A Realistic Kitchen Refresh: The Inside/Out Cleaning Plan

Happy Friday! Weekends on the Cure mean two things – that it’s time to pick yourself up some new flowers and that you have three days to complete your assignment. So, armed with lovely blooms, you have some extra time to tackle this weekend’s focus room, the kitchen. Now, before you run away screaming, just hear me out. The goal is to get your kitchen to a cleaner, better state by Sunday night, while not burning out on the overall Cure on your way there. I’ve developed a plan so that you can spend a realistic amount of time on this big chore by choosing one of two ways to go with your kitchen refresh: inside or out.

Pick up some fresh flowers or fruit (and enjoy them!).

and

Clean your kitchen! Choose an “inside or out” track and get started.

Remember, the Cure is about investing time now to create a better home for you to enjoy all year – it’s not about perfection, but improvement. Each kitchen task you complete will make the space that much more effective, attractive and simply a nicer place to spend time working and relaxing in.

With some music or a podcast playing and the right mindset in place it should be just fine – and you’ll be wowed by how good it feels to work in a cleaner, less crowded space. So, figure out which way you want to go:

If you who feel that the exterior surfaces of your kitchen are already in pretty good shape, choose the “inside” track which will focus more on organization.

For those who feel that their kitchen could use some attention on the “outside” at this point, choose that track and focus more on cleaning.

It’s really ok to just choose one. You can always do the “other” plan at some point in the near future – if you’d like, you can even add it to your list. Don’t worry – you’ll get to it – and it won’t be a big deal when you do, because the other half of the work will already be done.

Clear out the fridge. Get rid of the items that are expired and wipe down the shelves, replacing just the items that are still fresh and usuable in an organized fashion.

Clear out your cabinets and drawers. Do a purge of the contents, putting items you no longer use in the outbox. Think about getting rid of cookware, servingware, dishes, utensils, small appliances, tools and glassware that are:

• Chipped, stained or mismatched, unless mismatching is intentional 🙂
• No longer used regularly
• Worn out or broken
• Things you’ve been holding on to for a while now for future use, but never actually use

Edit down the odds and ends that we all collect in our kitchen (mugs, I’m looking at you) to a reasonable amount of ones that you truly like.

If you notice that you are short on certain necessary items or need to replace something that you are getting rid of due to breakage, etc. add a note to replace them to your list of projects.

Declutter all surfaces.

Get the sink gleaming.

Clean the outside of all big appliances: stove, hood, fridge, dishwasher. Do the same for any smaller appliances (microwave, toaster, mixer, blender) that are out on your counters

Wipe down all counter and cabinet surfaces with a good earth-friendly surface cleaner.

Clean the trash can, inside and out.

And, just like last week when we were tackling the floors, lets stick together and keep the energy up all weekend long – use the comments to support each other throughout your chores (definitely let us know which track you choose, how it’s going and let us know when you are done). Good luck to us all, we can do this!