Kitchens are one of the first parts of the house that visitors see and my mother always made it a point for the kitchen to be in pristine condition. Sometimes it can be difficult to find spare time throughout the busy work week to do a deep clean on the kitchen, but we’re here to provide some helpful cleaning tips to maintain a clean kitchen that only require a few household items that you probably already have in the home.

Cleaning hard water deposits in Jacksonville is a common issue. Our water supply has heavy concentrations of magnesium and calcium and depending on what part of town you live on, you may have up 2 to 3 times more mineral content than the Water Quality Association considers “Very Hard”.

Vinegar can work wonders for a stainless steel kitchen and stainless steel fixtures. Soak some paper towels with white distilled vinegar and lay them on the surfaces with the hard water calcium deposits. Wait at least 45 minutes, then take the paper towels up and use a nylon dish pad to remove the deposits. It’s that easy! Don’t scrub stainless steel with abrasive cleaners or brushes, as this can damage the finish.

Step 1. White porcelain sinks look so classic. BUT white sinks have a knack for getting dirty every time a dish hits it. Baking soda can help bring your sink back to its original glory. The trick is to not to have much water in the sink when you apply the baking soda. The sink should be slightly damp so the baking soda sticks, but not so wet that the baking soda dissolves. If applied correctly, the baking soda should cake on to the surface. The baking soda will attach itself to the stubborn dirt and can be wiped up.

Step 2. Use lemons to bring back that pure white color. Like before, the less water the better for this process. Cut up a lemon into multiple wedges. I find a half lemon will usually do the job on my single sink, but lemons vary. Use the lemon wedges to scrub the sink and you can even use both sides of the lemon. Use the outer lemon rind to scrub problem areas of the sink and smear the inside of the lemon around to spread lemon juice and raw pulp on the sink surface. Let it sit overnight and wipe it up the next morning! Voila! As an added bonus, lemon rinds can go down the sink to freshen up the disposal.

The do-it-yourself grout cleaner is easy to make and can be used in bathrooms as well. We’ll need 3 ingredients for this: Baking Soda, Hydrogen Peroxide and Dish Soap. Hydrogen peroxide has a natural whitening ability and combining it with baking soda will create an easy to apply paste. Apply the DIY grout cleaner you just made and let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then use a soft scrub brush and water to reveal your cleaner grout!

We’re going to use the stove for this trick. There are numerous combinations to do stove simmer, but we’ll just do a classic one with orange peels and lavender! All you’ll need is the Peel from 1 orange and 1 cup of dried lavender. Bring that to a simmer and remove the lid and that’s it! No need to spend money on air fresheners when you can do it yourself for much cheaper!

We’ve have all experienced the nuisance that are fruit flies. We are here to offer a simple solution in the form of a DIY Fruit Fly Trap.

1. Take a small jar and pour in apple cider vinegar to about 1 inch deep.

2. “Cap” the jar with a funnel. You can use a plastic funnel if you have one, but a makeshift paper one works well.

3. Tape the funnel in place so there are no gaps for the flies to crawl out.

The flies will be attracted to the apple cider vinegar and end up getting trapped in the jar. Bye bye to the fruit flies!

These are just some helpful cleaning tips and tricks that we have come across along the way. Kitchen cleaning can be extremely overwhelming, so a little DIY cleaning can help maintain your kitchen during busy times.

These are the chores that you’ve been putting off for the last 6 months. But, I have some good news for you,  the Florida weather is starting to get nice again and most of these chores are outside. An author once wrote: “No time better than the present, I always say…or was that “Nothing is better than a present”, I forget”. Getting these chores done will be like a present to yourself, because you’ll have to get them done at some point anyways. Plus, you’ll feel great about getting these chores done and can spend your weekend doing things that you love, like the upcoming Springing The Blues festival out in Jacksonville Beach.