective deep clean! Here’s how I get my annual kitchen deep-clean done.
Oven
Instead of using your oven’s self-cleaning setting or cleaning products with strong chemicals to clean your oven, try an easy, non-toxic method with vinegar and baking soda.
Turn off your oven, remove the racks, and make a baking soda paste with 1/4 cup of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of water. Next, coat the oven in the paste and let it sit overnight or for 12 hours. When the time’s up, take a damp cloth and wipe out the paste and the gunk that comes off with it. If there are still clumps of baking soda here and there, spray vinegar in these places, let it fizz, then wipe it out with your damp cloth until it’s gone.
Microwave
The best way to clean your microwave is to steam-clean it. In a microwave-safe bowl, place 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup vinegar. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat it for 5-10 minutes, depending on how dirty your microwave is. Let the bowl sit for a while to cool off, then take it out with mitts. Next, take a sponge and scrub the inside of the steamy microwave — the mess will come right out!
Tiles
The kitchen never feels completely clean without a spotless floor. Go beyond the normal sweep or vacuum by mopping with a deep-cleaning deodorizing mixture. There are, of course, many cleaning solutions on the market to get your kitchen tiles shiny and clean, but this simple homemade recipe is my favorite because it’s gentle, non-toxic and easy on kids and pets.
To make the solution, mix a gallon of water with a cup of white vinegar in a bucket and mop normally. It’ll give you that good, clean feeling using products you already have in your arsenal.
Drain
Nothing puts a kink in a dinner party more than a kitchen sink that simply won’t drain. Protect against this possible mishap by cleaning out your drain beforehand.
To do so, first flush the drain with a pot of boiling water. Next, add 1/2 cup of baking soda and let it sit for a few minutes. Afterwards, pour in a cup of vinegar to create a fizzing reaction and dislodge any lingering food bits in the drain. Once the drain has bubbled, pour in one more pot of boiling water to completely flush out the sludge, and you’re done!
Sink
For a flawless stainless steel or porcelain sink, sprinkle your sink with baking soda, then gently scrub in circular motions with a soft, damp sponge. When you’ve scrubbed the entire sink, rinse the sink with vinegar. The combination of ingredients will create a fizzing reaction that cleans and deodorizes.
Next, rub the sink basin down with an orange or lemon peel to further deodorize and create some shine. As the final step, take a paper towel, add a touch of olive oil and buff the sink basin for an even surface with a beautiful shine.
Bree
