Would you like to be able to clean your microwave and sink in only five minutes with little effort? It can be done! Over time I have learned to multi-task for effective house keeping and reducing clutter, and I have my kitchen down to a science.
I absolutely love having a clean kitchen, but unfortunately it doesn’t clean itself. Our family has multiple food sensitivities so nearly every meal is homemade. While the family loves a good homemadeallergy-friendly casserole, that means dirtying a lot of c dishes and utensils, and with a hectic schedule and the kitchen could potentially get out of control very fast. While a little mess and clutter is normal, and nothing to worry about. Too much is something else. A messy kitchen can quickly become a breeding ground for bacteria. Germs can grow and spread, mold can infiltrate, and you might even start to spot bugs and even rats taking home in your family’s kitchen. Luckily you can prevent these issues with routine cleaning! Thanks to a few quick and easy cleaning methods and a little multi-tasking our kitchen does stay clean most of the time.
If cleaning out the microwave a is one of your dreaded kitchen tasks, take heart! I have found a very fast and easy way to clean and sanitize the microwave (and sink) in about five minutes! It only takes a few green cleaning supplies to get things squeaky clean. Here’s what I use:
*I am not affiliated with Young Living, however I highly recommend the Thieves Cleaner. It is a fantastic multi-purpose essential oil cleaner and smells wonderful. A little goes a long way too.Alternate DIY cleaner: Combine 12 ounces of water, 5 drops of lemon essential oil, 5 drops of orange essential oil, 5 drops of pine essential oil, 5 drops of peppermint or rosemary essential oil, and 1 cup of vinegar in a spray bottle. Shake well. I use this mixture for all of my kitchen cleaning including floors.
Let’s begin this little “how-to” with the not-so-pretty pictures of our dirty microwave.
The warming plate is always icky.
The top of the inside and side walls are always the dirtiest. These are usually the hardest to clean but my method is super easy and fast!
I am notorious for letting my tea or coffee boil over when I am reheating it, so under the plate is always yucky too. In the past I would have to scrub and scrub and practically stand on my head to get the inside top. Then I discovered how well heating vinegar in the microwave for a few minutes works! Now it’s something I do once a week or immediately after any big messes and it keeps the microwave looking and smelling fresh. My family wasn’t crazy about the hot vinegar smell (it does dissipate quickly though) so I added some essential orange oil just to mask the smell. It turned out to be a secret power ingredient! This is the absolute fastest and most effective way to get the job done andyou can also get the sink clean at the same time!
Begin by filling a small dish with vinegar. I just fill it up about 1/4-1/2 way. Add 3-4 drops of orange essential oil. Most of the tutorials I have seen only use vinegar but I have discovered that the addition of essential orange oil is really effective. The orange oil smells great and has the added bonus of degreasing. The oil helps to break down other oils and sticky residue and makes everything wipe off easily.
Place the bowl in your microwave and run it for 3 minutes.This will create a steam cleaning effect inside the microwave. It loosens all the stuck on food and debris and makes it super easy to wipe away. The warm orange oil has a stronger and nicer scent than the vinegar and makes the whole kitchen smell clean too. Best of all it’s all natural!
I like to keep my kitchen clean at all times, and the easiest and fastest way is to multi-task. I use those 3 minutes of waiting for the vinegar mixture to heat up to clean my sink instead of just watching the numbers count down.
While waiting for the vinegar to heat, liberally spray the sink and surrounding areas with the thieves cleaner or homemade essential oil cleaner. Use a Scotch Brite cleaning pad or sponge if you have a stainless steel sink. In the past I have used a Magic Eraser for my cast iron sink and it worked very well (and also perfectly for removing coffee and tea stains fromchina cups. I also wipe down the outside of my hand soap dispenser and thieves cleaner bottle as well as the backsplash. After wiping everything down rinse out the sink with hot water. If you are still having trouble with rust marks, you can research more on how to remove rust from stainless steel sinks.
When the 3 minutes have ended, CAREFULLY remove the bowl out of the microwave using an oven mitt and set it aside. The bowl will be very hot. Remove the inside plate and put it in the sink. Spray it down thoroughly with cleaner and let it sit while you are cleaning out the microwave.
Next pour some of the vinegar in the bottom of the microwave.
Dip a wet Scotch Brite pad in the vinegar and wipe down the top and sides first while the vinegar steam is still warm and all the debris is loosened. Use the rough side first to remove all the debris. Rinse your sponge and repeat until no debris remains. Then clean wipe out the excess vinegar from the bottom of the microwave. Dry the inside thoroughly with a paper towel or dish towel. This should only take about a minute.
Much better!
Close the door and clean the outside as well.
After you have finished cleaning the inside and outside of the microwave, wipe down and rinse off the tray and put it back inside. Don’t forget to wash the bottom too. Dry thoroughly with a paper towel.
Lastly, wipe down your faucet and buff it with a paper towel or dish towel until it’s dry and shiny. Wipe out excess water around the top and sides of your sink to remove spots. Now your sink is clean too! The whole process of cleaning the microwave and sink should take about 5 minutes. Pretty good for crossing two tasks off the cleaning list at once!
Now your microwave is all pretty and ready to be dirtied up again!The good new is that it only takes a few minutes to repeat the process…
If you have granite or any other kind of specialty countertop or appliances, it might be safer to use a product specially made for these surfaces. For example a goodgranite cleaner doesn’t just clean your granite surfaces; it can also protect them, make them easier to clean going forward, and help them to last longer. As well as killing germs and bacteria and removing stains. Try to stick to natural and environmentally friendly cleaning supplies where possible, and make sure you’ve always got the ones that you use in stock.
Happy cleaning!
Amber
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Tags: Essential Oils
