Ultimate Spring Cleaning, Day 6: Kitchen Patrol

by Michael on March 27, 2010 · 0 comments

Not dishwasher safe. (Photo by Blackangel)

Ultimate Spring Cleaning is a project to clean and declutter not only your house, but your life. Each day you’ll get a housecleaning assignment, an assignment that involves the world around you, and a project to clear your mind. You can start anytime at the Ultimate Spring Cleaning main page.

Welcome to the first weekend of Ultimate Spring Cleaning. As of today you should be done with the bedroom (and sleeping better in it), and with the extra hours of the weekend you should be prepared to tackle something that’s probably a bit more grungy. Other than that, I’ll keep this weekend easy.

Your Home: Clean Your Kitchen

You have five days to clean the kitchen:

Start with the cupboards and drawers. Remove everything. From here you know the drill: keep what you use, pack up what you don’t so we can deal with it later. Make sure everything’s clean – anything that isn’t, to the dishwasher or sink with it.
Toss any food that’s past expiration (or, if the expiration date is not on the package and you’ve had it for over a year).
Clean the cupboards themselves. I might suggest adding some shelf paper to make cleaning easier next time.
Make sure everything in the kitchen belongs in the kitchen. No random storage.
Clean the appliances (be careful with items that can’t be submerged in water). Remove the bread crumb tray from the toaster (didn’t know you had a crumb tray? Heh).
Clean the surfaces, sinks and counter tops. If there are windows in your kitchen, clean them too.
Clean your microwave. One tip to help soften cooked-on food: heat up a dish of water with a little lemon until it’s steaming. Leave it to steam for a couple more minutes, then scrub off the gunk.
Clean the stove. Remove everything from the stove top that’s removable and either wash or replace it (new drip pans are cheap and look spiffy). Clean the oven—if it’s nasty, I’ve got some help for you tomorrow.
Move to the refrigerator. Toss everything that’s expired, everything that doesn’t have an expiration but looks old, and everything you don’t or won’t eat. Remove all removable parts (drawers, shelves) and clean them separately. Then wipe down all the surfaces on the inside and outside. If you have an old freezer that builds up ice and frost, you’ll need to defrost it. I’ll get you some tips in a couple of days.
Finally, mop the floor. Work backward towards the exit so you aren’t forced to walk on your wet floor to escape.

Once your kitchen is clean enough to eat off, pat yourself on the back—this may be the biggest task in your home.

Your World: Get Out

Get out of the house today or tonight. It doesn’t matter what you do or how far you go—even the backyard is fine. Just spend at least a few hours away from the four walls.

There are only two rules:

Don’t take your computer, and no web surfing on your phone.
A party, bar or club doesn’t count (you’re not drinking anyway, remember?). Experience the outside world.

Yourself: Stretch Out Your Meditation

We began meditating on Day 3, and you should have at least tried to do some meditation every day. Today, I want you to add at least five minutes to your meditation time. Set an alarm and then relax.

For extra points, combine Getting Out with Meditation: go to a quiet outdoor area and meditate.

See you tomorrow.

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