Cleaning your kitchen is a never-ending job — especially if you actually use it. There are your everyday messes (those breadcrumbs that got all over while you were packing up lunch) and there are the ones that build up over time while you’re busy doing other things (how’d that backsplash get so greasy?). Staying on top of all of it could end up being a full-time job. But you already have one of those!

While everyone has spring cleaning on their minds, we thought we’d leave you with this list, detailing what you should clean and how often you should clean it. It’s not here to stress you out (we swear!), but rather to serve as a gentle reminder.

Here are all the things you should clean — and when.

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Ready to feel totally victorious about getting an amazing veggie-packed dinner on the table on a weeknight? Step one: Enlist the help of the slow cooker. Step two: Make sure it’s a classic. A slow cooker veggie pot pie starts to feel like the obvious choice, doesn’t it? From the creamy filling, studded with a rainbow of hearty vegetables, to the buttery biscuit topping you add right at the end, it delivers the comfort of homemade pot pie without any of the fuss.

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Expect to take one bite of this salsa and then want to dig into it the rest of the day and the days following. It’s that good and it also happens to be that versatile. Between the briny kalamata olives, tangy feta, and juicy tomatoes, this is one serious bowl of flavor. Oh, and there’s also the revelation that when fresh dill and basil join forces, like they do here, everything sings.

Pile this salsa on toast for lunch, toss it with cooked grains or pasta for a simple supper, and scoop it up with pita chips for those in-between (read: hangry) moments. You won’t be able to get enough of it.

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(Image credit: SMEG)

From Apartment Therapy → SMEG’s Small Appliances Get a Bold Makeover, Courtesy of Dolce & Gabbana

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We hate telling you that you have to run out to buy specific items in order to clean your kitchen, because the truth is that you don’t. You can certainly clean your kitchen with whatever you happen to have on hand. Paper towels? Fine. That random bottle of spray stuff your mom got you because it was on sale? Also fine. It’s just that these 10 tools will help make any cleaning task easier. And don’t we all want things to be easier?

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Do you ever follow a weekend of dining out with a strong craving for vegetables? That’s where my head (and stomach) is at this week while meal planning. This past weekend we ate a ton; we had my husband’s family over for barbecue and ate so much cake (not to celebrate — I had leftovers from recipe testing). Plus my work week ahead is filled with testing more cakes, a trifle or two, cheesecake, two types of cookies, a pie, and five no-bake desserts.

I need some vegetables to balance all the revelry, ya’ll!

Of course, I still need recipes to satisfy my two young kiddos and accommodate my husband’s erratic work schedule. So with that in mind, here are five vegetable-centric recipes to balance the week ahead.

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(Image credit: Betty Liu)

Boston has a truly wonderful coffee scene, full of no-nonsense spots with good, strong coffee as well as impeccably designed Insta-worthy cafes with delicious brunch spreads. The best ones, however, have all of the above. Every neighborhood in Boston boasts its own renowned coffee shop, so much so that you could potentially get to know Boston just by bouncing from coffee shop to coffee shop. Here are my five favorite coffee shops, with good coffee, cozy atmospheres, and amazing interiors.

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Homemade cinnamon rolls never seem like a project you can undertake in the morning and have ready in time for breakfast, right? All those ingredients to measure out, kneading in a stand mixer, and of course, two rises for the yeast to do its thing. It’s no wonder we’re also picking them up from a bakery, IKEA, and even that chain in the mall.

What if I told you that you could put a big pan of cinnamon rolls together in about the same amount of time it takes for your oven to heat? With just seven ingredients (all staples you can keep in your pantry and fridge), you can make fragrant iced cinnamon rolls without a stand mixer, prolonged kneading, or rising time. Let’s make this magic happen!

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So you decided you’re going to buy a stand mixer? Yay! There are a few things to know before you run off to your nearest kitchen store. For starters, what size bowl will you need? (Will 3.5 quarts be big enough for your jobs? Do you need something that can hold 6 quarts?)

Keep reading to find out five more things you should know before buying a stand mixer.

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If there’s one kitchen gadget that has garnered a cult following in the last couple years, it’s the Instant Pot. You’ve seen the sales, you’ve seen the recipes and tips, you’ve seen the heartfelt essays on personal growth in the kitchen. And chances are you have a friend who has gone on (and on) about how much they love this budget seven-in-one appliance.

But you haven’t seen this. Nancy Olsen of Duluth, Minnesota, is the proud owner of 107 Instant Pots. Her obsession started a little over a year ago on her birthday when her husband gifted her an Instant Pot because one of his coworkers said it helped their family get dinner on the table faster.

“I took it out of the box and just immediately fell in love,” Nancy says of the first time she saw the appliance. “It was so light and the instructions were so easy to read. I hadn’t experienced a rush like that in awhile; I immediately felt at peace.”

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