Welcome to day 8 of the ‘31 Days of Deep Cleaning Your Home‘ series!
Today’s task is to clean your cabinets and drawers. Did you do your homework from yesterday? It will make today’s task much easier.
We are going to work on one cabinet at a time, possibly one shelf at a time. Do not pull everything out of all your cabinets! Only pull out what you know you will be able to put back today. The only time you should empty more than one cabinet is if you are going to move things around (this is where yesterday’s planning comes in).
The first step is to remove everything from your cabinet, shelf or drawer.
I use the removable shelf liners. I like these because I can pull them out and clean them. If you don’t have removable ones, you can skip this step. (If you have wanted to add contact paper or shelf liners to your kitchen, now is the time to do it!)
I take mine out and wash them in the sink.
Next spray your cabinet shelf or drawer with an all purpose cleaner and wipe it out. (If you are working on drawers, I have found it helpful to remove the drawer and shake out the crumbs or vacuum it first). I use a mixture of half vinegar and water to clean out my cabinets, but any all purpose cleaner will do. However, no matter what cleaner you choose, make sure to test a small area first to make sure it will not harm your cabinet.
If you have removable shelf liners, put them back in place after they are dry.
Return all the items to your cabinet or drawer.
Now, we are going to work on the outsides. Start by cleaning the top of your cabinets. Mine doesn’t look terribly dirty, but you can see from the rag, it was quite dusty. It can also be a bit greasy, so you might have to use a de-greaser to be able to clean it completely.
Next, clean the outside of your cabinets and drawers. I use Murphy’s Oil Soap on my wooden cabinets. If you have painted cabinets, you can use an all purpose cleaner, just be sure to test a small area first.
Don’t forget to clean the edge behind your cabinet doors the sides of your cabinets. Now is also a good time to disinfect the handles of your cabinets and drawers.
If you are feeling overwhelmed or you don’t have much time to devote to this task today, focus on the dirtiest cabinets or drawers. The silverware drawer seems to gather so many crumbs at my house! And remember, something is better than nothing!
See you back here tomorrow for day 9 of 31 Days of Deep Cleaning Your Home.
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Nancy says
October 8, 2012 at 5:45 pmToday I face my demons. We moved into our house 18 months ago. At the time I was 7.5 months prego with our 5th (no steps stools for me). The house had been empty for almost a year and to make matters worse, the previous owners were from a culture that fried lots of foods. The layer of greasy grime on top of my cupboards is something I DREAD cleaning. It is seriously bad. I have pretended/ignored it long enough. Today is the day… unless it isn’t ;).
Nancy says
October 8, 2012 at 8:12 pmWell I did it! It took a lot of elbow grease and a lot of Dawn, but I am happy to report that the top of my cabinets are done! Thanks for the challenge!