As I write this post, it is very rainy and cold outside, perfect timing for me to do a once-a-year kitchen revival. Although I do have to admit sometimes I do this twice a year, depends upon the amount of cooking I have done. This can be a fun activity, not just a chore, as it reminds me of all the things I have to help me cook. And how remarkably well supplied my kitchen is when compared to the majority of people in the global community of cooks.
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A Kitchen Winter Cleaning Revival
I am a very messy cook, just ask my spouse. In fact, when our son was here with his girlfriend Alicia, I found out he too has inherited that skill. He not only cooks great food, but Alicia told us he is also a messy cook. Must be in our genes.
For me, being messy means when I chop food, I get bits and pieces everywhere. When I pop popcorn, inevitably there are kernels hidden all over the place. When I fry food, grease splatters on everything including my clothes, ceiling, in drawers, etc. So cleaning the kitchen is a big deal and in truth, every ~2 weeks my kitchen counters, stovetop, microwave, sink, and floors get thoroughly cleaned.
But there are plenty of kitchen areas that do not get this level of attention, yet are just as important for a smooth running kitchen. Here is what I call my kitchen revival list of yearly cleaning projects.
Appliances
A kitchen revival is a good time to take each countertop appliance and thoroughly clean it, and its components. By this I mean to get it to its original shine, if at all possible. Our appliances are colored bold red, or stainless steel. So when dirty or dull you can easily tell.
I often start by emptying the toaster of its crumbs, and clean it. I look at the standing blender and clean it, including all the components, to remove any leftover flour and hardened splatters. The immersion blender gets cleaned, as does the air popcorn maker. The water kettle has its insides cleaned, which is steel, so it is ready to use again. Now most of these items are cleaned after each use, but this level of cleaning is deeper, aiming for for that new shine.
I would clean the oven at this time, but with our son having bought us the Cuisinart Air-Fryer Oven (with Grill) appliance for Christmas last year, we hardly ever use our full size oven anymore. Exceptions are for turkey and chicken which sometimes are too big for the counter appliance. Otherwise, cleaning the oven at least once a year would be a very good thing to do. The Air-Fryer Oven gets cleaned much more frequently.
Condiments
In my cupboards I have lots of condiments and once a year I take them all out, clean the containers and shelves, replace any bug catcher (I hate pantry moths), and put them back in based on some new organizing idea I have. Sometimes it is by country, sometimes by size, and other times by usage. Depends on how I feel that day I suppose.
But I also have a variety of vinegars, homemade extracts, salts and peppers. I make sure the vinegars have clean lids, top off any extracts, and review the salts and peppers to make sure they are still good since they too are DIY.
Cookware
Once a year it pays to remove all of the cookware in your kitchen and place it on the counters or your kitchen table for a review. I start this with cleaning the cabinets or drawers the items were in, as inevitably my wild kitchen work will have left little bits in some of those places.
I am trying to remove all aluminum and teflon-type non-stick cookware from my kitchen due to my belief that aluminum and PFAS chemicals do not belong in our food. So I weed these out as I can afford to replace them.
- Burnt residue or rust on steel and cast iron cookware can be cleaned away with elbow grease, steel wool, and abrasive powders.
- Pitted steel skillets have been recycled.
- Non-stick pans that are flaking, or ceramic pots that are cut should be disposed of immediately, and not passed on to others.
- Warping, caused most often by rinsing a hot metal pan under cold water, will affect heat distribution while cooking and should be recycled.
- Items missing lids, if important to you, should be recycled or passed on.
- Items no longer used should be passed on.
To recycle these items take them to your county’s household recycling agency, or metal collection sites. If in a good state but the lid is missing donate to the GoodWill or offer on the Buy Nothing groups on Facebook. Or if there is no local option, get together with neighbors and use the TerraCycle “recycle anything” boxes. Another option is Calphalon’s free cookware recycling program.
Cutting Boards
I love my wooden cutting board, it was hand crafted by a work colleague and friend who gifted it to me one year. I clean it and oil it frequently throughout the year. But once a year it gets a little sanding to maintain its evenness, washed with lemon and salt, and re-oiled.
