These days, we are all about fresh beginnings. The start of a new season, the dawn of a new year: both are moments to reflect on the past and look ahead, ready to embrace new opportunities, challenges and possibilities. But sometimes, it’s the little things that keep us grounded in the present. Freshening up and revitalising your kitchen, ready for the turn of the Spring can really add that little bit of spark to your life.
Change the Curtains
Harsh winter light, bright sun, and high or low temperatures can all wreak havoc on curtains. Get to replacing your draperies, removing dusty plastic blinds, and freshening up your interior with these spring updates. Add some bright coloured blinds; making the room not only beautiful but nice and bright – making the room that bit bigger.
Clean out the Fridge
Before you start the cleaning and organising frenzy, first make sure you’re comfortable with everything inside your fridge. Packing it up for spring and summer sounds good, but pulling out that last leftover chicken or fish is a lot for your body to handle. When you’re done cleaning, make sure you donate any unwanted food to a local food bank, where you can ensure it’ll go to a good home.
Clean out the Pantry
Once you’re done chucking out your seasonal junk, it’s time to go back to the basics and purge your pantry of all the stuff you can’t eat. Make room for some real food in there so you can get back to eating better in preparation for the warmer months ahead.
Wash the Stovetop
Cleaning the stovetop is the easiest and best way to maintain a gleaming surface all year long. Soak all of your grills and pans in hot water, before throwing them in the dishwasher. Get to work on your stovetop; scrape off any built-up debris. Once this is out of the way, common household cleaning products and hot water should do the job nicely.
Clean the Oven
Cleaning the oven is one of the worst jobs, we all know that and we all put it off. You don’t want to spend all that time scrubbing off scummy, grimy dirt from the oven. You also don’t want to spend all that time doing it when you could be out enjoying spring sunshine. Instead, treat the oven like your bathroom and simply run the air conditioning and use oven cleaner. It’s not as scary or time-consuming as scrubbing but it will do the job. Now that you’ve cleaned out and aired out the oven, you might want to use it for other things besides reheating frozen pizza.
Clean the Floors
With all the melting and dirty snow comes slippery grout, grime, and gross water stains. It’s essential to clean up the grout on your kitchen floor before you turn your attention to other spring cleaning projects. Get rid of floors with watermarks and if you’ve been meaning to try a floor treatment that’s new to you, now’s your chance. Squirt a small bottle of floor cleaner on top of the watermark on your flooring. Let it sit for a minute or two, then wipe with a brush, rinse, and wipe dry.
Declutter the Countertops
If you’re like me and you cover your countertops with appliances, pots (both clean and dirty), novelty kitchen pieces and much more, now is your time to consider decluttering and polishing off those countertops. Consider your cupboard space and take advantage of this. If you have a pantry, excellent – start using this and keep your kitchen tops clean.
Declutter the Cabinets
While it might seem like these are obvious areas for spring cleaning, I don’t often recommend tackling the kitchen cabinets. However, decluttering the kitchen cabinets is a great way to wake up the interior of your home. If your appliances are looking a bit dishevelled, it’s time to give them some TLC. It’s a great idea to do this now, when you’re not expecting company, to avoid the inconvenience (and disappointment) down the road. Whilst you’re in the cabinets, you could consider replacing your salt and pepper shakers to give your kitchen a modern, polished look and help add some personality to your cooking.
Open the Windows
The fresh air of spring is an invigorating change, so don’t wait for the air-conditioning to kick in to roll your windows down! Open your windows to bring in the breezes – you can’t beat that fresh spring air.
Add Some Flowers
Fresh spring colours are pretty much a no brainer, but why not take it up a notch with some amazing blooms? Find beautiful flowers at your local farmer’s market or through online flower delivery sites. This will add a burst of bright colour to your kitchen and bring you a huge sense of spring and happiness.
