First clean the inside of the cup so that the outside of the cup will be clean too. Matthew 23:26

How did it feel to wake up in your clean bedroom this morning? Could you feel the difference in your heart as you opened your eyes to a tidy room? As we are cleaning out our homes this month we are also cleaning out our hearts.

How can our homes (the outside of the cup) be clean if our hearts (the inside) is full of sin? Jesus was reminding the Pharisees to reflect inward and I often need the same reminder.

Today, friends, don’t just focus on purging physical clutter from your home, but also ask God to weaken the hard spots in your heart that have emotional clutter.

Today lets move on to the hub of the home. If your home is anything like mine the kitchen is the most lived in room but it is also the nucleus of the clutter that fuels the rest of the clutter for the entire house. Imagine walking into your kitchen at each meal time and seeing no dirty dishes in the sink and having plenty of counter space to spread out while you cook.

Start yourself out on the right foot by finding your cleaning kit and an empty basket. As you go through the kitchen remember to place items that belong elsewhere in the house inside the basket and re-home them later.

Next gather all the dirty dishes from all areas of the kitchen (or from the whole house if you’re really ambitious) and place them in the sink. If you have a dishwasher go ahead and run a load while you start cleaning everything else.

Here are a few tricks to help you get your kitchen sparkling.

1. Put all the linens in the wash. This includes but is not limited to pot holders, dishtowels, rugs, curtains, and table cloths.

2. Clear all counter space. You probably got a good start on this by moving the dishes to the sink. Don’t forget to sort through paper build up and try your hardest not to keep adding to the junk drawer. Once the counters are clear it will be easier to assess what you really need or want to be displayed.

3. Stove grates can be soaked in ammonia overnight and all the cooked on greasy residue will come right off. Have you ever seen them without cooked on grease?

4. The oven racks can be cleaned by filling the sink with hot soapy water and using a dryer sheet as a washcloth. The copper color of burned grease will easily come off and your oven will look a million times cleaner.

5. Pledge is a great cleaner for stainless steel. Using Pledge will get rid of finger prints and weird wipe patterns that stainless steel appliances frequently display.

6. Sweep and mop as the very last step. As you clean off counters and wipe out the fridge there are bound to be stray crumbs so saving the sweeping for last means you only have to do it once.

Kitchen Items to Consider De-Cluttering

Junk mail/magazines

Unmatching dishes, silverware or cups

Tupperware with no lid

Expired food items

Old spices.

Worn out dish towels, was cloths and pot holders.

Unused baking dishes or pans

Sample sauce packets from restaurants

Chipped dishes

Unused or unneeded utensils and knives

Half of the junk drawer

Decluttering

If your cupboards are filled to the brim, perhaps with items you rarely use or with more dishes, pots, and pans than you really need, it's time to let some things go.

This week, as your time allows, one cabinet at a time, remove the contents, wipe down the inside of the cabinet and assess the items you have removed. Use the Declutter Cheat Sheet from last week to help you decide what to keep and what needs to go.