Spring cleaning: Kitchen

Hello everyone!

Today we'll take care of our kitchen.  I recently reorganized my pantry and let me tell you it feel so nice to know exactly what you have and find it when you need it!  You can find the whole process here and here.
And today my friend Anjie Cho is visiting again for another cool Feng Sui tip!

The kitchen is the place with most traffic in the house and therefore the one that gets dirty more easily.  You will want to make sure your countertops are disinfected as well as floors. 

1. Oven:  You can make a paste of baking soda and vinegar, apply to oven and let it do its work while you work on the rest of the kitchen.  Want to try something stronger in the oven?  Then you will love this paste, the only natural product I've found that actually works.  It is truly amazing!

2.  Refrigerator:  Make sure you throw away everything that's expired or you can't recall when you bought it (it's probably expired). Take all items out and wash trays and drawers with dish soap and warm water. 

3. Microwave: Put a microwave safe bowl with water and lemon and boil it for about 2-3 minutes, leave it for a few min after.  The steam will loose dirt and dry food. Then wash inside (sides and top) with sponge or microfiber cloth and little dish soap.  Wash the plate with dish soap and warm water.

4. Dishwasher:  Never wonder why the dishwasher smells weird?  Washing the dishwasher is probably something we never thought of doing.  It is very important that you keep your dishwasher clean because rest of food get trap in crevices making that weird smell and even worse, sometimes mildew.  Wipe the bottom with a soft sponge or microfiber cloth, you can even scrub it a little with baking soda.  Then pour a cup of vinegar at the bottom and run it on regular cycle.

5. Cabinets: Clean outside of your cabinets with a damped microfiber cloth and dish soap.  Wipe down or wash silverware tray as this tends to get a little dirty.

6. Small appliances:  Run the coffee maker with clean water only as if you were making coffee.  Clean the tray of your toaster, usually this is removable so it's easier to wash it with dish soap and warm water.  Also clean the tray of the toaster oven and rack the same way you would clean the regular oven.

7. Counter Tops:  Use a microfiber cloth or sponge with dish soap or degreaser to clean counters, don't forget to wipe under and behind appliances.  Make sure you don't use any abrasive or acid cleaner on marble as this will ruin it.  I posted about cleaning countertops here if you would like to get a detailed info on different surfaces.  

8. Vacuum and mop and you're all done!  Once in a while I like to wash my floors with vinegar to disinfect them.  Once it's dry the smell of vinegar is gone :)

{bhg}

Anjie's Feng Shui tip for kitchen:
What's your favorite burner on your stove?  Mine is located in front, on the right.  In Feng Shui, the stove is very important in your home.  It represents wealth and how we nourish ourselves in the world.  so next time you use a burner, try using a different one.  Don't automatically go for your favorite one.  Instead, open up your opportunities and try something different.  Also, be sure to keep your stove clean, and use it at least once every day.


{bhg}

How did you like Anjie's tip?!  I love it!  I keep using the same burner over and over,  I'll make sure I use the others as well :)  You can get more tips from Anjie over at Holistic Spaces.


Do you keep your stove clean all the time?  What's the hardest part of keeping up with your kitchen? Let us know!!

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Marcela

What's under your sink?

In mine there was a lot! So many products they could barely fit.  That was long time ago when I was searching for the right non-toxic cleaning products.  I tested pretty much everything out there in the market.  After a long search I found my favorites:

So let's see what we have here...

Cleaning products...

Basic H2

I love this stuff.  You mix it with water to make glass cleaner, all purpose cleaner, degreaser.  It also works to wash floors and it is so highly concentrate that you won't need a new window cleaner in about a year. I promise!!

Scour Off

Great for cleaning burt food in oven.  Super tough on dirt yet super gentle on your hands.

Baking Soda and Bon Ami

Great to scrub bath tub without the chemicals

Bathroom Cleaner

I use Basic G from Shaklee.  It kills germs, viruses and bacteria.  Excellent to disinfect bathrooms.

Two Sponges

If you see closely one of the sponges is cut on one corner.  That way we know that one is ONLY for toilet.  I've found that even using two different colors it it not always clear and simply forget what color was for what!

