Spring Cleaning 2014 - Kitchen and Dining Area

Alrighty, time to get on with the Spring Cleaning and today I'm going to tackle the kitchen and hopefully the dining area. The dining area shouldn't take too long at all, but I know my kitchen needs a good cleaning, and I'm actually going to pack things away too as I go because we ARE moving in just two or 3 months.

So, yeah, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and come along with me as I give this area a good wipe down top to bottom.

- Pull down curtains and wash
- Open windows
- Dust and wipe down light fixtures
- Clean windows and window sills
- Wipe down walls, doors, knobs, switch plates.
- Remove dishes/items from cabinets and drawers, clean the inside, get rid of any unwanted items, pack others for the move. Organize and place items back.
- Wipe down cabinet doors, stove, fan area.
- Clean oven and stove top.
- Clean and organize fridge, throw out expired items, go through leftovers and get rid of any that are no longer good.
- Sweep and mop under fridge and stove.
- Clean behind refrigerator.
- Give a good cleaning to appliances, coffee machine, kettle, toaster, kitchen aid, bread maker and microwave. Run vinegar through coffee machine and kettle.
- Wash down counters.
- Wash all the dishes, put away, shine sink and faucet.
- Dust vents and blinds.
- Vacuum, sweep and mop floors.

Quite a long list just for the kitchen alone, so I got started pretty early around 9am.  It's quite a daunting task when you first approach it and I know that our immediate reaction is to come up with some excuse NOT to do it, but you will see that once you get in there and start cleaning, you'll feel much better and of course the end result will be well worth it.

So let me show you what I did.....above you can see a picture of my kitchen before I started.  It is such a small kitchen for the amount of stuff I have, and I hated that every single inch on the counters was taken by something, it made fixing dinner a pain in the behind.

But I was ready for the challenge.  See???

Forgot to snap a picture, but the very first thing I did was take down my curtains and throw them in the wash.  Then I took all my plants outside to the deck, gave them a good watering and let them enjoy the sunshine.

I then dusted and washed the window sill and the windows.

After that was done, I moved on to my cabinets.  Folks, they were a MESS, just a big old mess of things shoved here and there with no rhyme nor reason.  Ridiculous.

I put some dishes aside to donate, I don't know why I had a gazillion dinner plates when there's only 4 of us and at most 8 at a time.  I left out the ones we use the most, and then I actually packed away any dishes that were not being used right now, those will be in the boxes already for the move.

I was hoping I wouldn't have to see these boxes and tape for a long long time, or actually ever again, but here we are. Oh well.

Once I removed all the dishes from the cabinet, I wiped it down and then washed the inside really well. Then I replaced everything and organized it according to use.

100 times better than it was. Now that makes me happy!

I moved from cabinet to cabinet sorting, cleaning, wiping, packing, donating etc. I can't believe just how neglected my cabinets were and what a mess.

This is what this one looked like halfway through the sorting, as you can see the very top shelf was completely cleared. It used to house glassware that is never really used, so it was packed away.

I packed most of my mugs away and left only the ones that are used the most, as well as drinking glasses. I can't believe how mismatched everything is, I am in serious need of some matching glasses, so I think that will be the first purchase I make once we're moved in and settled elsewhere.

But for now, this looks pretty good and I'm happy with the results. The top shelf now holds my rice cooker, some measuring cups, and my recipe collections.

The middle shelf holds all my mason jars with spices, food, flours, sugars etc.

And the bottom shelf has the drinking glasses and the mugs, which is easier for the kids to reach. Who am I kidding? It's easier for ME to reach too since I'm so short.

Ever start something and then want to run for the hills?  I can tell you that right around this point, that is exactly what was going through my mind.  I wanted to just leave it all and go sit down with a glass of wine.  But, I persevered and got it all taken care of.

I just realized I hadn't taken a picture of the cabinet after, so I snapped one real quick. You'll have to excuse the lighting as it's getting dark now.

Next on the list was cleaning the sinks.  I always use Comet with Bleach, love it.  A bit of elbow grease, some hot water, scrub here and there and I had nice clean sinks.

After the sinks came one of my least favorite tasks, the stove and oven.  UGH!!!  But it has to be done, so I got it all nice and clean.

Lastly, I vacuumed the floors, then swept to make sure I had picked everything up, and finished it off with a good wash.  There, all done.

What do you think?  Much better right?

I can't believe how much bigger my kitchen feels with all the stuff put away and the counter space back again.

I really think that I'm going to enjoy cooking and being in this kitchen more, now that it's all spring cleaned and organized.  Sometimes that is all it takes, just some time to get in there and go through everything and keep only what we need.

I tend to collect so many kitchen gadgets and even have duplicates of some, I don't know why, but it definitely needs organizing and sorting once in a while.

I still don't have much counter space on that side of the kitchen, but that is because it IS a small area with not much room and I don't have anywhere else to put my microwave, kitchen aid and bread maker.

But, I'm super thrilled with the results, and that is what matters.

Next on the list was the dining area.  I don't even know...there is so much I don't like about it, mainly the fact that I have wanted to paint this table white, or at least the top white, for a very long time.  It's just not working for me, the benches, the chairs....just not happy, but I gotta work with what I have and right now the budget does not allow for a purchase of a dining table and chairs.

We'll make it work :)

I took everything off the table and gave it a very good washing, then put on my Cath Kidston Table Cloth.  Also got rid of the sweater and my hubby's shirt.

Next I took on the small baker's rack which hadn't been organized since we moved in.  It actually became a sort of catch all, everyone would just put all sorts of stuff on the shelves and walk away.

I took everything off, wipe off the dust and then washed it down with some hot soapy water.  I dusted all the cookbooks before packing them back into the shelves, then I moved my red canisters down one shelf and used the top one for some of my plants that used to sit on my kitchen window sill.

They still get plenty of sunshine here but don't crowd my kitchen window.

Much better too.  Again, like I said above, there is plenty I would love to change about this area, and I think I may just do that in the coming weeks, starting with a fresh coat of white paint on that table.

I finished everything at 2:30pm, so it took me a good portion of the day to get these two rooms done, but I'm so happy with the results.

And I managed to pack 3 boxes, not completely, still have some room at the top, but will fill those up tomorrow and then move them to the garage to a corner I have specified for moving.

Finished the day with a nice cup of coffee and some computer time. 

Going to relax tonight and tomorrow will be the Office and Bathrooms.  Oh boy!!!

How are you coming along in your Spring Cleaning?