Dishwasher
We have a new dishwasher that we clean on the inside whenever needed, as food particles end up in the filter (1). For us, a deep clean means wiping down the door rim as well as the interior, emptying the interior filter, and running a cycle with vinegar. It also means taking a toothpick to the spray arms to make sure they are not clogged.
Drawers
This is one task that needs considering for more than once a year, emptying kitchen drawers, and cleaning them. Especially around the area where prepping is done. Crumbs fall into those drawers way to easily.
Food Containers
I am slowly getting rid of all of my plastic food containers, and moving over to glass, which is healthier. I am almost there, just a few more to go. But I also have quite a few 100% food-grade BPA-free polypropylene (#5) round containers that I use for dry storage (salt, herbs, dried mushrooms, etc.), and I do not subject them to high or freezing temps. I am thinking about getting rid of these as well but will do so over time. When I say “getting rid of” I mean giving away or recycling, if possible.
For my glass containers, I look to make sure that I have lids for everything. Anything without one gets evaluated. For instance I have some older round glass containers where the red lids have split, but I have kept them as the bowls are great for prepping.
Fridge + Freezer
We have a double doored fridge + freezer drawer, with the ice maker located in the freezer. Once a year I remove everything from the freezer and fridge and clean the interior, drawers, and shelves. Then go through all the things in the fridge to make sure they have not expired and are still usable. I am always amazed at things I forgot were in there.
The freezer space is smallish so I have to limit what is in there to what we actually need. As such, we recently got rid of all the ice packs, since really only two are needed. I acquire so many of them given my history of poor knees. The space is reserved for left overs; extra butter, bread, tortillas and pesto; and extra blueberries from our bushes.
Herbs + Spices
Once a year is a good time to review the dates on all the spices to decide if it is time to toss into the compost. If not dated, pour a bit in your hand, smell, then crumble and smell. If no aroma comes from the herb or spice, compost it.
Ice Containers
At least once a year it is a good idea to empty the ice container and clean it. But this is not on my yearly list like it used to be, for we do this every time we go on an RV trip. We bag up all the ice in our ice-maker and put it in the RV fridge for use later on the trip. So we have done this almost monthly over the past year.
The reason for doing this is that odors from the fridge/freezer can affect the ice flavor, so keeping the container clean keeps the ice neutral. Also, if there are power outages things might have defrosted enough to leak so it is a matter of food safety as well.
Most all ice maker containers are some form of plastic, so with that in mind, to disinfect mix ½C bleach with 1 gallon water. Dampen a clean cloth with this mixture, and wipe the interior. Wipe once again with clean water, before completely drying the ice maker with a microfiber cloth (1, 2, 3). Make sure to rinse well, n order to get rid of the bleach oder and taste. Sometimes, I use a warm soapy cloth and baking soda to clean.
Knives
I had not sharpened my knives in a very long time, so my spouse took them down to Ace Hardware, where a sharpener comes once a week to pickup items to sharpen at his workshop. We dropped off ~6 knives.
OMG were they sharp when returned. While using the newly sharpened bread knife, to slice a baguette lengthwise, I even managed to cut into a large part of my left thumb fleshy area. It was so sharp that it did not really hurt, but was deep enough to have to go to the hospital.
From then on to today, my spouse still cautions me about sharp knifes and to be careful. But knifes are the main tool of cooking, and so this is a known hazard, especially when not paying attention.
I am sharing this because after a long time of using dull knives, we can easily fall into the habit of handling the knives too casually. When being that casual with very sharp knives, however, major accidents are bound to happen. Now when I get back sharpened knives I make sure my mind is on task as I get used to the newly refreshed tools.
Leavening Agents
This is about baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and yeast. When used, these really need to be fresh for maximum effect. To test the viability of these items, give them a test by mixing the ingredients below and see if they bubble, or foam, as that indicates it is still good to use.
- 1/4t baking powder into 1/2C very hot water to see if it bubbles.
- 1/4t baking soda into 1/2C very hot water + 1/4t white vinegar to see if it bubbles.
- Mix 1/4t yeast with warm liquid + a pinch of sugar to see if it foams.
- 1/2C warm water + 1/2t cream of tartar + pinch of baking soda. If foaming it is good.
