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The kitchen can be one of the dirtiest places in your home. Use this thorough kitchen deep cleaning checklist to get it sparkling clean, little by little (perfect for working women!).
The soft, downward whirl of the tiny orange and gray speck was mesmerizing.
It twisted and twirled in a thoughtless yet gentle dance, before settling in silence….
…on the bottom of my water glass.
Deep clean your kitchen much? If you don’t, you probably need to start.
The kitchen can be one of the dirtiest places in your home. The combination of heavy human presence, water, foodborne bacteria, and, well, rotting organic material make for a grubby environment.
The Importance of a Kitchen Deep Cleaning Checklist
Deep cleaning is the opposite of speed cleaning. Instead of quickly wiping things down and straightening up, deep cleaning requires you to complete a thorough, meticulous clean of your home.
Even if you clean your kitchen every day like I do, there are probably places you don’t always think to clean. As a result, running through a strong kitchen deep cleaning checklist every now and then is a great idea.
Still not convinced? Look, I thought my kitchen was clean. But then the water dispenser in my refrigerator door gifted me with the bonus prize of lime scale and disgusting orange mildew in my drinking water.
Because I like my water without a squeeze of lime scale, I decided to start deep cleaning my kitchen every so often.
How Often Should You Deep Clean Your Kitchen?
If you glance over my kitchen deep cleaning checklist below, you’ll see that it includes some major tasks. For working women especially, it’s hard to deep clean the kitchen all the time.
Should you empty and wipe down the insides of your kitchen cabinets as often as you clean your microwave?
Not by a long shot!
My kitchen deep cleaning checklist includes kitchen-specific tasks that you’d do daily or weekly, as well as tasks that are reserved for deep cleaning only. As a result, you’ll get the whole kitchen completely clean. All you need are my kitchen deep cleaning checklist, plus my whole home deep cleaning checklist for universal deep cleaning tasks.
That being said, you can deep clean your kitchen as often as needed. Some people do it once a month, some do it once per quarter.
In a separate post, I’ll provide a checklist for daily and weekly kitchen cleaning tasks. So please don’t think that I expect you to empty and scrub your cabinets on a weekly basis!
Order of Deep Cleaning Tasks
You’ve probably heard that cleaning top-to-bottom is the most efficient method. That’s how tasks on my kitchen deep cleaning checklist are ordered. As a result, you’ll clean more efficiently and minimize re-cleaning areas you’ve already done.
The tasks on my kitchen deep cleaning checklist are also ordered in a way that makes sense. As a result, you can move methodically through deep cleaning your kitchen.
In addition, you don’t have to deep clean your entire kitchen at once. You can take a break from cleaning if you need to. You’ll know just where to start when you have time to finish deep cleaning your kitchen.
Complete the Kitchen Deep Cleaning Checklist in Bite-Sized Chunks, If Needed
If you don’t have the time or sanity to complete the entire kitchen deep cleaning checklist in one day (Raising my hand!), do it in chunks. Find 10-45 minutes each day and complete one or two tasks from the checklist.
Some tasks will take just a few minutes, some may take close to an hour. It depends on the size and features of your kitchen, how clean it already is, and how quickly you work. This checklist is perfect for working women, because you don’t have to do the tasks all at once. You can do a task or two here and there, whenever you have time.
Speaking of which… do you have trouble keeping your house clean? If so, you might want to check out my post on how to keep your house clean in 30 minutes a day.
Kitchen Deep Cleaning Checklist
Use this checklist to deep clean your entire kitchen. You can complete it all in one day, or work on it in bite-sized chunks.
Be sure to check out my whole-home deep cleaning checklist for universal tasks to complete in every room, including the kitchen. Those tasks aren’t included in the checklist below, but you’ll want to complete them as well.
- Clean stove hood and replace filter
- Wipe down upper cabinets
- Dust underside of upper cabinets
- Remove items from cabinets, one at a time, and wipe down insides of cabinets
- Remove items from kitchen drawers, one at a time, and wipe down insides of drawers
- Clean utensil holders, baskets, fruit bowls, anything else that sits on your countertop, inside and out
- Clean small appliances – coffee maker, blender, stand mixer, microwave, etc
- Run dishwasher through a cycle using dishwasher cleaning solution
- Degrease and clean oven, inside and out
- Clean in between panes of glass on oven door
- Empty and clean out drawer in bottom of oven
- Remove all items from refrigerator and clean shelves, walls, drawers, tops and bottoms (It might be easier to remove drawers and shelves and clean them in the sink)
- Clean ice and water dispensers on refrigerator and replace filter)
- Wipe down outside of refrigerator
- Clean backsplash
- Clean crevices between backsplash an counter
- Wipe down countertops
- De-scale faucet and spray nozzle
- Run and clean garbage disposal
- Clean sink
- Clean and disinfect trash can and recycling bin
- Spot-clean walls
- Wipe down lower cabinets
- Clean floor
Kitchen Deep Cleaning Checklist: Conclusion
This kitchen deep cleaning checklist focused on getting your kitchen completely clean, from top to bottom. As a result, you’ll achieve a great foundation for a deep-cleaned home.
I recommend using my whole-home deep cleaning checklist in the kitchen first (Link below). Then, you can move on to my kitchen deep cleaning checklist.
Want free printable copies of my deep cleaning checklists? Join the ShowMe Suburban community and get access to my cleaning and organizing resource library! You’ll also receive my free weekly emails, where you’ll learn simple habits and routines to keep your home clean and organized, so you can relax away from work without feeling the stress of a messy home. Sign up here!
Coming soon – my deep cleaning checklists for the rest of your home! Check back here for updates – I’ll link to each new checklist once I’ve published it.
Kitchen
Dining Room
Playroom
Closets
Laundry Room
Utility Room
Basement
Garage