Cleaner than Clean

So, hi!  Long time no blog.

Sorry about the lack of posting last week, and especially the missing Flash Sale Friday.  I was elbow deep in soap and kitchen cleaners and ended up with a slight chemical rash on my right hand from using so much bleach (yes, I know I should have used gloves...).  With my house now empty, this weekend, including my day off on Friday, was dedicated to cleaning.  I was able to get all the floors vacuumed and steamed, and wiped down all the window and door frames, and then I tackled the biggest cleaning item on the list - the kitchen.

In total, I spent over 22 hours cleaning just the kitchen. And yes, that is supposed to say 22 - that is not a typo.  I wanted to make sure that it was cleaned properly and every inch was touched.  And when all is said and done, there are only two things that I didn't get to - the skylights and the light fixtures.  I need a ladder to reach the skylights, which we haven't purchased yet, so those will wait until we get one, and the pendant lights haven't been touched yet because I ran out of energy, and I'm secretly hoping we can replace them.  Everything else is spotless, and I don't think the kitchen has ever been cleaner.

I emptied out every single cabinet, vacuumed out the inside, washed shelves and drawers with a bleach solution followed by soapy water, and washed the fronts of cabinets and hardware.  The tops of cabinets were washed and some even scraped down with razor blades due to the awful painting job the previous owners did.  I emptied out the refrigerator and the freezer and washed the entire thing. I even pulled the fridge out of it's cubby to wipe it down and vacuum behind it.  The microwave was completely cleaned, the stove top and oven wiped and de-greased, the trash compartment was bleached, and even the garbage disposal was bleached and scrubbed!

I was not messing around.  But, I am so glad that I got it done! The kitchen looks incredible, and knowing what it took to get it so clean is a huge incentive to keep it clean!

Somewhat related, though, does anyone out there have Corian countertops, or a Corian sink?  The sink in my kitchen is seamless with the countertop, which means that it can't be replaced unless I replace the counters with it.  Since the Corian is just about 13 years old, it's starting to show some serious wear, especially in the sink.  Corian has the tendency to crack in the sink area, and since the sink is white, the cracks are very prevalent.  Does anyone know how I could make them show less? Bleach hasn't worked, and neither has sanding them, as they are pretty deep into the surface.

We are really not in the market to have the counters replaced, as that will be down the line when we gut the kitchen and redo it completely, so finding an alternative is kind of important. I guess if there is no small or temporary solution that it's ok, since it's just the sink, but these cracks still make it look gross, right?

When was the last time your kitchen had a deep deep clean? Has my post inspired you to get into all the nooks and crannies of your kitchen?  Next up - the bathrooms! Ugh!