Range Hood Filters
Something I rarely think about, this the range filter and hood should get a thorough cleaning at least once a year. Take it apart per the appliance instructions and clean with a grease cutting soap like Dawn, and warm or hot water, carefully following the vendor’s instructions for maintenance.
Safety
Check the kitchen fire extinguisher to make sure it is still in good pressure. Also, make sure you know when and how to use the tool.
Spices
It is estimated that around one in five cases of foodborne illnesses is acquired in the home. A study looked at people preparing a turkey meal that was marked with a harmless MS2 tracker. After cooking, they found that for most of the kitchen surfaces positivity test did not exceed 20% for the MS2 tracer organism. However, the spice containers they used were found to have 48% positivity for MS2 cross-contamination. So this tells me we should also consider, once a year, emptying our spice containrers and cleaning them.
Sponges
Most kitchen sponges these days are made of cellulose (natural fibers) and the scrubby part is typically made of polyester or nylon. If you purchase antibacterial or odor-destroying sponges, it’s likely they contain chemicals like “triclosan,” an antibacterial and antifungal agent that is considered a pesticide. These materials are neither recyclable nor biodegradable, and are made from nonrenewables such as oil and gas.
So a while ago I decided to no longer buy these cheap commercial sponges, and have been able to change to fully recyclable kitchen sponges made from all natural fibers. Yes these are more expensive than the regular sponges we used to buy, but this product meets my kitchen needs, and personal goals of living sustainably.
So annually I look at what I am using and decide if I need to buy more or if my stash is okay. To keep these clean, just like other sponges, I will sometimes put them through the dishwasher cycle, cook them in the microwave for a couple of minutes, or just rinse them real well; and in all cases make sure to squeeze excess liquid from the sponge and let them thoroughly air dry.
Under Sink
Oh this is a chore, since my knees are bad, I have to grab a stool to sit on and then struggle to get back up. Or plead with my spouse to help me with this project.
Everything is removed from under the sink, and it gets cleaned. Also I keep an eye out for any leaks, just in case. Then I review what is stored there as this is basically our chemical storage area, and its contents deserves special attention.
We have some plastic drawers under there to keep smaller things in so those get cleaned and an inventory is taken to see if we need to buy anything. We make sure container labels are still clearly readable, and that we still use them.
For anything we no longer use, I check online to see how to properly dispose of the chemicals and containers. Mostly we have vinegar, bleach, and natural cleaning products. However, I do have some chemical stain removers, and cleaners as well. We also keep rags, garbage liners, compost liners, and brushes under there.
As with other things in our house, as items get used up we evaluate if there is a more eco-friendly replacement we could be using. Thus our sustainability improves over time.
Utensils
I do not like plastic utensils. I prefer wood and steel and what I have reflects that preference. Again, over time we are making changes where we can and when we can afford to do so.
Wooden materials are the oldest human made tools, along with using stones and ceramics of course, and are naturally antibacterial. But wooden utensils will also stain, even so, they are still good to use and any cooking colors will eventually wear away.
A typical mistake made by many, and one that I made in the early days of cooking, was putting my wooden utensils into the dishwasher, and it dried them out terribly. So they started to splinter. What I did was to hand sand the utensils down, then hand wash, air dry, and oil with a specialty oil made for wooden utensils and cutting boards (not cooking oils).
Another utensil to review is any natural bristle basting brushes. I had mine so long that the metal part was starting to rust, and the horse hairs started to come out of the brush and onto the food. I decided that this is one tool to switch over to a silicon version. But every year I go through those brushes and make sure they are really cleaned and still usable.
Taking Notes
Now, as I do these things it is very important to have a pad and pen nearby to jot down any items I need to replace. I certainly intend to do this all in one day, but honestly it is hard to do so. I start cooking and next thing I know, it is hours later and I did not accomplish everything.
To deep clean, try to get behind and under the stove and fridge, you will be amazed how much collects there. And an added benefit for the fridge is that removal of any dust-bunnies from the back will improve its function and let it last longer.
I also check the walls around the areas I cook and prep at, as well as at the back of the sink. Sometimes little bits are there and need removal.
Housework, and kitchen cleaning, is a never ending set of chores. But no one, who is living an active life, has kids or pets, can keep everything sanitized and without some crumbs here or there. My goal is to have a clean kitchen, and I do the best I can.
—Patty
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