Amy Roberts

You already know they’re icky. And you probably know that if you have one mouse, you really have more than one (if you didn’t, I’m sorry). I happen to know, from an unfortunate experience in my last apartment, that they enjoy cookies most, pasta next, and Thai rice noodles least — at least, that’s the order they got into food in my pantry. Here’s some other stuff you should really know about mice in the kitchen.

Corner cabinets! We confess to feeling a bit confounded by them. They’re so spacious! But, at the same time, they can be hard to navigate, thanks to funky angles and that awkward too-deep depth. Many corner cabinets are equipped with built-in lazy Susans, which can help a little. What helps even more? These smart tips from organizing experts on how to best utilize your corner cabinets. “That chili pot that you only use on Super Bowl Sunday?

Before the big reveal, go ahead and take a guess. A sponge? Nice try, but nope. Paper towels? Not very green. But also, nah. Or what about surface-cleaning spray? Eh, not really! The best cleaning tool for most kitchen surfaces is: a microfiber cloth. “Due to the structure of a microfiber cloth, it has the same effect as most disinfectants in terms of cleaning away most bacteria,” says Tekla Wlodarczyk, owner of Mother Earth Cleaners in Madison, WI.

More than a thousand dollars! And, ya know, a few features, technologies, and aesthetic materials that factor into the price, which can range from about $300 to $1,500. Mike Nerdig, marketing director of GE Appliances, a Haier Company, explains more about what makes expensive dishwashers so … pricey! One of the more obvious differences, at least to the untrained consumer eye, is that pricier machines (like in pretty much every other appliance category) are finished in stainless steel.

If you’re like me, your passion for baking — both sweet treats and savory dishes — is inversely proportional to your zeal for cleaning up afterward (and unlike many New Yorkers, I actually have a dishwasher!). It’s particularly annoying when, no matter how well you think you’ve greased the sheet, something sticks. Or, ugh, when the oil itself becomes a gummy mess.

It’s natural! It zaps stains! It’s cheap! There’s a lot to love about vinegar as a cleaning product. However, it’s not the perfect remedy for every cleaning job — or every cleaning person (oh, the stink!). Learn how to make it work for you, from Becky Rapinchuk, author of The Organically Clean Home and founder of the blog, Clean Mama. The key ingredient in vinegar is acetic acid, a natural germ-killer against some common bacteria.

It’s not just pepper’s better half or what makes you float in the ocean — good ol’ sodium chloride can also be a very handy household cleaner! Here are some of the many around-the-home uses of salt, as described by cleaning guru Debbie Sardone of SpeedCleaning.com. Hint: When we say “salt,” we’re talking run-of-the-mill table salt. You can really use any type of salt, but those tend to cost more money, so why not go with the less expensive option?

Delicious and nutritious, yogurt — especially the Greek kind — has become a 21st century breakfast staple. Its tasty tanginess goes sour, however, when a glob of it lands on your shirt! “Yogurt is what we like to call a ‘combination stain’ because it has a number of ingredients that can cause problems,” says Dan Miller, founder and president of Mulberrys Garment Care, which has locations throughout Minnesota and California.

Food isn’t the only thing in your pantry that has those all-important use-by dates: Your cleaning products can go bad, too. Here are five key things you should know when it comes to the shelf life of your go-to cleaners, from Nancy Bock of the American Cleaning Institute.

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So you threw your friend a cocktail party for her birthday? That’s so sweet of you! And someone spilled all the booze? Or some of it? That’s not sweet at all! Luckily, you can easily clean it up, as long as you handle the spill smartly, says Donna Smallin Kuper, a certified house cleaning technician and author of The One-Minute Cleaner. Here’s what you should do.

Broken glass can be a pain in the you-know-what — especially if it was filled with something (what a sad waste of Pinot!). To pick up the shards (without drawing blood) and any former contents, follow this advice. The first step to cleaning up broken glass is to pick up the large pieces — carefully. And you shouldn’t do it bare-handed: Protect your hands with a thick towel, a heavy rubber glove, or even an oven mitt. And please put on shoes!

If butter fingers — or actually buttery fingers — cause an egg to slip from your hands, you know you’ll have a mess before the shell even hits the floor. The slime, the sticky shell bits, the slime! Cleanup isn’t going to be, er, over easy. Here’s how to make it less of a scramble. A sponge and a spatula can make a pretty good brush-and-dustpan stand-in for that gloppy mess on the kitchen floor. (You don’t want to then have to clean up your cleaning tools!

Handling raw meat isn’t really anyone’s favorite food-prep task. And if the juices leak, spill, or splash, you’ve got a tricky cleanup job on your hands, lest you risk serious food poisoning. Follow these tips to keep things de-germed. Smart grocery stores have plastic bag dispensers handy in the meat department so you can wrap up those meat trays.

If you’re replacing your fridge or range, chances are it’s either fun (yay, renovation!) or a hassle (boo, broken). In both cases, you’ll probably end up with the “What do I do with the old one?” conundrum. We asked Vanessa Lepice of Earth911, an online resource for all things environmental, to give us the 411 on junking old appliances. It turns out you have options — and you might even be able to make some money!

The only problem with buttery movie-style popcorn at home? The fact that it has a tendency to lead to greasy fingerprints on the sofa. Warm, crusty bread spread with a creamy pat of butter? There’s almost always a glob that falls off the knife onto your shirt. And tender lobster dunked into melted butter? A tablecloth’s worst nightmare. The points is, that buttery deliciousness we love almost always come as a stain-removal cost.

The stove is the real workhorse of the kitchen, and even more so when you’re cooped up because of a winter storm and, er, cooking up one. But do you really know how to use it safely? Here are 10 stove safety tips every cook should know, according to Doug Rogers and Anthony Arroyo of Mr. Appliance repair services. What’s an anti-tip bracket, you might ask? It’s the thing that comes with most ovens and is usually tossed aside without a second thought.

Hauling out the buckets and swabbing the decks may be fine for a sailor, but as the captain of your own ship, you have better ways to keep your floors squeaky-clean. Or you will, once you read this great advice from Jim Ireland, president of White Glove Elite, a New York City-based cleaning company. Yes, it’s one more thing you have to do while you’re cleaning up from dinner, but you really should sweep the kitchen floor every night before you go to bed.

The first time I saw a palmetto bug, chilling on the wall of a New York City apartment, it scared the crap out of me. Not just because it was a bug that was bigger than my thumb (ew!), but because the freakin’ thing could fly! I didn’t think roaches could have wings. It turns out I was wrong. After chatting with Michael Bentley, an entomologist with the National Pest Management Association, I learned a few more things about these all-too-common critters.

This time of year is chock-full of chocolatey decadence — in the form of a gift from a loved one, something homemade, or a sweet treat purchased at the February 15 post-holiday sales (who, me?). But don’t let it ruin your sugar buzz if half that truffle accidentally lands on your shirt or your couch. Here’s what you need to know to remove stains from anything your cocoa-covered fingers may touch.

Let’s be honest — breakfast is the only good thing about the mornings. And making your own gives you full reign over the menu, but also leaves you responsible for the cleanup. Make it extra easy with these smart tips from Debbie Sardone, the mastermind behind the site Speed Cleaning. Crispy, greasy bacon is delicious. It also creates a big fat mess. What to do with all that grease in the pan?

Even if you have a garbage disposal, certain foods can seriously gum up the works. To keep your pipes flowing freely, don’t put these things down your drain — ever. Paul Abrams, a spokesperson for Roto-Rooter Services Company, says so. Pretend your sink is on a perpetual Atkins diet and steer clear of giving it too many carbs — even if you’re lucky enough to have a garbage disposal.