How To Conserve Energy: Kitchen Edition #4 (cleaning your oven)

Whose oven is ACTUALLY clean? I'm not saying mine is disgusting but what I am saying is that my very sensitive fire alarm tends to go off when I turn my oven on. You know the cheese that sometimes bubbles up over the side of your casserole or pizza and drips down below? Well those little charred cheese buddies have taken up residence in my stove. So do as I say and not as I do and take care of them regularly so you don't have to set off your own smoke detectors! (At least I know that they work...)

TIP #1: Kneel, don't bend over the oven.

Bending over to keep your body level with the oven is going to result in pain and fatigure. Kneeling on the side of the oven (over the door) while trying to keep your back straight is the best position. Take breaks regularly and stretch and move around. Even keeping the best position can result in pain if you stay like that for too long!

TIP #2: Loosen dirt and grease.

Before turning off the oven after cooking find a container that is heat resistant. A baking tray or dish are perfect. Fill up the container with water and place in the still hot stove. Keep inside for 20 minutes. Afterwards turn off the oven and allow it to cool down before carefully taking an old rag or paper towel to move some of the stuck on yuckiness! * Make sure the oven is not hot enough to burn you!

TIP #3: Try vinegar and baking soda.

Sprinkling baking soda on the bottom of the oven and then spraying vinegar on top of the baking soda seriously cuts down on scrubbing. Especially if you do this regularly. The trick is to let the baking soda and vinegar sit for 20 minutes. Simply wipe everything up with a damp cloth afterwards.

TIP #4: Use oven cleaner on the racks.

Place your oven racks on newspaper where it's well ventilated like outside. With gloved hands generously spray commercial oven cleaner on the racks and let it sit for 10 minutes. Use an old scrub brush or toothbrush to remove any stuck on dirt. Rinse well with a garden hose.

I think the trick to a clean oven and less scrubbing is maintenance. I haven't been particularly good at this but we all need something to aspire to, right?