KITCHEN CLEANING CHECKLIST

For most families, the Thanksgiving rush is over. Food has been cooked, ate, and ate again. The presence of friends and family has been enjoyed, but now you’re left with the aftermath of a holiday well celebrated. Even if you’re a “clean as you go” type of person, we can guarantee that some crumbs have crept into a few cracks and crevices that get easily missed in the cleaning process.

While we love meeting new customers and providing safe pest control for families, we also love to prevent visits from unwanted pests and letting you enjoy the holiday season without having to call us. 

To prevent pests this December, it’s important to deep clean the kitchen (before the Christmas craziness hits) and not give pests the opportunity to dine on your Thanksgiving feast. 

CLEANING CHECKLIST

Needed supplies:

• Cleaning cloths
• Sponges
• All-purpose cleaner (or your cleaner of choice)
• Oven cleaner
• Duster
• Broom
• Mop
• Vacuum attachment (to reach behind the refrigerator and other hard to reach spots)
• Open windows (to help with the fumes and cleaner smell)
• Good music
• TIME! The average kitchen will take around 60-90 minutes to fully clean. 

PREP THE SPACE

This is mostly for your sanity, but it’s important to go ahead and declutter that kitchen instead of having to organize/declutter along the way. Wash the dishes, clear out the clutter, and give yourself room to clean without the hassle of moving items around your area. 

DUSTING

Take out the duster and dust the following: 

• Corners of walls
• Ceiling
• Ceiling fan (if your kitchen has one)

WALLS & CABINETS

Take a wet rag and wipe down walls. Especially the walls near the stove, mixers, sink, etc. Don’t forget about switch plates, knobs (cabinets and doors), and the cabinet surfaces. 

CURTAINS & BLINDS

Curtains can attract food and crumbs that you never knew about. Even if you can’t visibly notice any stains on the curtains, it’s great to make a habit of washing your kitchen curtains every other month. Wipe down blinds with the duster or a wet cloth. 

OVEN & REFRIGERATOR

Apply the oven cleaner, and while you wait, grab some help to move the refrigerator and get unwanted crumbs swept/vacuumed up. 

Making sure the fridge is unplugged, sweep and mop under the fridge, and vacuum dust out of the coils. 

If you didn’t already declutter the fridge in the prep steps, feel free to tackle the unwanted leftovers and expired items that have been in the fridge for too long. 

Take out drawers and and shelves for a nice wipe-down to remove spills and gunk that can easily pile up on fridge surfaces. Don’t forget to wipe down the inside of the drive while the drawers and shelves are out! 

Now that the fridge is taken care of, the oven clean should be done! Go ahead and wipe the oven clean and follow any extra directions on your oven cleaner. Clean your burners, knobs, and other cleaning methods your stove owner’s manual may list. 

EXTRAS

• Sweep & mop floors
• Clean your appliances (making sure they are unplugged first)
• Wipe down countertops and sink

We hope this checklist helps you out with your post-Thanksgiving cleaning, and keeps the pests away!