You probably reach into your kitchen cabinets for a plate or coffee mug on an almost daily basis. In spite of the fact that your cupboards get so much use, they’re pretty easy to forget about when it comes to routine housekeeping.

But cupboards aren’t impervious to the grime and grit of your kitchen. If you cook frequently, your cupboard doors can be the victims of oil splatters or sauce spatters. Even if you’re not an aspiring home chef, your hands’ natural oils and any moisturizers or creams you use can leave grimy residue on the door each time you retrieve a wine glass or cereal bowl. And that’s just the outside of the cabinet. Imagine what’s going on inside.

Well we’ve got some tips that can help you make sure your cupboards get the TLC they need—inside and out—so your spotless kitchen isn’t marred by overlooked grime on the cupboard doors.

Routine Cupboard Cleaning

Like countertops, kitchen cupboards are made from a wide range of materials including laminate, wood, metal and glass. Many of them are painted, as well. Fortunately, incorporating cupboard cleaning into your daily housekeeping routine doesn’t require special instructions or care for each type of material.

All you need to keep your cupboards free of smudges and dust is hot water and a disposable cloth or paper towel. Simply wet your cloth and spot clean any areas with fingerprint trails or splatters of pasta sauce.

Of course, if you have glass-front cupboards, you may want to wipe those down with some glass cleaner and a microfiber cloth when you see smudges. Likewise, you can buff cupboard handles and knobs with a microfiber cloth when you notice that they need some added shine.

If you cook often, you’re no stranger to emitting a groan as you knock over a bottle of maple syrup or upend an open bag of rice. When this happens, you want to clean the spill immediately so that you don’t wind up reaching into a sticky mess or attracting insects and rodents.

There’s no need to clean the entire cupboard out, though. Just clear out the affected area, remove the offending pantry staples and wipe down the sides and corners of the cleared space with warm soapy water and a microfiber cloth. You’ll thank yourself during your annual cupboard cleaning when you’re not chiseling petrified syrup off the cupboard walls.

Other than that, a bit of hot water should do the trick for daily cupboard cleaning. Pretty easy, right?

Clean Your Cupboards Once a Year

Though you don’t need to empty cupboards and wipe down the interior during your regular housekeeping, you should do it at least once a year. This will give you a chance to dust off rarely used dishes and address any spills that you’re unaware of. It’s also a great time to toss out any pantry items that have expired.

Completely clear your cupboards out one at a time. You can place all the items you take out on a clean towel on the kitchen countertop. Start from the top and clean the sides and shelves of your cupboards using a microfiber cloth along with an all-purpose cleaner or warm water and dishwashing liquid.

While the insides of your cupboards dry, wipe down the items you’ve set on your countertop with a fresh microfiber cloth or a paper towel. That way, you’re not putting sticky, dusty items back into your clean cupboards.

Now that the insides of your cupboards are clean, you can take care of cleaning the cupboard doors. Here again you can use warm water and dishwashing liquid or a commercial all-purpose cleaner. Just make sure the cleaner is safe to use on the material your cupboards are made from. It’s also a good idea to spot test cupboard surfaces, regardless of what kind of cleaner you use.

Using your homemade solution or all-purpose cleaner and a microfiber cloth, wipe down the outside of the cupboard doors. Be sure to rinse your microfiber with clean water often, so you’re not just smearing oils and dust around. Once the cupboards are dry, you can wipe them down with a clean microfiber cloth to get rid of any streaks.

Professional Kitchen Cleaning Cupboard

As you’ve seen, cleaning your kitchen cupboards isn’t a difficult housekeeping task. However, it is one that’s often overlooked, which isn’t anyone’s fault. With trying to keep the carpool schedule straight and responding to work emails, it’s easy to forget about those cupboards.

Fortunately, the professional cleaners at FreshClean wipe down kitchen cupboards doors as a part of their routine housekeeping services.

And if you’ve got the daily cleaning covered, but don’t have the time—or desire—to do a major cupboard-cleaning job once a year, we may bay able to help you out there, too. FreshClean provide cupboard-cleaning services.

Whether you clean your kitchen cupboards yourself or bring in cleaning professionals to lend a hand, once everything’s been removed from the cupboard, you may as well take the time to organize before you put items back in.