I am always amazed at the before and after pictures of almost everything on Pinterest. Grow your hair 10 inches in 1 month! Loose 10lbs in 2 weeks! Make cleaning your kitchen easy?

So I decided to put 3 kitchen cleaning tips to the test. My oven, cook top, and microwave get tons of use, as I’m sure is the same in your house. Fair warning, the pictures below are graphic. (HA HA HA)

In my need to spring/summer clean, I wanted something that would work but be relatively easy. Because, who really wants to clean that stuff?  So to Pinterest I go.

Microwave

I figured I should work from the top down. Many years ago, I was a receptionist and part of my job was cleaning up a small kitchen. I learned then this great trick that totally works!

Before

After

Before

After

Fill a coffee cup or another microwave container with some water, about 1 cup. Add 1 TBSP white vinegar or a squeeze of lemon into the water and microwave for a couple minutes. The idea is to get the water to steam in the microwave. I always add a wooden stick to the water to keep it from super-heating.

While the microwave and water do the work, I wipe down the outside and front of the microwave.

Carefully remove the cup(it will be hot!) and then wipe out the microwave. I like to use Clorox wipes as I wipe it out. They smell like lemons and are strong enough to scrape away any grime. Boom! Easy Peasy!

Stove Glass Cook Top

So for this one I found several different combinations. I ended up going with the baking soda and white vinegar option since it was what I had on hand and using on the oven. These are from One Crazy House.I sprinkled baking soda on the cook top and then used my spray bottle to  spray that with the vinegar. This was really fun for my son who cheered as it bubbled and foamed.

Then I used a paper towel and wiped the top. It really cleaned up easily. There were a few burned spots that I had to scrub, but with little effort. It works!

Oven

This, my friends, was tough. Our oven was gross. It was pretty clean for quite a while then a couple things exploded and then were cooked on. I know some of you know what I mean.

I found this mix on Viral Inside.

Mix a couple spoons of baking soda with some water in a bowl. You’ll mix it into a paste that is easily applied on the oven’s surfaces.

Then you want to remove the racks and spread the paste on the inside of the oven. It’s suggested to let it sit overnight or for 12 hours.

Then you just take a wet rag and wipe it out. You can also use that vinegar from the cook top cleaning and spray it on the surfaces too as you wipe it out. It does help to get the final bits of baking soda that are dried.

This worked pretty well, but I still have more cleaning to do. The inside of the door is still grease covered and there are still some stains on the bottom of the oven. I’m thinking I’m going to have to use one of the combos that included Dawn soap.

Bonus! Room Odors

This is a favorite! Room sprays are so expensive and I feel like we burn through them so fast because they don’t smell for long. Let me go ahead and say that this totally works!

This pin from Diply will show you the step by step, but, the spray uses baking soda, Downy Unstoppables, and hot water.

I didn’t use the baking soda, but added the Dreft Blissfuls scent beads (this smell is fresh and calming) to hot water then added to my spray bottle. It smells awesome! And it really lasts.