Spring-cleaning tips to spruce up your kitchen

Spring is traditionally the time to open the windows and clean out the cobwebs. Although it may seem like a daunting task, it doesn't have to be. Real Simple magazine’s Elizabeth Mayhew was invited on the "Today" show for a three-day series to talk about easy ways to break big chores down into simple steps, as detailed in the May issue. Here is the second excerpt:

DAY 2: KITCHEN
When cleaning your kitchen, start with the sink. Keeping your sink empty and sparkling will inspire you to load the dishwasher and keep counters, refrigerator doors and the stove-top clean too.

You don’t need harsh products to yield a clean kitchen. In fact, you’ll probably have some of the products we recommend laying around the house.

Sink:
1) Fill the sink to the rim with very hot water; add one cup of regular bleach, and let it soak for an hour. Drain and rinse thoroughly.

2) Scrub with baking soda — the household staple acts as a natural cleaning agent and odor neutralizer. Believe it or not, baking soda attacks grease by turning it into soap.  Rinse thoroughly.

3) Shine with Windex or another glass cleaning spray and dry thoroughly.

Do this every season to keep your sink germ-free and looking great.

Garbage disposal
White vinegar is also an all-natural deodorizer. The acid neutralizes basic compounds, like those found in meat, that can smell.

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To get rid of odors, make vinegar ice cubes and feed them down the garbage disposal. Simply run cold water through the drain after grinding. You can also use lemon, which will leave your disposal smelling lemony-fresh.

Double-duty dishwasher
The quickest way to clean household odds-and-ends is to put them in the dishwasher. While you might not think of it, you can wash sponges, brushes and combs, toothbrushes, dish racks, and your kids’ plastic toys in the dishwasher.

Here’s another use for white vinegar: to clean your dishwasher.  Add 1 cup of vinegar to an empty dishwasher after it fills with water at the start of its cycle to remove buildup.

Stainless-steel appliances
Considering the money you invest in them, appliances deserve a good scrubbing on a regular basis. Besides keeping them sparkling, inside and out, cleaning appliances will help them run better and last longer.

A streak-free stainless appliance is the gold standard of a clean kitchen. When you’re polishing one, you’re really oiling the finish, so wipe with the grain, which usually runs vertically on refrigerators, and horizontally on smaller appliances. Some scratches aren’t removable, but you can wipe away fingerprints with a stainless-steel cleaner and a microfiber cloth.

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