Try these recipes for nontoxic kitchen cleaners to clear off a winter's worth of food spills and baked-on grease.

A homemade cleaner will keep the kitchen shiny and the air free of toxins.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—As spring kicks in, everything outdoors is starting to look reborn and sparkling-fresh, which somehow makes any grubbiness indoors look far worse than it did even last week. This past weekend, I alternated between enjoying the balmy prelude to spring going on outside, and giving my kitchen a good old-fashioned, deep-green cleaning inside. The weather’s still not warm enough to throw open the windows, but since I use only nontoxic and fume-free kitchen cleaners, my kitchen not only looks great, it also smells fresh and clean (not chemically perfumed). I spent a total of $2 on cleaning products—and the only trash I generated was a small recyclable cardboard baking soda carton.

Freshen Up Your Fridge

If your refrigerator is anything like mine, it collects its share of smears and dribbles, plus a selection of partially used containers, and even a science experiment or two that somehow got pushed into a hidden corner. Here’s how to give it a good makeover: Pull out your picnic cooler and unload everything from the fridge into the cooler. Take out all the removable shelves and bins and set them aside, wipe out any loose crumbs, and spray down all the interior surfaces with a nontoxic spray cleaner (see our story on nontoxic cleaners for an easy recipe). Close the fridge door to let the cleanser soak the insides while you clean the bins and shelves that you removed. Spray those, and clean using a scrub brush or rough sponge on the shelves, and a regular sponge or damp cloth on the bins (so you don't scratch them). The bathtub makes a good place to do this if your sink is too small. A retired toothbrush is great for getting into cracks where food residues may lurk.

Allow the bins and shelves to dry (outside in the sun if possible). While they're drying, scrub or wipe all the surfaces inside the fridge clean. Be sure to scrub in and under the door gasket. Wipe off the dirty water with clean terry cloth rags until everything is sparkling and dry. Reinstall all the shelves and bins, and put your food away, careful to dump or compost anything that's unrecognizable, moldy, or past its expiration date. Clean off any sticky containers, too, before replacing them.