Sick of having a disorganized kitchen? Here’s how to deep clean your kitchen from top to bottom. Don’t miss this step-by-step guide to get a kitchen that’s sparkling clean and ready to enjoy!

Hopefully by now you are all enjoying the fruits of your Big Spring Clean labor and your home is now relatively dirt and clutter free. Doesn’t it feel GOOD?

Of course if you are anything like me, there may be one room that looks tidy on the surface, but that is secretly haunting you behind closed cabinet doors. It’s not that we don’t want to keep our kitchens neat and organized, but so often the hustle & bustle of every day life gets in the way.

We rush to put away groceries without bothering–or having time–to throw out the items no longer edible. We open multiple packages of the same foods, then forget which one is still good. In our haste to put the dishes away or get dinner on the table, we don’t spend quite as much time as we should putting things back in their proper place.

Before we know it, we are left with a mess!

Does your cupboard look like a cluttered mess? Is it impossible to find anything when you open your pantry?

This is what our pantry looked like before we went through this easy kitchen organizing plan.

The scariest part of conquering that kitchen chaos is not knowing where to begin. There are just SO MANY areas that need attending to. If we start, how will we ever finish?

Luckily today’s checklist breaks the whole process down for you, section by section, in a way that can be done all at once (if you really want to) or just a little at a time, without completely disrupting your life.

Kitchen Deep Cleaning Checklist

Pre-Clean:

  • Wash, dry, & put away any dirty dishes
  • Quickly clear countertops and wipe clean
  • Clear any clutter that does not belong in the kitchen

Organize Pantry:

  • Take out all food & place on table or countertop
  • Check labels & toss items that are expired, stale, empty, inedible, etc.
  • Fill a bag or box for unopened donation items that you will not be able to eat before they expire, or items that you know your family won’t eat.
  • Wipe down all shelves with soapy water or kitchen cleaner.
  • Put food back in cabinet. (You may want to do a pantry inventory before you put it back.)
  • Create a separate area for open items
  • Arrange like items together
  • Put oldest items in front; newest in back

After the deep clean, our kitchen pantry was much easier to navigate.

Clean & Organize Baking & Cooking Cupboards

  • Take out all items & place on table or countertop
  • Check labels & toss items that are expired, stale, empty, inedible, etc.
  • Wipe down all shelves with soapy water or kitchen cleaner
  • Use clean, well-labeled, airtight containers to store baking & cooking staples such as flour, sugar, bread crumbs, etc. (I have been using the OXO Good Grips Pop Top containers for about 6 years now & I love them. They are definitely an investment, but well worth the money if you live in a warm or humid climate like Florida!)
  • Put items back in cabinet, making sure the most frequently used containers are easy accessible.

Clean & Organize Refrigerator & Freezer:

  • Take out all food & place on table or countertop
  • Check labels & toss items that are expired, moldy, empty, inedible, etc.
  • Wipe down all shelves with soapy water or kitchen cleaner.
  • Remove produce drawers & wash well
  • Put food back in refrigerator
  • Arrange like items together
  • Remove excess magnets & unneeded papers.
  • Clean and/or polish exterior

An organized cupboard is much easier to navigate. You can actually find every ingredient when it's stacked neatly!

Clean & Organize Storage Cupboards

  • Remove all items from remaining storage cupboards or shelves and place on countertop or kitchen table.
  • As you remove items, toss or donate any items that are broken, unwanted, unnecessary, or that you haven’t used in over a year.
  • Set aside any seasonal items that only get used once or twice a year to be placed with other seasonal items in storage.
  • Wipe down all shelves with soapy water or kitchen cleaner.
  • Determine whether you can rearrange any of your storage areas to make your kitchen more efficient.
  • Group like items together and place back in cupboards.
  • Put seasonal items in storage and bring donation items to local drop-off as soon as possible.

Clean & Organize Storage Drawers

  • Remove all items from drawers and place on countertop or kitchen table.
  • As you remove items, toss or donate any items that are broken, unwanted, unnecessary, or that you haven’t used in over a year.
  • Set aside any seasonal items that only get used once or twice a year to be placed with other seasonal items in storage.
  • Wipe down all drawers with soapy water or kitchen cleaner.
  • Wash any drawer organizers
  • Determine whether you can rearrange any of your storage areas to make your kitchen more efficient.
  • Group like items together and place back in drawers
  • Put seasonal items in storage and bring donation items to local drop-off as soon as possible.

Clean Other Appliances

  • Wipe down microwave inside and out
  • Clean and/or polish exterior of dishwasher
  • Follow manufacturer’s instructions to run self-cleaning cycle on oven
  • Clean & polish exterior of oven
  • Clean & polish stovetop
  • Clean & polish small countertop appliances

Stainless steel refrigerators can be a magnet for finger prints. Here's how to have a sparkling clean kitchen.

Clean Sink, Countertop, & Cabinets

  • Remove any remaining clutter from countertops; try to get them as clear as possible!
  • Remove countertop appliances
  • Spray countertop with kitchen cleaner; wipe clean and dry well.
  • Use glass cleaner to make granite shine.
  • Wipe down cabinet exteriors
  • Polish wood cabinet doors with furniture polish

Deep clean your kitchen and counter tops, then commit to keeping them clutter free!

Clean Floors

  • Sweep entire floor well. Be sure to remove any moveable furniture!
  • Spot clean any sticky or dirty areas or any stains.
  • Mop floor with heavy duty floor cleaner.
  • Wash throw rugs

When you break it down into sections like that, doesn’t  it seem more doable? Happy cleaning! May your kitchens–and your homes–always sparkle! 🙂

Want more cleaning tips? Check these helpful tutorials out!

 

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Here's how to deep clean your kitchen from top to bottom. Don't miss this step-by-step guide to get a kitchen that's sparkling clean and ready to enjoy. #deepcleankitchen #cleaning #springcleaning #kitchen

 

Ruth Soukup

Ruth Soukup

Founder at Living Well Spending Less
Ruth Soukup is dedicated to helping people everywhere create a life they love by follwing their dreams and achieving their biggest goals. She is the host of the wildly popular Do It Scared podcast, as well as the founder of Living Well Spending Less® and Elite Blog Academy®. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including Do It Scared®: Finding the Courage to Face Your Fears, Overcome Obstacles, and Create a Life You Love, which was the inspiration for this book. She lives in Florida with her husband Chuck, and 2 daughters Maggie & Annie.
Ruth Soukup

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