Your Home’s Time to Shine: 7 Kitchen and Bathroom Cleaning Tips

Start your cleaning where you do most of your food prep and work your way out into the rest of the room. Work from the top down, which will help prevent tracking dirt and germs back onto the counters and floors. If you want to be environmentally friendly, consider an alternative to commercial products. Try a vinegar solution mixed with hot water for cabinets, walls and appliances to help neutralize odors, remove dirt and dissolve grease.

For your food prep surfaces, such as counters and sinks, clean with a mild detergent and water, then follow with a disinfectant. For specialty surfaces, use the disinfecting agent recommended by the countertop manufacturer. And in some cases, a bleach-based solution (one teaspoon of household bleach per quart of hot water) can be used.

Remember to give your kitchen sink a good wipe down with a disinfectant at least once a week. Germs hide in the drain area, and splashing around in the sink can spread them to places you don’t want them to go.

Don't forget to check the cupboards, pantry, refrigerator and freezer for expired foods. Discard any that are beyond the posted “use by” dates.

Try baking soda! Again, start at the top, working your way down and around the room, ending at the toilet. Baking soda is an environmentally friendly product that can be used for tough-to-clean areas in the bathroom that you don’t want to scratch, such as bathtubs.

Say goodbye to streaky shower doors. Rub vinegar into the stains of hard water to make them sparkle again. If you’re looking for environmentally friendly ways to clean other germy spots in your home, there are safer cleaning products for you, your family and the environment. Search for products with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice label. They contain safer chemical ingredients that are less harmful to you and the environment.

Periodically check medicine cabinets and drawers for old or expired dietary supplements, prescriptions and other medicines. Don’t flush unused medication down the toilet. Contact your local waste disposal provider for instructions on the proper disposal of old prescriptions.