Spring Clean & Green Clean Your Kitchen For Pennies!

Room by room, the Eco Women will help you spring clean your house in the most environmentally friendly way possible.  Today’s stop:  the kitchen!

Time needed: 2-3 hours

Supplies needed:  1 large box, 1 old towel cut into rags,  white vinegar ($1.00 for a large bottle), hot water, baking soda (.70 a box), vacuum cleaner

Turn your oven on the “self-cleaning” cycle and let that start.

Using a sink full of hot water with a cup of vinegar poured in and one of your towel rags, wipe down the exterior of every single cabinet, baseboard and appliance in your kitchen.  Vinegar will cut through grease, leaving things shiny without any residue.   It’s safe to use on wood, linoleum, vinyl, ceramic and metal.  The smell fades as soon as it dries, so if you’re sensitive to the smell, use a second rag to dry as you clean.

Next, empty every single cupboard and drawer.  Using your vacuum, suck out all the crumbs, dust bunnies and dried noodle bits.  Using a fresh sink full of hot water and another cup of vinegar, wipe down the interior of every drawer, wipe down each shelf, and the insides of every cupboard drawer.  Enviro Girl generally makes her kids empty out the cupboards, pantry and drawers for her.  While you’re putting everything back in, toss the utensils and dishes you never use into the large box.  You don’t need duplicates of most utensils and if you’ve yet to use your garlic press, now’s a good time to give it to a good home via your local thrift shop (which is where you’ll take that large box later).

After putting away dishes and dry goods, empty your fridge.  Enviro Girl likes to put everything on newspaper she’s spread over the floor.  Once emptied, vacuum out the chunks and crumbs and then start wiping down the door, shelves and drawers with another fresh rag and fresh sink full of hot water and vinegar.  Repeat the entire process with your freezer. Make sure you vacuum the coils behind the fridge, this helps your fridge use less energy and run more efficiently.

Clean  your coffee maker by running equal parts vinegar and water through the machine.  Rinse by running water through the machine 2-3 more times as needed.

Clean your dishwasher by running it empty with a cup full of vinegar in the soap dispenser.  After the cycle finishes, use a rag and vinegar-water to wipe down the edges of the door where gunk tends to accumulate.

Microwave a couple cups of water for 3 minutes before wiping down the inside walls with more vinegar-water solution.  Finally, drain your sink one final time and scrub it down with a damp rag and baking soda.  Rinse.

Wipe down your oven once it’s finished self-cleaning.

Take the large box of garbage to the thrift shop.

Toss the rags on the laundry pile or on your compost pile.

A fresh and clean kitchen takes some time, but it does not require heavy chemicals that harm the air and water.  By using natural cleaning products like vinegar and baking soda, you’ll save money and the planet!