Spring Cleaning for your Kitchen and Pantry

As we wrap up our spring cleaning week, we are going to focus on our Foodie Friday topic and talk about spring cleaning your kitchen, pantry, and meal planning routines. Don’t worry, this will not be all about the best ways to scrub your cabinets and deep clean your kitchen. That type of deep spring cleaning is important too, but today we are going to look at spring cleaning your kitchen and the role it plays in the food you consume multiple times each day. 

Considering that eating and planning your meals is one of the most common things you do in a day (seriously, I have to figure out what to feed myself 3 times a day!) it plays a big part in the overall life you have. Making some changes, streamlining some processes, and saving a little money all compound into impactful improvements when you add up how often you are preparing or eating food. 

This is a great place to focus some spring cleaning efforts and it will have a big impact on your life! Before you start, take a moment to evaluate if anything has been causing your frustration or has felt overly difficult related to food, cooking, or meal prep. Any problem areas are great places to start making some spring cleaning changes!

Spring cleaning your kitchen and more!

Wipe it down with a degreasing cleaner

I did have to start here because after all, spring cleaning is about cleaning. Cooking food sends up tiny particles of grease into the air where it then floats around and lands on surfaces. 

Take some time to wipe down counters, cabinets, and the exterior of your appliances with a mixture of hot water and dish soap to cut the grease and freshen everything up. 

Meal Plan

Take some time to evaluate your meal habits for the last few months. Are there habits you have been falling into that don’t serve you well or don’t align with your goals? Take some time to make a plan for new habits and get rid of anything that doesn’t work for you right now. 

Give your appliances a good clean

• Empty out your fridge/freezer (this is a great thing to do at the same time as the next prompt!) and wipe down the shelves, drawers, and walls inside. 
• Run some hot water in your microwave and give it a good scrub. 
• Look for any dirt or buildup in your dishwasher and scrub it away. If your dishwasher has a filter, check it and clean it out too.
• Scrub and wash your burners and the top of your stovetop. Run the self-cleaning cycle in your oven if it has one, or pick up some heavy-duty oven cleaner if there is no self-cleaning cycle. 

Look for unused items hidden in dark corners

Kitchens have a way of accumulating things in the back of shelves and cabinets. Bring them to light by going through your shelves and cabinets looking for forgotten things hiding in the back! You may have different problem areas than I do, but I find forgotten food and things in the following areas:

• Freezer. Unload some shelves, and dig out what is in the back. If it is bad, toss it. If it can still be eaten, leave it front and center and make a plan to use it in a meal this week. 
• Fridge. Old forgotten condiments and salad dressing are my Achilles heel! Take a minute to look at your sauces and dressings. Toss any that you don’t like/won’t use. Check expiration dates and make a meal plan to use up any that are expired soon. 
• Pantry. For me, the pantry has too many dark corners for things to hide! Take a look through the pantry checking for things that are close to the expiration date, or anything that you know you just won’t use. If they are not expired, make a plan to donate them to a food bank so someone can use the food rather than throwing it away. 
• Cookware. Take inventory of your cooking tools, pots, pans, utensils and see if there are any that you don’t use anymore. Depending on what you don’t use, consider selling on Facebook Marketplace or donating to a thrift store. 
• Spices. Check the spices you have on hand and toss any that don’t smell like the spice anymore. 

Save the environment

The kitchen is the top place in the house for one-time-use items. From paper towels, plastic baggies, and food wrappers, most household trash is generated in the kitchen. Make a few easy swaps in the kitchen to reduce your environmental impact:

• Replace plastic baggies with reusable bags or silicone covers   
• Use washcloths and rags in place of paper towels  
• Bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store and use smaller produce bags to replace the thin plastic produce bags.    

Set new habits for food prep and meals

If there are any dietary changes you want to make in your life (eating more fruits and veggies, less takeout, or meal delivery, less processed foods etc), take some time to figure out what support you will need to have in place to make it happen. 

By planning ahead, and doing some prep work, like canceling accounts with meal delivery places, having the tools to store, prep, and cook more fruit and veggies, you will have a better chance of these new habits sticking for the long term. 

Spring clean any toxins in your kitchen

There are toxins hiding in many of the products people use in their kitchen every day. If you are concerned about how these toxins can affect your body, then make some intentional swaps like:

• Replace toxic cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, and hot water.
• Replace Teflon-coated pans with ceramic, cast iron, or stainless steel pans. 
• Replace plastic food storage containers with glass or metal ones.  
• Buy a plant for your kitchen that helps to remove toxins from the air. This article has some great suggestions!   

Make healthier food swaps

If you have been looking to improve your health, then take some time to find healthier alternatives to some of the food you eat the most. This will look different for each person, but take some time to identify what food swaps you want to make. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How will buying and storing this alternative food be different than my original food choice?
• What will the preparation of this new food choice look like? Do I have the equipment I need?
• Are there new skills or recipes I need to find and learn before I prepare them?

The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home. It makes sense given all of the time and energy it takes to feed ourselves in a given day, especially before some of the modern technology we currently have that makes things so much faster (thank you microwave!). 

This week, I focused on a few of the most important areas of life that are in line with this finance blog. As we wrap up spring cleaning week, take a moment and see if there are any areas of your life that are not working smoothly or feel more difficult than they should be. 

If you identify any, focus on some spring cleaning on these areas. Are things you can cut out or delegate?  What can you clean up and automate? What can you swap to replace it with a healthier choice? Be critical in your evaluation and see what life improvements you can make this spring! 

If you need some more spring cleaning inspiration, check out my other spring cleaning posts about spring cleaning your finances and spring cleaning your life!

Is the kitchen your favorite or least favorite place for spring cleaning? What are your best tips and tricks for spring cleaning your kitchen? I would love to hear all about it in the comments below or over on Instagram!

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