keep it clean, people

I've always kept the spaces I live in clean, but now that I have my own apartment, there are so many new areas of upkeep.

It took me a while to feel like I could get my kitchen really clean, but now that I have a system, I feel much better about my cooking routine.

A few tips...

• To keep your drawers and cabinets clean, opt for a shelf liner. You can remove it and dump it out, or completely replace it regularly, as a roll of it is only $2.99.
• To get rid of garbage disposal odors, pour bleach down the drain. I had a real stanky issue and lemons and limes, old-wives tales and baking soda were not cutting it. I had to get serious. 
• Always use a cutting board. As someone who grew accustomed to granite and often cut directly on the counter, plastic cutting boards are my new found besties. Clean up is so much easier! Be sure to choose the plastic options, because you're not supposed to wash wood cutting boards in the dishwasher, so they tend to retain bacteria. I like the Casabella Cutting Boards that are labeled to prevent cross contamination. 
• If your freezer gets smelly, place a box of baking soda inside it and dump out your ice cubes once a month. They retain bad odors. An added bonus is that putting ice cubes down your garbage disposal keeps the blades sharp. Teamwork in the kitchen!

images via real simple and amazon