Ready for a crash course in Cleaning and Organizing Kitchen Cabinets?
I love my kitchen and often wish it were bigger. But, when it comes to cleaning and organizing kitchen cabinets, and all that fun stuff, well I’m grateful for a small kitchen. 😉
My cabinets do not go clear to the ceiling, instead I have this open space up there that gets used as storage. My ivy and grapes nicely hide just how much stuff I have up there.
Cleaning and Organizing Kitchen Cabinets ~tops:
Up top is where I start. It gets very dusty up there and everything needs to come down and be washed. A sink of hot water works for all my bottles and glassware that gets stored up there.
I wash my greenery in warm water. Nearly all greenery is washable, however I have learned to test a small area before wetting the entire arraignment. I used to have a bunch of red daisies, now they are pink daisies with red streaks! The bunches of grapes are also washed this way.
The easiest way to wash my greenery is to turn the shower on warm and spray everything down. Then I hang it all to dry for a few hours.
I store my baskets in the only place they fit above my cupboards. I submerge my baskets into a sink of warm water with a small amount of gentle soap. Painted baskets get gently wiped down with a damp cloth.
I then allow my baskets to air dry on a mat for several hours.
Finally, before I begin putting things back, I wipe off the tops of my cupboards. Because I waited way to long between cleanings I had use my vacuum with a hose to sweep the big stuff and then I wiped the rest with a damp rag.
A reader gave me the great idea to use newspapers on top so next time the dusting will be a cinch. Thanks Nan at Mom’s the Word!
Finally, with the tops done, it’s time to work on the rest.
Cleaning and Organizing Kitchen Cabinets ~Fronts and insides:
I refuse to use chemicals in my home so what do I use to clean my wood cabinets? For one, I like Murphy’s Oil soap, it’s pretty gentle and great on wood. Another thing I like and use a lot is the Sol-u-Mel from Melaleuca. My friend Bekah, at We Live Inspired is giving away some of Melaleuca’s natural cleaning stuff, so go enter for your chance to win some family and echo friendly stuff that works great!
It is such a blessing to have new cabinets in our kitchen. Working one cupboard at a time, I empty, wipe down and put back. If your cupboards are not so nice, contact paper on the shelves can become your best friend. It’s crazy how dirty the insides of your cupboards can become. I mean, I only put clean dishes in most of them, so explain why the shelves are so dusty and dirty! 🙂
I also use this time to organize and de-clutter. I am not a hoarder, but when it comes to my kitchen, I come pretty close. I’ve used this item once in 5 years…. ….. hmm m…. ….. ………. YES I should definitely keep it! 🙂 ha-ha!
Organizing: Now I enjoy this. And with a small kitchen, and lots of stuff, I get pretty good at making my space work.
Jason is pretty good with tools and when we moved in, he pulled the shelves out of the tall deep cupboard by my fridge and put in sliding shelves. I love how I can see just what is in there!
Tupperware and glass jars help keep grains, pasta, noodles and other dry stuff nicely organized.
Because I have a total of 4 (shallow) drawers, I have to keep my lids in the cupboard. A rack designed to hold sauce-pan lids works great for Tupperware lids as well.
And because plates don’t take up much room, a shelf helps a lot. Now I store our coffee and tea stuff on the other side!
Other things that help make the most of your space. Under-counter hooks for mugs or wine glasses. Carousals work great for spice cabinets. Use command hooks inside your cupboard doors to hang measuring cups, and other small items.
What are your favorite tips for cleaning and organizing kitchen cabinets? Let me know in the comments below!
stopping by from the blog hop! You have almost inspired me to go spring clean my kitchen. it needs it bad. Great tips!
My fingers typed faster than my brain was reading. lol My blog is Jens Journey. http://www.jensjourney77.blogspot.com stop by sometime!
“Almost” lol that ‘s funny!
Your kitchen is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your tips. I really need to go through my cupboards and organize them as you have. 🙂
I have empty cabinets. Too much room not enough stuff I guess LOL!
Cleaning your ivy in the shower, is a great idea. I want you to know, that kitchen cleaning in my house has officially begun. I’m uncluttering my counters and cabinets, and giving every thing a good scrub down. I’m glad our paths crossed, you are so motivating, and I need that at my age. I’m in menopause mode right now, and it is hard to get my (get and up and go, to actually get up and go). lol I hope you have a blessed day!
I think we all need motivating at times 🙂 But I’m certainly glad I could be your motivation today!
I think my weekend will be all about organizing my kitchen cabinets. Thanks for the inspiration!
Have fun! 🙂
I love the idea of putting the newspaper on top of the cabinets. I also didn’t realize you could just wash baskets.
Thanks for sharing!
~Mrs. Lopez of http://lovinglifeinpink.blogspot.com
Yup, baskets can be gently washed. I had a sink of water that I would dip my baskets in and gently swirl them around. It’s crazy how dirty the water got!
This was such a blessing and I enjoyed stopping by and visiting you in the kitchen, Kendra. I’m linking up over at Mom’s the Word – next to you.
Thanks so much Judith!
Looking good! This was timely, since I’m about to do the same! I found your blog through The Better Mom Mondays.
Thanks Gabrielle! Good luck with yours 🙂
Usually when I work on kitchen cabinets, I do the ones mentioned above first, then I start at one end of the room and work my way around to the other doing any islands last. I usually do upper cabinets, lower cabinets and then do the drawers. The kitchen needs to be straightened up so that the counters are clear and the sink is empty . Sometimes I un-decorate the kitchen first just to free up the workspace and keep the pretty things from getting mixed up with the rest. I fill the sink halfway with soapy water and maybe a cap full of bleach to clean as we go.
Oh you tried the newspapers! Great! It works really well for me! 😉 I love that you wash your baskets. I’ve never tried washing mine before. I need to try that.
Once one of my floor baskets got wet (thanks to the puppy)and left a stain on my kitchen floor that I was never able to get out. So no more painted baskets on the floor if there’s a potty training puppy around, lol!
Thanks so much for linking up to the “Making Your Home Sing Monday” linky party!
The newspaper idea is excellent…Thank you!!! I need that for the top of my tv armoire in the living room. Great!
These are great tips. I would love for you to share them at my new linky party. http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/efforts-and-assets-linky-party-1.html
Angela
Thanks Angela, I will try and remember to stop by next week. 🙂
Love your organizing! We just painted the kitchen this weekend and did a major clean of the pantry….I love opening the doors and just staring at the order. I love the racks for pans and lids, we use them too. If you’re feeding for a crowd and try to stay stocked I think a can organizer was a great small investment…..they now have a diy on Pinterest for them. Take care!