Many can agree that the heart of the home is the kitchen. It’s the space that every family gathers to reconnect, share meals, engage, and bond with each other. And many will also agree that the heart of the home can always, always use a good deep cleaning. Here’s why and how to spring clean kitchens to keep this hub sparkling for your residential cleaning customers.
This special space is often used to entertain and host special guests. It is the place where we share our dreams, hopes, and life experiences with the ones we love while enjoying delicious food.
The kitchen is no longer a place that we keep secluded to the back of the house. In fact, modern homes are designed with the kitchen being one of the main focal points according to this article. It would be advantageous for any homeowner to keep the kitchen as clean as they can – areas seen and unseen.
Here are a few reasons to “spring” clean your residential cleaning customers’ kitchens.
• First, it helps the homeowner to assess their kitchen’s culinary inventory.
It’s easy to forget about a Dutch oven you thought wasn’t returned to you. Or, a Crock pot that was given as a gift many, many years ago. But intentionally going into each cabinet to wipe down can reveal a lot of “I-forgot-about-that’s”.
• Secondly, it gives the homeowner the opportunity to organize the room.
Your customers may not realize how much they have evolved as a family until it’s time to reorganize. This allows them to prioritize and set things up as their needs change.
This always reveals little things like Jr.’s bag of extra pacifiers. Or, little Sarah’s baby teeth that were stashed away and never made it to the keepsake bin.
• Lastly, “spring cleaning” a kitchen can rid your cupboards, fridge, shelves and drawers of outdated food. Ugh.
I know. I know. But just think what would happen to a swollen bag of bad lettuce left to rot in the back of the fridge. Or, to your discovery, an old bag of contaminated rice.
Hey, it happens. Full disclosure. It happened to us – a professional cleaning company.
So we had a situation with the grain weevil at our own home. It took a few days to realize that I wasn’t seeing an isolated bug here or there on our kitchen counter tops. I mean, after all – it was spring.
We were just opening the windows to air out the house from another harsh winter in Chicago, Illinois and so to have a bug or two was no huge deal. Until I opened a cabinet to further investigate.
And there they were. Just doing their little bug thing. Eating, moving, hatching. You name it.
I was disgusted to say the least.
Needless to say, I went on one of the most thorough cleaning frenzies that I can remember.
Ever!
It took me about 3 days to wash EVERYTHING by hand. Reorganizing drawers, tossing expired food or useless stuff, gifting items, or storing Elbert’s latest gadgets in the basement became my latest obsession.
And because I was a professional cleaner, I had to work in the margins to get my own home “professionally” clean.
Hahaha. Funny right!
This! This is when I learned how to spring clean a kitchen. My own darn kitchen. I learned why it was necessary and everything that needed to be done. And I continue to do this professional deep cleaning every Spring.
Yep, in my own kitchen.
We offered kitchen spring cleaning to several of our customers and they loved it!
Now, just as I mentioned in a previous post of how to spring clean bathrooms, you will want to get permission first. Never do extra work unless approved by your customer.
When requesting permission to clean, be prepared. Be very specific with the tasks you’re going to perform. Think about the estimated time it will take you to clean. (Don’t be shy to explain to your customer that it may take 2 or 3 cleaning visits to complete).
Schedule your time considering your other customers. Also, I found it useful to hire extra help from this company whenever we were in a bind and extra cleaning was overwhelming. Consider pricing by the hour. Average rates in the US $25 – $45 per hour/ per person. No kidding.
Here is a step-by-step of how to spring clean the kitchen, professionally spring cleaning.
1. If your customer wants you to clean the inside of the dishwasher, there are store bought products to use. You can run this while you clean other things.
2. Ceiling fan and light fixture. Wash blades if you can reach them.
3. Wipe out the refrigerator and freezer. (I would say, only non-frost freezers). Wash down all sides of the exterior. Don’t forget the to clean near the rubbers seals. 😉
4. Clean the oven and stove top. (If oven is self-cleaning, perhaps have a conversation with your customer the night before your arrival to set it for self-cleaning).
5. Wipe inside of cabinets and drawers one at a time. Including both sides of the door, edge and hardware.
6. Wash small appliances.
7. Wipe commonly touched wall areas.
8. Wash open shelves, mirrors, walls hangings.
9. Fully clean the kitchen table and chairs. Including legs and remove the table leaf to clean around.
10. Use this awesome vacuum rather than sweep. I can’t recommend it more highly. Wash the floors. If the floors are any type of tile, floor scrubbers, wet vacuums and special chemical can be easily purchased right here. Or you can rent them from your local hardware stores. Again, be sure to include these extras in your price.
11. Remove all trash.
Quick cleaning tip: You can use a spray bottle of water, 1-2 tablespoons of 70% rubbing alcohol, and just a squeeze of Dawn dish liquid. Your can purchase all of these items here or try your local Dollar Tree Store. That’s right! You didn’t read me wrong. The Dollar Tree Store will even deliver for you. Check’em out.
In conclusion, keep in mind these few things about how to spring clean kitchens. It helps your customer to reorganize and get rid of out dated food and prioritize the space. And they just might find a hidden gadget or two. Get very specific about the tasks you will perform, the time it may take you and be willing to hire help if necessary. There is nothing wrong with that. Oh, also be sure to schedule the time appropriately and check, re-check your pricing. You wouldn’t want extra cleaning to put you out of business. No. I’m sure you wouldn’t.
“I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” Denzel Washington
Until next time,
Happy cleaning!
Creator of A Janitor’s Story®. I started my office cleaning side hustle at 20 years old. Years later, with the partnership of my husband and our amazing staff, my business grew to mid-six figures and fulfilled my wildest dreams! Now, 27 years STRONG, I’ve retired, and I help aspiring entrepreneurs to START and GROW their house and office cleaning service businesses to achieve their biggest dreams. I’d like to help you do the same.
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