Eco-friendly (and Cheap) Kitchen Cleaning

Spring is almost here and with it more light that will soon make us see all the smudges and dust that the dark days of winter were hiding mercifully. Spring is the time when we thoroughly clean all the corners that we might have overlooked. I don't like cleaning but with three small children at home it's just naturally my everyday chose. I decided to give my kitchen a good spring cleaning and I'd like to show you how it can be done effectivelly, cheap and also very eco-friendly.

Supplies

Cleaning your kitchen well doesn't need to be expensive at all. You'll need water, any soap that's good for cleaning (olive oil soap, castille soap etc.), baking soda, vinegar and you can add some essential oils. I divided the cleaning into various chapters according to the ingredients needed for the detergent. The specific recipes are in the corresponding chapters.

And now something about the ingredients:

Baking soda is great for cleaning burnt food and oil residue, it melts the limestone and is a great desinfectant. You can also find it under its chemical name sodium bicarbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3). Another thing that works well for the limestone is vinegar with its strong antibacterial effect. It also eliminates smells. The olive oil soap is great for removing grease. If you want to use essential oils for your detergents, I recommend tea tree which is strongly antibacterial. I also like using lemon grass, grapefruit or mandarine because I like the smell.

Step 1: Kitchen Desk and Other Surfaces

My DeGreaser is a champion in cleaning the kitchen dest and other surfaces made from any material but wood. I use the same detergent to clean also the fume hood and anything that needs degreasing.

Supplies:

- 300 ml of water

- 1 tbsp of grated soap

- lemon grass essential oil

- spray bottle.

Heat the water and let the soap melt in it. After is cools down add 10 drops of essential oil and fill the bottle. Spray the surface and wipe.

Step 2: Wooden Surface

All wooden surfaces are best to clean with vinegar solution.

Ingredients:

- 200 ml of vinegar

- 200 ml of water

- spray bottle

Mix the water and the vinegar and fill the bottle. Spray the wooden surfaces and wipe.

Once every few months it's also good to treat the wooden surfaces with oil. I pour a nice layer of olive oil onto the surface, let it work for a few minutes, then wipe it with a clean towel and let the rest soak in the wood and dry.

Step 3: Wooden Spoons

It's good to desinfect the wooden spoons and other wooden kitchenware with vinegar once in a while. Just fill a glass with vinegar, put the spoons in it and let the vinegar do its magic for some 30 minutes. Kitchenware that can't be placed in a glass (like rolling pin) should be at least washed with vinegar.

Step 4: Cooking Stove

The best to clean all that's burnt on your stove it the baking soda. Use spray for smaller burns or paste for bigger ones. Your stove will probably need some degreasing as well, so use the degreaser from the first step.

Ingredients for spray:

- 300 ml of water

- 1 tbsp of baking soda

- spray bottle

Mix the water with the soda and fill the bottle. Spray the burns, let it work for 5 minutes and wipe.

Ingredients for paste:

- 4 tbsp of baking soda

- 1-2 tbsp of water

Mix the soda with the water and mix well. Cover all the burns with the paste and let it work for 10 minutes, then wipe. Most of the burn should go away, repeat the process for the rest.

Step 5: Kitchen Sink

After you've removed all the dirt from the sink and degrease it, it's good to wipe the whole sink with vinegar. Vinegar will not only kill the bacteria but it also helps to remove the limestone and to shine the sink.

Step 6: Fridge

To clean the fridge the best is to make a vinegar and water solution mentioned in one of the previous steps. Just mix 1 part of vinegar and 1 part of water. You can spray the frindge with it or just soak a clean towel and clean the fridge with it. The vinegar will eliminate any bad smell, the limestone and - of course - bacteria.

Step 7: Cups

Are your cups dirty from tea or coffee and your dishwashes doesn't seem to be able to fix that? Simply pour some vinegar into the cup, let it stand for half an hour and then wipe the film. Another way is to put a teaspoon of baking soda in the cup and pour hot water in it. Then let stand and wipe.

Step 8: Oven, Baking Trays, Pots, Grill

If you need to remove burnt dirt from the oven, the baking trays, any pots or the grill, use the paste from the previous step - mix 4 parts of soda with 1 part of water.

Smear the paste over the whole inside of the oven/grill/pot/tray and let it work for half an hour. Then clean with warm water.

Step 9: Floor

The floor can be cleaned with vinegar, just add some of it in the water. To enhance the cleaning power and give it a nice smell, collect any citrus peels in a big jar, pour vinegar and let it sit for several weeks, then use this citrus infused vinegar. The best ratio in 3 parts of water to 1 part of vinegar but it will work also with a bit more of water.

If you need to clean the joints between the tiles on your floor, pour some vinegar on them and then brush the joints. The dirt will go immediatelly.

Step 10: Corners

The corners of the kitchen and of the electrodomestics is a great place for the sticky dirt to stay hidden but there's something that will get rid of it almost instantly - the baking soda! Make the paste mentioned before - 1 part of water and 4 parts of soda and cover the dirt. Let it work for several minutes and wipe. Repeat if necessary.

Step 11: Water Kettle

Water kettles tend to get a film of limestone. Fill the kettle with vinegar, let it snad for a few hours and then wash with warm water.

Step 12: Kitchen Towels

Not to forget the kitchen towels! You probably wash them regularly but once in a while it's good to boil them for 20 minutes in water with 1 tablespoon of baking soda per liter. Your towels will be desinfected and overall nicely clean.