What's the cheapest and easiest way to refinish kitchen cabinets?

Hi Carolyn,

If you want to stain them, you'll need to sand them down to the bare wood then clean them and use the stain that you want. You could also paint them. Since they have been stained over dirt & grease, it would be best if they were still sanded down to remove all of that mess. Be sure to make them clean and dust free, then prime and paint. If you need detailed instructions for either one, let us know. Wishing you the best.

Start with a good cleaning.

If you want to keep the wood look, use one of those stain and polyurethane blends (Minwax Poly Shades) could restore the finish. It could darken the color to blend in the knots if you chose a darker color and used a few coats.

If you want to paint them, you will need sanding or de-glossing plus a good stain blocking primer like Kilz. That will keep the knots from bleeding through long after the paint dries.

Even if it not cheap and easy solid wood cabinets are worth saving.

You can purchase a kit like this one to refinish them: https://amzn.to/2PtO3Sr

You can try painting them with milk paint by General Finishes. You only need to lightly clean and hand sand the cabinets first. This is how I painted mine: http://momhomeguide.com/my-painted-kitchen-cabinets-a-year-later/