Organize under your kitchen sink if you can – you should only need garbage and compost bags and cleaners under there. Try using a small box or bin to keep everything tidy and in its place.

Whether you have a ceramic cooktop, or a gas stove with a ceramic base under the burners, it’s likely that you have crisped food burned on. Try sprinkling baking soda over the entire cooktop and then spraying it with hot water. Let this sit and then come back and scrub it later. This will take off all the grime. Then you can use the fancy cooktop cleaner to polish (we love Barkeepers Friend). For your oven, if it has a self cleaner, turn it on before you go to bed tonight. They usually stink up the house and tie up hours of time, so I like to leave these for bedtime, and just give it a quick wipe down in the morning.

FAQs Archive - Victory Homes Canada

Q: Microwave & dishwasher

Wipe out your microwave (remember to get the top and under the glass plate) and your dishwasher – specifically along the sides that are often food traps not exposed to the clean cycle.

Q: Clean your countertops

For your counter tops, you can use a good degreaser. If you have light coloured granite or quartz countertops, an easy trick to remove scuff marks (these always build up around the edges and are hard to remove), use Weinman’s Glass Cooktop cleaner. Yes, I know… Cooktop cleaner for countertops. It’s a trick our installers use to ensure your countertops are spic and span after installation – and it works!

Q: Clean out the fridge.

Take a doubled garbage bag (or a reinforced box) and just start going through all items that need disposing of. Check for out-dated labels on condiments, or just old jars in the fridge that are never used. If you wouldn’t miss it, you don’t need it! If your drawers are hard to remove, try your vacuum wand to remove old onion skins (you know they’re in there!), and wipe out with a lemon or other grease cutting cleaner (yes, it can be natural, or just vinegar and hot water if you prefer). Take a warm soapy cloth and give a quick wipe of your cabinet doors inside and out – especially the garbage receptacle one.

Q: Clean your cutting boards.

We start this process first so that they sit and soak while you do the other items. Lay them out on your countertop, sprinkle with baking soda, and scrub each board side with a halved lemon. Let them sit before rinsing for stubborn messes. Once complete, run them in your dishwasher (if they fit) on a sanitize cycle. Otherwise, run them under (or soak in) hot water before drying.

Q: Consider your accessories during the design phase.

And yes, your tastes may change (or if you’re like us, your pillows and throw accessories change with every season!), but every office will have stationary signature pieces that will be a pat of your every day, and you can design your office space around them. Perhaps it’s a specific piece of art to be recessed within wainscotting and underneath a directional art light on its own light switch. It may also be a small electric fireplace built into the wall with a bright tiled surround (a fabulous back drop for those virtual meetings!). The possibilities are endless!

Q: Remember storage and shelving.

This is very important in smaller spaces. And for home offices, even more important. You don’t want your home to feel like an office when you’re not actually working. But if you can tuck your work away at the end of the day, it’s suddenly transforms into just an extension of your beautiful new house.

Q: Choosing the right desk, size and placement.

Consider the type and style of desk you want and ensure that your electrical and data ports accommodate (for example, we designed a home office for a centre-room desk that had recessed power and data in the floor underneath the desk for hidden chords.