’Tis the season for spring cleaning. Now the weather’s looking a lot brighter, many of us will be opening the windows wide, letting the fresh air in and giving the house a good old spring clean. To give your kitchen a really good deep clean, now’s the time to update your cleaning kit to make sure you have everything you need for all that spritzing and scrubbing. Here are some of our top picks to get you started with plenty of ideas for decluttering and making space for all those lovely new kitchen products you’ve got your eye on…

STOCK UP ON ALL THE ESSENTIALS

If you have a dresser or some open shelving, fill it with gorgeous boxes, bottles and pots and stock up on eco-friendly cleaning products, brushes and sponges. This way you’ll have quick and easy access for spills, splashes and when the cleaning mood takes you. Sanctuary apron, brushes, wire basket, Method cleaning products, ornaments, canisters, candle, diffuser, planters and laundry powder storage tin, all from Dunelm

CHOOSE DEDICATED STORAGE

If you have the space, a floor-to-ceiling cupboard is perfect for storing a cordless stick vacuum, mops, ironing board and dustpan and brush. Interior fittings can also be designed to include open shelving or cubby holes for the iron, washing detergent and cleaning products, keeping them out of children’s reach. LochAnna Kitchens’ Faversham cabinet in Lavender is just the thing and also comes in 27 other colours. It can also be colour-matched to your own favourite shade.

MAKE YOUR OWN ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING KIT

There are plenty of eco options available when it comes to cleaning products, including Nookary, Neat, Splosh, Smol, Seep, Method and Homethings. You can also save money by making your own. Most recipes just need store cupboard essentials such as distilled white vinegar, lemon and baking soda. For cleaning the oven for instance, simply mix ½ cup of baking soda with 3 tablespoons of water and adjust amounts as necessary to make a spreadable paste. Remove the shelves from the oven, spread the paste inside avoiding the heating elements then leave overnight. Use a damp cloth to remove then spray the inside of the oven with some vinegar and wipe again with a clean, damp cloth.

For surface cleaning, mix the juice of 1 lemon with 1 cup of vinegar and 1 cup of water into a spray bottle, spray onto surface and leave for a while before wiping. You can find plastic and recycled glass bottles for this purpose online and at Dunelm.

GET ORGANISED

Spend a weekend organising the home. Once you’ve had a good declutter, cleaning becomes so much easier and more enjoyable. In the kitchen or utility room, use lidded and open storage boxes and fill each one with cleaning products and utensils, washing detergent, pegs for the washing line and whatever else you need to keep within easy reach. Orthex have a fantastic range of SmartStore recycled baskets, which can be found online and at Homebase.

MAKE IT ZERO WASTE

For a truly sustainable solution, as well as choosing eco-friendly products make sure it’s zero waste too with plastic-free alternatives. This Zero Waste Gift Set from Pasoluna includes a produce bag that’s large enough for a loaf of bread, but will also come in handy for any trips to the supermarket or zero waste store. Choose your favourite colour of string bag to pick up your shopping, and replace plastic sponges with the compostable pot brush and dish brush. The dish brush head can also be replaced when needs be without getting rid of the whole brush. Swap plastic polluting clingfilm with natural, compostable wax wraps made from olives and metal straws instead of the regular single-use alternatives.

FRESHEN UP KITCHEN TEXTILES

Once you’ve cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom, you want to have nice clean, fresh tea towels instead of the old grimy ones you’ve had for years. Walton & Co has some lovely designs, which can be bought in sets of three and are great value, too.

TACKLE THE KITCHEN CUPBOARDS

Another spring cleaning tip is to get everything out of the food cupboards and sort out what’s out of date, what needs to be eaten soon and what you’ve run out of. Decant rice, pasta and pulses into clear glass canisters so you can easily see what’s what and give the inside of the cupboards a thorough clean, too. ProCook has a selection of storage jars with bamboo lids and a strong, hygienic seal for dried foods.