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Monthly Clean Home Challenge: Wipe Down Cabinets/Appliances

Welcome back to the Monthly Clean Home Challenge daily task!  I am on a quest to maintain a clean and organized home in less time and the goal is simple; four daily tasks, four weekly tasks and one additional quick task each week day. 

In no particular order, here are the individual tasks I am tackling each day this month:

1. Make cleaning supplies
2. Cycle clean appliances
3. Clean out cars
4. Clean out microwave
5. Wipe down cabinets/appliances
6. Wipe down trim/doors
7. Clean out one drawer
8. Clean out fridge
9. Clean out freezer
10. Vacuum under furniture
11. Vacuum mattresses
12. Clean oven
13. Clean out one closet
14. Wash out garbage can/recycle bin
15. Wash windows
16. Scrub grout
17. Clean out one cabinet
18. File paper piles
19. Purge bathroom toiletries
20. Clean out pantry

Today I am chatting about the extra task:  Wipe Down Cabinets/Appliances

Well friends!  We are officially over halfway through our exciting monthly cleaning challenge, and I am loving the results and excited feelings I am gaining over our clean house!

Although I was completely wiped out today, I still managed to get my kitchen cabinets and appliances wiped down!  In a total of ten minutes to boot!


From a distance, our kitchen cabinets always look pretty clean.  But up close... oh boy.  Things were looking a little "loved" I will say.  Loved because our family really uses and abuses our kitchen; it is the hub of the home after-all.  And all of that abuse plus two furry dogs, equals dirty and dusty cabinet fronts.  It's about to get real up in here!


This is the cabinet right by our stove.  It is the highest traffic cabinet in the kitchen, it holds all of our daily dishware.

This one is low to the floor, see how dog hair and dust collects in the cracks of the door inset?


And I vacuum the faces and wipe these babies down at least once per month, often times more!

Sometimes I wish I had dark cabinets to hide this grime, but then I probably wouldn't think twice to clean what I couldn't see.  So I guess the light color is a blessing in disguise.

The process of wiping down the cabinets is exactly the same as it was for wiping down the doors and trim.


More of the 1 cup distilled water, 1 tbsp castile soap and 10 drops lemon essential oil recipe, paired with a clean microfiber rag.  For the appliance fronts, the half distilled water, half vinegar combo leaves them gleaming and streak free.

I started out by running a slim bristle vacuum attachment along all of the cabinet crevasses.


Then just sprayed down the entire face of the cabinet and wiped it all down, including the very top edge where more dust collects.


I also make sure to do a really good job getting around all of the hardware where majority of the fingerprints show up.


When all was said and done, 15 cabinet doors and 8 drawer fronts later, and the rag was telling the story of the importance of this task.


As I mentioned, the appliances get a quick spray of distilled water and vinegar and wiped down with a clean, dry microfiber cloth.



The vinegar is great for stainless, it always glistens and smiles after a good cleaning.  For extra polishing, I occasionally use the olive oil trick I shared here.  A reader also mentioned baby oil works wonders as well.


Because before and after photos are always fun, even when it is just about getting rid of grime, here are a few of the cabinets from today's ten minute cleaning spree.



Such a quick and easy and very necessary task.  And once again, the kitchen smelled so fabulous and lemon fresh!  Although it was hard for me to face how dirty our cabinets had become, I am happy to close the door on this task!



These are all cleaners/products that work for us and our current home finishes.  It is important to research the cleaners prior to using them on your specific counter and flooring selections.