We all love our cabinets, drawers, and pantries, those little private treasure troves of our favorite snacks and ingredients for our next culinary adventure. Yet, these beloved spaces are often the most overused yet under-cleaned and overlooked areas in our homes. Out of sight, out of mind, right?!

It's easy to turn a blind eye; after all, those opaque doors hide a multitude of sins. The moment that cabinet door swings shut, the mess inside is easily forgotten. Also, there’s never a shame or stigma-inducing occasion to pressure us to clean them, like the rest of the home. When you’re mother in law is visiting for the holidays, you can usually breathe a sigh of relief that she won’t be inventorying your junk drawer.

The final reason most people find the thought of cleaning these spaces overwhelming is because their kitchens are so packed with stuff! Everyone has seen at least one TikTok of a well-meaning person emptying every drawer and shelf they own only to stare helplessly into the camera, declaring they regret their life choices, but it’s too late to turn back now.

Most people are rightly afraid they'll be committed to an hours-long fiasco, so they opt to ignore the entire issue altogether, not realizing they are ensuring their nightmares will come true eventually.

We only get the urge to address the situation when a spill happens or when the chaos within becomes palpably unmanageable. You can only kick the can of neglect down the road so long before it expires!

The good news is this cycle of culinary neglect will never happen to you again. As a seasoned cleaning professional and a working mom with a compact kitchen, Melissa Homer has cracked the code on mastering these spaces efficiently and effectively and will be revealing her best tricks to you! Let’s get cooking.

Eat the Elephant One Bite at a Time: Separating Maintenance and Organization

Many believe that any cleaning of cabinets mandates a full-blown deep-dive reorganization. They feel guilty even addressing small messes, saying to themselves what’s the point if they’re not going to fix the rest and keep themselves from even doing the basics?  

This misbelief becomes a major barrier, causing people to avoid addressing the issue and making it even more overwhelming to tackle when it can’t be avoided any longer.

In reality, attempting to clean and organize simultaneously is counterproductive. A cluttered, uncleaned cabinet makes it hard even to see what you own, let alone how to organize it best. The truth is cleaning and organizing at the same time makes you worse at both and exhausts you before you can make a meaningful change.  

Worse yet, a dirty cabinet keeps you from seeing inventory and determining what organizational tools you need to purchase before going on a purge and organization spree.

The solution? Divide and conquer.

Start with a solid maintenance clean without the pressure of reorganizing. This initial sweep provides clarity, helping you assess what's there and how best to streamline it. You'll be able to make a mental note of necessary organizational tools and even gauge the kind of space dividers or containers that would be helpful.

Remember to take shelf and drawer measurements while you clean for future use.

Step-by-Step Cabinet and Pantry Maintenance Clean:

1. One Shelf at a Time

This minimizes overwhelm and ensures a thorough clean. You can also choose to break up cabinets, pantry, and drawer cleaning over the course of days in shorter sections, as you are never obligated to complete more than the one shelf you are working on.

2. Temporarily Relocate Items

Transfer items to the counter to free up the workspace. If your kitchen counters are as cluttered as your cabinets, an old folding table or tv tray can create temporary shelving on demand.

3. Microfiber Magic

Waffle weave microfiber towels are the scrubbiest microfiber on the market, with deep little pockets perfect for collecting sticky cabinet spills. These towels will make quick work of even dried-on messes.

4. Dust & Disinfect

Use your waffle weave towel and favorite disinfecting all-purpose cleaner, and wipe down the shelf and its sides thoroughly.

5. Scrub & Scrape

Use a microfiber scrubbing sponge and plastic razor blades to scrub up and scape off any neglected and stuck-on leaks and drips.

6. Return & Refresh

Return items to the now-cleaned shelf. As you place items back, give their bases a quick wipe. This prevents dirt transfer and keeps the space fresher for longer. Place things in a vaguely attractive and organized manner, but don’t go crazy, as this will be redone in the next section.

7. Eye for the Expired

While you shouldn't obsess over expiration dates at this stage, dispose of any items that are clearly past their prime. Your goal is to buy organizers for the correct amount of items so that any purging will help.

Restoration Station: When Your Cabinets Need More than Maintenance!

Sometimes it has been so long since you cleaned your cabinets both inside and out that a routine clean will no longer cut it! This is especially true if you are moving into a new home where the previous occupants' cleaning standards had a lot to be desired.  

If you are stuck in this sticky situation, don’t despair, as here are the products the pros use to breathe new life into old, neglected cabinets!

1. Greasy Grimy Cabinets

If your fine wood cabinets are coated in gooey grease, resist the urge to scrub them with degreaser, as this can damage the wood finish. Instead reach for Howard Clean-A-Finish as this wood safe deep cleaner can strip years of grime from even antiques.

2. Cigarette Smoke Covered Cabinets

Grandma was an amazing cook and a chain smoker… now what?! Cut through years of creosote with TSP Powder. This heavy duty chemical is no joke, so wear gloves, goggles, follow the directions and prepare to be amazed as brown smoke residue pours off surfaces!