 Clear drawers from Container Store will fit perfectly in this corner. I holds microfiber cloths, extra gloves, extra sponges, swiffers refills, Magic Eraser sponges (which I just realized I run out of), etc.

I also stacked the dishwasher detergent on top of the drawers for easy access.  I put it inside a bin to prevent spills.

Gloves hanging on the door to let them dry in between uses.

Over the door towel rack to let air dry the microfiber cloths after each use (they can not go in the dryer).

Trash bags.  In the same box I will put all of the plastic bags from grocery store.  Even though I bring our own bags when I go shopping sometimes I get things on the way and get overflowed with bags... why they double bag to put just one item?!

And that's it.  That's how my under the sink looks like.  I'm very proud of myself to have it green and organized :)

The rest of the tools, such as vacuum, mop/bucket, swiffer stick and duster are in the broom/coat closet in the hallway.  I'll show you those picture when the closet is ready, working on it yet :)

How about you, do you keep your cleaning supplies under the sink?  Let us know your tips!

Thanks for reading and have a beautiful week!

xo,

Marcela

Marker stains

My daughter loves to draw and she's GREAT at it!  The only thing is that she likes to draw on a piece of paper on our coffee table.  More often that I would like our poor little table gets markers stains, like this...

OMG!! What to do!!!!

Ok, count 1-10 and then let's try this...

Yay, it worked!!!!!

I love you Scour Off!

I love happy endings, don't you?


Thanks for reading!

xo,
Marcela

Disinfect your Sponges

Sponges are a great tool we all have in our kitchen.  Some people even like to have separate sponges for dishes and another one for surfaces (I think this is a great idea!).  But what happens when you just got a new sponge few days ago and starts smelling?  As great as they are to clean they might also get lots of bacteria so we need to disinfect them.

Wet your sponge and place it in your microwave for no longer than one minute (depending on how powerful your microwave is).  Then CAREFULLY take it out, it might be very hot!! and rinse.

    

Do you have a special way to disinfect your sponges?  Share your ideas with us!

Best,

Marcela

Countertops

Not sure how to clean your countertops?  Here are some tips and what's the difference between them.

Granite:
Since it's natural material it is porous, it could also have different levels of porosity. This means that over time the surface tends to 'open' and any spills might go under which will make the stain impossible to remove.
- Clean up spills immediately before they penetrate the surface.
- Clean your countertops often to avoid stains with a non-toxic granite cleaner or mild dish liquid detergent and warm water.
- Use a soft microfiber cloth or soft sponge (don't use the scrub side of your sponge) and dry with a clean towel.
- Seal your countertops once or twice a year with a non-toxic granite sealer.  You can find them at your local hardware store, Bed-Bath and Beyond, Gracious Home, etc.

Image via Pinterest



Quartz (Caesar Stone):
It's a very durable material. It is a non-porous so it's easy to clean and maintain.
- Wipe with damp soft cloth or paper towel.
- For tougher stains such as red wine, clean with non abrasive cleaner and non-scratch sponge
- Nail polish can be easily removed with nail polish remover
- Since it's a non-porous surface you don't need to seal it or wax it.
- Don't sit a hot pot directly on the counter.  Also, a cutting board is recommended to avoid  knife scratches.
Bonus:  Bacteria have a harder time taking hold in quartz counters than any other countertop materials.
 
Image via Pinterest



Wood countertop:
An unconventional material for a countertop is wood.  Most think that is not very practical because it tends to absorb water and it might be hard to maintain. However if you clean them on a regular (hopefully daily) basis you shouldn't have to worry.
- Wipe liquids spills as soon as possible to avoid it penetrates the surface.
- Scrape any dried particles with a spatula.
- Clean with warm water and mild dish soap.
- Do not spray any cleaner directly on the surface and never use cleaner with bleach.
- Dry your wood countertop with dry towel.
- Do not put hot pots directly on countertop.
- The use of a cutting board is recommended to avoid scratches and cuts.
- Once in a while polish with mineral oil and a clean soft cloth.  Leave it for about 30 min and wipe off any excess with a clean paper towel.



Image via BHG


Do you have some ideas about how to clean and maintain your countertops?  Share your ideas with us, would love to hear from you!

Best,
Marcela