Spring Cleaning Your Kitchen Creating A Gluten Free Safe Space

With Spring upon us, it can be the perfect time to start spring cleaning your kitchen to create a gluten free safe space. Whether you are new to the gluten free lifestyle due to a diagnosis of gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, or celiac disease, or if you are on year ten of living this lifestyle, spring is a great time to make sure your kitchen is clean and sanitized so that you and your loved ones are safe from gluten cross contamination.

There are five main kitchen areas that should get most of your attention in this process, including:

1. Food inventory
2. Pantry
3. Refrigerator and Freezer
4. Countertops
5. Appliances (large and small)

Focusing on these areas can be a fantastic start to making your kitchen a safer space for those who are gluten-free.

Inventory Your Food Supply

Even those with gluten-free households may find that gluten can creep its way into their food inventory. Remember the special bread a friend picked up that says gluten-free on the front and “may contain gluten” on the back? You meant to donate it to your food pantry, but never quite got around to it. Let today be the day.

Begin by going through the food in your pantry, cupboards, refrigerator and freezer. Do a detailed reading of each item’s ingredient list and allergy warning to look for any sources of gluten that may have managed to sneak past you.

Another thing to examine when you are going through your food is the expiration date. In many cases, gluten-free foods have a shorter shelf life than others. Also consider removing food that you have tried, but did not find at all appealing so it does not continue to take up valuable space. If you have gluten-free items that have expired or that are no longer wanted, simply dispose of them.

For any food items that are unopened but are discovered to contain gluten, place them in a bag to take to your local food pantry as a donation. Your household may not be able to consume the item, but someone else can.

With an inventory of your food supply complete, don’t forget to make a list of gluten-free items that need replacing so that you are not without a certain food or ingredient next time you are cooking at home.

When it comes time to replenish your gluten-free food, be sure to choose certified gluten free goodies such as cookies, English muffins, hot dog buns and other items.

 

Pay Attention to Your Pantry

The pantry can sometimes be a catchall for any food that doesn’t go in the refrigerator or freezer. This means that sometimes foods that are not gluten free may find their way in there. Completing a thorough inventory of your food supply will ensure those foods are removed, but what you may not realize is that even with the box or bag of that food gone, there may still be gluten-filled crumbs that are left behind.

One of the best ways to be sure that even glutenous crumbs and residue are no longer lurking on your pantry shelves is to thoroughly clean them. Here are the steps needed to make sure the pantry is truly gluten free:

• Remove all food and items from your pantry so that the shelves are bare.
• Use a wet paper towel or handheld broom and dustpan to sweep out crumbs. This step may need to be repeated several times to ensure the removal of all debris as gluten cannot be seen with the naked eye.
• Clean the shelves with a dishcloth and a mixture of hot water and soap. This is critical as a sanitizer wipe is largely considered not to be as effective in properly cleaning and removing gluten from surfaces.
• Dry the shelves with a clean towel.
• Do a quick scan for any remaining gluten items before you restock the pantry.

It can be a good idea to do this again in another six months for a Fall cleaning, just to make sure gluten-sensitive family members are safe.

 

Refresh Your Refrigerator and Freezer

Just as you did with your pantry, it is also essential to follow the same procedure in cleaning your refrigerator and freezer. When working in these areas, it is still necessary to soak your cleaning cloth in water and soap, but make the water a bit cooler and be sure to wring out most of the water before wiping so the heat does not cause a cold shelf to crack or break. Use your best judgement when following this step to protect the integrity of your appliance.

If refrigerator and freezer drawers are removable, it will help to remove them for a proper cleaning. Drawers tend to collect crumbs and debris and will need to be well cleaned.

Work on either the refrigerator or the freezer rather than working on both at the same time so you do not run up your energy bill by having the appliance trying to cool itself while both doors are open for an extended time.

 

Clean Your Counters

Whether you are staying away from gluten or not, regularly cleaning your kitchen counters is a must to kill harmful germs and bacteria left behind from food preparation. However, different methods can achieve different purposes.

To kill harmful germs and bacteria, using a trusted brand of sanitizer wipe to disinfect your counter surfaces and commonly touched surfaces may be sufficient. But this method is not generally effective in eliminating gluten.

To ensure that your counters are properly cleaned and all gluten is removed, it is important to first wipe them down to ensure any crumbs are gone. This should be followed by a thorough wipe down with a dishcloth soaked in hot water and soap. Partially wring out the cloth and wipe your kitchen counters down.

Even though our focus here is the kitchen counters, it can also be a good idea to clean your kitchen sink with hot water and soap.

While these can be perfect activities for spring cleaning your kitchen to create a safe gluten free space, realistically the counters should be cleaned and sanitized on a daily basis, if not multiple times a day, depending on how much food prep is done in a day.

 

Clean Your Appliances

Cleaning your appliances tends to be one of the most overlooked areas of kitchen spring cleaning in ensuring your space is gluten free. This is problematic as many appliances can contain a host of crumbs and gluten debris. The solution is to properly wipe them down with hot water and soap and please note that some appliances should not be plugged in during this step. After cleaning, it is important to either wipe the appliances down with clear water and use a dry towel or allow them to airdry before using them again.

Some appliances you may want to focus on can be:

• Oven
• Stove Top
• Microwave
• Toaster Ovens
• Crockpots
• Toasters (even gluten-free toasters can stand to have the crumb tray emptied and the outside wiped down)

 

If you are preparing to spring clean your kitchen to create a gluten free safe space for yourself or someone you love, begin by working through these five steps. Once they are completed, be sure to evaluate your space to see if any other areas need cleaning or if additional steps need to be taken. The health of your loved ones just may depend on it.