The Very First Thing You Should Do Whenever You Open a New Bottle of Dish Soap

Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson is a writer-mom hybrid in Minneapolis, MN. Her work, mostly focused on health, psychology, and parenting, has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, Allure, and more. She lives in the Minneapolis suburbs with her husband and two young sons.
updated Jan 22, 2020
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Routine is one of the best ways to keep your kitchen in check. If you’re not naturally regimented around the house, one trick we like is to pair common tasks you frequently do with tasks you don’t think of as often. For example, every time you clean leftovers out of the fridge, use that as a reminder to check for expired condiments.

This trick is especially handy when it comes to re-purchasing kitchen staples — in this case, dish soap! You probably already know that dish soap is useful for more than just scrubbing grime from your dishes. It’s actually a Swiss army knife for plenty of other cleaning projects, including de-griming surfaces like your counters and kitchen cupboards. 

Here’s how we see it: Your cabinets are constantly collecting splatters of grease, grime, and debris as you cook, so by the time you open a brand new bottle of dish soap, it will probably be time to clean your kitchen cabinets, too. Why not make a ritual of wiping them down with dish soap whenever you crack open a bottle of Dawn?

The downside: No matter the size of your kitchen, you probably have a bunch of cabinets to keep up with. The upside: If you keep up with a routine, you won’t need quite as much elbow grease as you need the first time.

There are a few fairly simple methods for using dish soap to deep clean the outside of your kitchen cabinets. If you have a spray bottle on hand, you can add three or four drops of dish soap to a bottle full of warm water and spray down your cabinets. Once the grime and film have a few minutes to loosen, wipe the cabinets down with a wet rag.

For a more thorough clean, fill a bucket with hot water and add a couple drops of dish soap. Wet a sponge or rag with your sudsy mixture, scrub away on your cabinets, and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth.

More on Cleaning Greasy Cabinets

Just like that, your cabinets are now clean and you’ve created a new routine. Here’s to hoping the new habit sticks around longer than the grime!