Spring Cleaning: Kitchen

I've always started spring cleaning in the kitchen.
Here's our list:

• Clear everything off the counters and disinfect.
• Seal grout again . . . since our counters are brand new we have to seal them again, 6 months after we originally sealed them (read more about that here.)
• Wipe down cabinet fronts with a damp cloth.
• Sweep and Mop Kitchen Floor. 
• Clean Oven and stove top.
• Wipe down pendant lights.
• Clean Microwave (microwave a bowl of hot water with slices of lemon for 30 seconds. then wipe down).
• Throw the Lemon slices, from the microwave, down the garburator (a great way to freshen the garburator). 
• Take garbage can out side and wash out the bin with dish soap and water.

Since we just moved in 6 months ago, there are a few things we won't have to do this year. For example:

• Pull the fridge out and vacuum the coils. (if your fridge has covered coils there's still a little open part at the bottom and those will still need vacuuming), you should vacuum the refrigerator coils once a year to keep your fridge running in tip top shape. 
• Pull the stove out and sweep and mop underneath. 

The one thing we HAD to tackle was the Fridge. Here's the clean fridge and here's how we organized it:

1.  Eggs- We get our eggs from a local vendor, well actually it's a house a couple dozen blocks away. I bought these little ceramic egg cartons to hold the eggs.
2. Herb Keeper- This thing is GREAT, I once kept a bunch of cilantro for a month in this! It also stores Green Onions and keeps them fresh, crisp and slime free. I'll definitely be investing in another one!

     3. This Tupperware container is fabulous! It's from Ikea, the plastic is BPA free. It has two chambers the perfect size and shape to keep deli meats in. We slice it then store it in layers, one layer for ham, one layer for turkey, one layer for cheese, it's like a sandwich in a container. It comes with two levels, but you can buy additional levels at Ikea and they all fit together for an air tight seal (no more slimey deli meat).

     4. The Rubbermaid Produce Saver- it really does keep your produce fresh. We bring home heads of lettuce, cut them up into salad sized pieces, and store them in the produce saver. That way making a salad is super quick, or I can just grab a couple pieces and throw them on to a sandwich for Lee's lunch. You can buy the produce savers at any big box store (Target, Walmart etc. . . )
     5. Bottle of Vodka, everyone needs one of these in their freezer :) Just in case!

A couple other things in our fridge:
-The Large plastic Lemon at the top left of the fridge, is a Lemon Keeper, you can slice up a lemon or lime and put it in the container and they stay juicy for up to a week.
-The carrots and celery chopped up on the middle left. Right from the grocery store we chop up the carrots and celery and put them into little bags or containers for quick snacks (if I don't have something quick and easy to grab I end up getting something not very good for me).
-The Cucumbers in the middle container! A delicious concoction my Mom came up with (recipe to follow later today).
-And last at the top is some cut up pineapple, yum!!
and that's our fridge! Why do I feel like I was just on MTV's Cribs? haha

Meet you back here tomorrow for some more Spring Cleaning from around the Manor!