3. Scratched and Dulled Cabinets

Even with proper care, wood cabinets will eventually show their age, as scratches, dings, and scrubbing slowing mar and dull the once glowing finish. Turn your old cabinet from drab to fab with Howard Restor-A-Finish! This incredible formula can effortlessly remove scratches, water rings, worn finish, and more! Just buff it in with a disposable microfiber towel and give your cabinets a true glow-up!

The Power of Preplanning and Purchasing to Create Your Pantry Paradise

Post-maintenance clean, with the crumbs and grime gone, organizational inefficiencies usually become glaringly obvious. Big hints that you need more structure are if everything is just stacked and placed on the shelves and there are no sub-sections or containers, keeping like items grouped for easy removal.  

Every family and kitchen is different, so there are no tried and true must-buys that work in every scenario, but there are basic principles that will allow everyone to make great purchases.

Here are foundational rules for creating order:

1. Without a Home, Things Will Wander

Clearly defined sections (like spices, cereals, or baking supplies) make for quicker, more intuitive retrieval and replacement.

2. Open Space is Unorganized Space

Expansive, empty shelves? Utilize stackable dividers or bins to maximize storage and ease access.

3. Birds of a Feather Flocking Together Need Nests

Small items like spices, cans, etc., can be hopelessly tedious to remove, clean, and keep organized without bins and sliding shelves.Opt for clear or mesh organizers, so you can easily see what you own.

4. Jenga is a Game, Not an Organization Strategy

Stacking is inevitable, but the risk of an avalanche isn't. No one likes to have to take things out of the middle of a big stack, use it, and then try to shimmy it back into the stack. Use shelf dividers and slide-out bins to ensure stability.

5. Always Invest in Adaptable Organizers

Avoid very prescriptive organizers that only work with very specific shelves or food types. You may move, remodel, change your eating habits, etc., and it is expensive to have to repurchase all of these tools. Simple modular shelves, generic clear plastic bins, and reusable labels can always be repurposed as your needs change. Even small changes like getting separate pencil trays instead of one big silverware holder really allow for full customization.

The key to keeping in mind as you shop is your ultimate goal is sustainability. Nirvana is when it's easy for you to find the foodstuffs you need, use them, and put them back where they belong. You’ve bought enough bins that you can quickly and easily remove items in your cabinet and pantry for quick yet thorough cleanings.

It doesn't have to be Instagram pretty; it just has to be something you can functionally use and keep up with.

Organize and Purge to Pre-Planned Perfection

Once your organization tools have arrived, reorganizing your recently cleaned cabinets will be a breeze. Just work one cabinet at a time, shelf by shelf, removing everything on that shelf, putting in the organizers, and filling the organizers with the removed items in new permanent groupings.

This can again be done over the course of several cleaning sessions over time, so long as you stick to the one shelf-at-a-time approach.

This is the stage where it’s important to purge expired and unwanted items. In kitchens, it’s OK to be ruthless, as most foods lose texture and flavor over time, especially when opened, so you really already missed the window on that five-year-old half-empty bottle of marjoram.  

If the waste paralyzes you, get a box to put all the unneeded items that are still safe to consume and make a meal planning game for yourself for the next two weeks to use as many of the products as possible. Just pinky-swear with yourself to toss the remainder after the exercise.

Once a shelf is complete, label as many of the shelves, stacking shelves and bins as possible, so everyone in the home can easily engage with the new system and properly maintain it. To get buy-in, ask members of your household to briefly review the new organization systems as you work, so they can provide feedback as to what groupings make the most sense to them too.

For example, to you, Splenda might be a sweetener that belongs with all the sugars in your baking section, but to your spouse, it belongs in the coffee and tea collection, along with the honey. There’s no right answer, only what is right for your family, so pick what works best for you!

Organized Cabinets Are for So Much More Than Easy Cleaning

Clean and organized cabinets and pantries do so much more than just make it easy to clean them. Inviting and organized food items inspire more home cooking and healthier food choices, as it becomes as easy to grab the nutritious option as a quick snack.

Meal planning becomes nearly effortless, quickly seeing what is available and what needs to be added to the grocery list without a complicated dumpster dive to the back of the pantry.

Cleaning your or your client's cabinets is really a gift of reduced stress, lessened food waste, healthier living, and getting their money's worth out of every grocery future run. Organized spaces lead to organized minds. With each neatly stacked spice jar or categorically arranged baking ingredient, there's a subconscious boost in morale.

It's not just about aesthetics; it's about fostering a more mindful and efficient approach to our daily nourishment. Investing time into our cabinets is, in essence, investing in our well-being, both mentally and physically, which is a gift that will never go out of style.

Don't forget to join us next Tuesday as we switch from Kitchens to Bathrooms. First up for the throne room is our deep dive lesson, “Bathroom Bliss: Banish Germs & Grime with Microfiber” Set your reminders as your new bathroom sanctuary awaits!