Your Kitchen
The hardest working room in your home is the kitchen. It's where we prepare and oftentimes eat our meals. It's also a social center where kids do homework and projects, friends join us for casual entertaining and it can also double as a home office. Here are some tips to help you keep it clean.
Cleanliness is imperative in the kitchen and quick action will help maintain a clean, safe environment. Cooking and food preparation, spills, spatters, grease and odors combine to create potentially unsanitary conditions.
Food spills in the oven should be wiped up as soon as possible. Lining the oven with aluminum foil prevents spilled food from baking on in the first place. Enamel stovetops can sometimes develop hard-to-wipe-off stains that seem to worsen as time goes on. Sprinkle a few drops of your favorite essential oil on the stain and it should wipe right up.
Sprinkle spilled grease in the oven with salt. When the oven cools, wipe it clean with a soft cloth. Baking soda is also good at soaking up grease when applied in the same way.
Sanitize a wooden cutting board by rubbing it with a freshly cut half of a lemon, lime or grapefruit. You can also soak the cutting board in a solution of 2 cups of water to which 15 drops of essential oil has been added. Then wash the cutting board with soap and hot water.
Electric can openers can collect all sorts of debris on the cutting blade mechanism. Use a clean, soft toothbrush dampened with 2 to 3 drops of any essential oil to clean in and between the small parts. Rinse and it will be sparkling clean.
Freshen up the garbage disposal by tossing in the remains of a lemon, lime or orange. Run the disposal until the fruit is gone.
Instead of using paper towels to wipe up spills or clean the counter tops, make your own supply of ready-to-use kitchen wipes. Store multiple squares of soft cotton cloths or cellulose sponge in a container filled with a mixture of one cup of water, an ounce of liquid castile soap and 6 to 8 drops of your favorite essential oil. Use old t-shirts or pajamas to make the cloths. You can launder these 'wipes,' and then return them to the jar for re-use. Be sure the jar is capped when you're not using the wipes.
Nothing works in the kitchen like citrus cleaner. Make a pleasant-smelling floor cleaner by combining a gallon of hot water, 2 tablespoons of liquid castile soap, 15 drops of sweet orange essential oil and 8 drops of lemon essential oil (or one-quarter cup of lemon juice instead of lemon essential oil). Mix the ingredients in a large bucket. Dip a mop into the mixture and wring well. Mop the floor in sections, using short strokes. Dip and rinse the mop as needed. Rinsing isn't necessary.
