19 Things You Need To Clean In Your Kitchen, But You’re Not

Whether its spring cleaning or fall cleaning, there are several areas in your kitchen you should be cleaning on a regular basis. I’m sharing 19 things you need to clean in your kitchen, but you’re not! And, it’s time to change that!

19 Things You Need To Clean In Your Kitchen, But You’re Not

It’s spring somewhere. Here in Michigan, I’m still not certain that spring has shown up. However, that doesn’t mean spring cleaning hasn’t started around the Worthey house. And it’s all hands on deck. I have quite a few tips to help you dive into spring cleaning:

• Spring Cleaning Your Laundry Room
• Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen’s Most Neglected Areas
• Spring Cleaning Your Fridge
• 7 Brilliant Bathroom Cleaning Hacks
• Refresh With 9 Essential Home Cleaning Hacks
• 7 Awesome Cleaning and Organizing tips for the Pantry
• 7 Amazing Tips for Cleaning and Organizing Kids’ Rooms
• 23 Best Laundry Hacks Every Mom Needs To Know
• 9 Cleaning and Organizing Hacks for your Laundry Room
• Spring Cleaning Your Laundry Room

Those are all great tips and ideas on how to make the most of your spring cleaning, and make sure you don’t miss one single area. 

However, let’s focus on the kitchen right now. Did you know there are several areas in your kitchen that you should be cleaning on a regular basis, but you are not doing it?

Yup, that’s right. Check out the list below:

19 things you should clean in your kitchen that you don’t think about it

1. Coffee pot. As an avid coffee drinker, this is one item I forget to clean. It’s also important to change your filters, as well as run water through your coffee machine a few times. If you’re not a coffee pot drinker, it could be your teapot. 
2. The inside of the dishwasher. It’s one of those things you think will clean itself, which some fancy dishwashers may have this option. But, you should still do a manual sweep of the inside of your dishwasher. We use our dishwasher several times per week, which means food and grease can easily get stuck and create a build-up.
3. Your stove top. If you clean this consistently, this will be an easy spring cleaning task for you. Cooking daily, our stove gets to do a lot of the dirty work. 
4. Behind the stove. At least 1-2 times per year you should pull the stove (and fridge) out, and clean off the gathered dust. You may also find that missing lunch bag someone meant to toss on top of the refrigerator but missed. I’ve found important papers and a few trinkets the last time I pulled out the fridge. 
5. Underneath the range hood and the top of the hood + stove exhaust filter. Grease gathers on the inside and outside of your hood. And if your kitchen range hood has a filter, you should also clean that (or change it). 
6. The trash can (inside and out). Grease, dirt, food, and who knows what else will find its way into your garbage can. Cleaning out the trash can should be something you do monthly, but at least a few times per year. 
7. The cabinets. Dust, grease, and other muck can easily gather on the top, front and sides of your cabinets. Be sure this item is on your spring cleaning list. I highly recommend wiping down the front of your cabinets at least once per week and cleaning the top of the cabinets every few months. This will make your job a little easier during spring and fall cleaning. 
8. Utensil holder. When’s the last time you took all of the utensils out and scrubbed the inside of the jar? Muck and residue can easily find a home inside of a utensil holder- just think about the last time a jar of pasta sauce exploded all over the kitchen. 
9. Reusable grocery bags. This is probably one you don’t think about, but toss those bags into the washer. It carts your groceries at least once per week. With juice stains, food spills, rogue food items, bacteria quickly accumulates in those bags. Follow the washing instructions on the bag, but most are machine washable. 
10. Clean or replace your sponges. Sponges pick up quite a few germs, it’s not even funny. You can toss the sponges in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or put it in the dishwasher. However, change out your sponges once they are showing wear and tear. 
11. Your microwave. This may be one that you are doing consistently, and that’s great. However, I’ve seen some pretty disgusting microwaves in my day, especially in the breakroom. 
12. The inside and outside of your fridge. I try to clean the inside of my fridge at least once per month. As well as scrubbing and wiping down every nook and cranny of my fridge, I also use this time to toss out expired food, old left-overs, and vegetables that have not been used. Be sure to also wipe down the refrigerator seal.
13. Spice rack/Jars of seasonings. We use our spices on a daily a basis. We both try to wipe them down right after we’ve used them, but sometimes a greasy jar of seasoning find its way back into the cabinet. 
14. The toaster. With a few boys in this house, and they all love toast- our toaster works hard. Take out the trays at the bottom of the toaster and wipe them down. Don’t forget to turn the toaster over and shake out any remaining crumbs. ( I recommend doing this over the sink or the garbage can). 
15. Sink/Garbage disposal. We use our sink and garbage disposal on a daily basis. I will slice up a few lemons and let them sit in the garbage disposal for a bit. Then, I turn on the disposal and let the lemons do the rest of the work. 
16. Small Kitchen appliances. When’s the last time you give your mixer a thorough cleaning? What about the juicer you use on a daily basis? This would also be a great time to make sure you have all the parts to your small appliance; organize them and store them where you can easily access them. 
17. Underneath the cabinets. Depending on the layout and set-up of your kitchen, your cabinets may go all the way to the floor, or they may have legs like my cabinets. Be sure to take a broom, duster, and get all the dirt and dropped food from under the cabinet. When you’re mopping the floor, don’t forget to swing the mop underneath the cabinet. 
18. Dish rack. If you use a dish rack, this should be cleaned on a weekly basis. I tossed my dish rack out several years ago because it took up space on my kitchen counter, and with the water residue created mildew. But, if you still use a dish rack, be sure you are scrubbing it down with a little bleach.
19. Tossing out things that no longer belong in your kitchen. Chipped plates, cups with no handles, rusty spoons, wok pans that are no longer healthy to use, are just a few of the many things you should toss out in your kitchen. As part of your spring cleaning routine, you should clean out the cabinets and get rid of unnecessary pots and pans, glassware, utensils, and dishes.

There are other things you should also think about cleaning in your kitchen- wiping down the counters, cleaning every single cabinet out, wiping down the walls, cleaning out the junk drawer, wiping down all of your appliances, including the small kitchen appliances, and the list can go on. However, I wanted to highlight these 19 things, since many people can forget about those tedious items. 

Did I miss something? If so, drop me a line and let me know! I hope this list helps you tackle all of those neglected areas in your kitchen.