How Often Should You Deep Clean Your Kitchen? – A Seasonal Cleaning Checklist

December 19, 2024 Tai Massimilian
Hands wearing yellow rubber gloves cleaning a sink strainer under running water in a stainless steel kitchen sink.

A clean kitchen is an aesthetic pleasure, but that’s not all. From food preparation to entertaining, your kitchen is the center of all activity in the home, but it is also a prime target for grime, grease, and bacteria. This makes regular deep cleaning an essential routine to keep your family healthy.

But deep cleaning your kitchen isn’t always easy, is it? 

How often do you really need to deep clean your kitchen? Which products are safe to use and which are not? Do we need any specialized equipment? Well, we are here to answer all your cleaning-related questions.  Remember, breaking down your kitchen deep clean into feasible tasks makes it easier. 

A professional cleaner wearing gloves carefully scrubs a metal rack over the sink, demonstrating how to deep clean your kitchen for a spotless result.

Why Deep Cleaning Matters?

Your kitchen is the most used room in the house. Extensive use every day leads to crumbs, grease, and grime hiding everywhere. Regular cleaning is a given, but deep cleaning your kitchen means all of those hard-to-reach spots – the ones under appliances, the ones behind cabinets, the ones inside the oven – get taken care of.

The best way to deal with these hidden spots is to incorporate them into your seasonal cleaning schedules. Cleaning for different seasons requires custom checklists to fit the unique seasonal needs of your family.

Seasonal Kitchen Deep Cleaning Checklist 

Spring: The Time to Start New 

A new beginning means every system gets to start fresh, and the kitchen is no exception. So if your kitchen needs a fresh coat of everything, spring is the time to do it. 

Clean Kitchen Checklist:

  1. Empty all the cabinets and drawers. 
  2. Throw out expired food and unnecessary utensils.  
  3. Scrub inside and outside all of your cabinets and drawers.
  4. Clean your appliances inside and out – the fridge, oven, and microwave. If you have a coffeemaker, you’ll want to clean that too.
  5. Don’t forget the freezer if you have one. 
  6. Finish off with cleaning the tiles, walls, grout, and backsplash, etc.  

Tips for Deep Cleaning:

  1. Tackle stubborn stains on tiles using mild dish soap.  
  2. Remove shelves from the fridge and freezer for easier and more effective cleaning.  

Spring cleaning puts you in the prime position to roll out the fresh produce, enjoy outdoor dining and take full advantage of the pleasant weather. This spring make sure to get ahead with your seasonal cleaning routine so you don’t miss out on the spring fun!

Summer Cleaning To Tide Over The Warm Months

The warmer months usually come along with more cooking as the family comes together for the summer break. This time also probably involves some good old-fashioned outdoor grilling. So our summer kitchen cleaning targets grease and grime removal. If you work around the year, maybe summer is the time for you to take that well-deserved break. And if you are going on that much-deserved vacation, do future you a favor and deep clean your kitchen and fridge. Nothing beats the relief of coming home to a clean home. 

  1. Lighting fixtures and fans: Clean the accumulated dust and grease. Wipe them with only dry clothes. 
  2. Stove and cooking tops: This is the time to deep clean your stovetop and your range hood. 
  3. Filters and ducts: Filters have housed loads of grease through the summer. Take used filters out and replace them.
  4. Trash can: Empty, wash, and deodorize your trash cans so they don’t smell. 

Fall: Pre-Holiday Prep

A cleaner standing on a step stool dusts intricate decor, highlighting the attention to detail needed when you deep clean your kitchen and adjacent spaces.

Fall is the time to prepare for the holiday season. Use these months to have your kitchen prepared for the heavier cooking and baking that comes with the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. 

Here’s what you should work on these months:

  1. Polish silverware and clean up your baking supplies. 
  2. Deep guide kitchen cleaning of the oven and all those holiday roasts will thank you later. 
  3. Dust and clean the tops of cabinets and high shelves.

The Best Way to Deep Clean Your Kitchen During Fall

Purge and organize: Group utensils, baking supplies, and items that you use frequently. They will be easily available during the heavy season.

Winter: Clean-up Following the Holiday Season 

Holiday entertaining can leave your kitchen requiring more than a little TLC following the merriment. And so, winter’s clean kitchen checklist focuses on recovering. And these include: 

  1. Deep clean your sink and garbage disposal, making sure to remove every last food particle. 
  2. Wipe down pantry shelves and replace liners, if required apply antibacterial sprays to all surfaces for disinfection.

Pro Tip: Incorporate essential oils into your cleaning routine for a cozy winter aroma.  

Best Practices for a Year-Round Deep Clean  

While seasonal cleanups are essential, to keep your kitchen pristine certain areas need regular attention :  

  1. Daily Reset: Clean your kitchen on the go. Keep containers and spice boxes right back where they came from after use, Wipe down countertops after every use. Load the dishwasher every night.
  2. Weekly Tasks: Every weekend, sweep floors, and empty trash bins.
  3. Monthly Chores: Once a month, wipe everything inside the fridge and throw out expired products. Get heavy-duty on those areas that are hard to reach – behind cabinets, and light fixtures.
  4. Quarterly Cleanup: At least thrice a month, scrub your appliances from head to toe. Take out their filters and replace them. Grease any stuck parts to ensure smooth functioning. 


With this kitchen cleaning schedule, nothing slips through the cracks. And since everything is maintained pristinely, deep cleaning becomes an easier task.

Tools and Products That Make Cleaning Easier

The right products and tools might just make your life that much easier. For Vella housekeepers, quality cleaning products translate to eco-friendly, non-abrasive, and sustainable-sourced. Some of our must-have tools: 

  1. Microfiber cloths for wiping surfaces.
  2. A multi-purpose degreaser like Bon Ami.
  3. A long-handled scrub brush for tough-to-reach areas.
  4. A multi-functional vacuum cleaner like Miele to get all the dust and debris out. 
A smiling professional cleaner poses with a dog in a tidy living room, showing the comprehensive care involved when you deep clean your kitchen

Ready to Revolutionize Your Kitchen?

Breaking down kitchen deep cleaning tasks into pieces helps make it less overwhelming to tackle, and doing it seasonally makes it more accessible. No time to DIY a kitchen deep clean even without a checklist? That’s alright! We at Vella are always ready to help you live your best life. 
Whether it is a holiday deep clean or a season refresh, our professional housekeeper will make your kitchen to ready welcome all seasons of life. Book your first session with Vella today! With a good plan and a bit of elbow grease, your kitchen will be ready for anything that comes your way regardless of season!