The kitchen area is one of the rooms with the most enemies. The to biggest are grease and bacteria. Having decided that you want to get all that nasty grease off your kitchen tops, remove all your appliances away from the counter-tops. This ensures that the bacteria won't spread underneath any of your appliances, e.g. microwave, toaster etc..

If you want a more in-depth clean but only have about half-hour to spare then you will also be able to give your floor a quick clean without the use of a dirty mop and bucket. Simply spray the floor with either a floor or multi-purpose cleaner and wipe it over with a floor cloth. Then spray your kitchen applianes with some kind of disinfectant and wipe them drip with a clean micro-fibre cloth.

If you devote more time, say an hour, then start by wiping your cabinet doors using good old soap and water. Wipe the cabinet fronts from top to bottom. If the kitchen cabinets happen to be made from wood, try using a wood cleanser for a finishing touch.

If you have about two hours to spare add to the list the cleaning of inside your appliances. For the fridge, use about 3 tablespoons of baking-soda mixed together with 3 cups of luke warm water. Now lets tackle that oven. Use a multi-purpose cleaner with the help of a scraper to remove food which has stuck onto the racks. For inside the kitchen cabinets, you will have to remove the contents, then get rid of food and crumbs by using the vacuum then clean with a damp cloth.

If some of your appliances are made of stainless-steel then clean these with soap and water with a soft sponge. Then dry with kitchen towels. For an extra shine, use a steel-polish and smear over the fronts. Wipe away the excess with kitchen towel. Using a dry micro-fibre cloth buff up until the fronts are shiny and smear free.

Here are some more handy and practical cleaning tips for the home:

Candle holders always get covered with wax. To remove the wax simply put the holders in the freezer. Leave for about an hour and when removed, the wax magically drops off.

Drinking glasses tend to get cloudy over time. To remove the cloudiness, simply soak the glasses in warm water adding a touch of vinegar. After an hour or so, remove from water and wipe dry with a nylon-sponge.

Smelly mattress? Find the affected area on the mattress and damp over it with cold water. Using borax sprinkle over the top and rub thoroughly until most of the powder has vanished. Brush of a remaining borax.

Do you hate scraping wallpaper off walls? Why not try using equal parts of water/vinegar and soak the paper. Repeat this again with another bucket of water/vinegar. The paper should now peel away from the walls all by itself.

To help get rid of bad smells inside your garbage bin, try throwing a few slices of lemon inside.

To preserve delicate clothes while washing, why not pop them in a pillow-case and put your machine on a gentle wash.

For removing crayon marks on the walls, rub a small amount of tooth paste onto them and rub off with a clean cloth.

No microfibre cloths in your house? Clean your mirrow with a soaky rag from warm water. Get an old newspaper, crumple it up and buff the mirror up.