Another soffit challenge

Question from Sally: 

I have started the exciting task of removing the ugly soffit in my kitchen. I have knocked out about 5' so far and there is nothing to relocate but I've encountered a few things I don't understand: every foot or so there is a support board, about an inch thick, between the ceiling and the cabinets. Are these boards ok to take out or are they there for actual ceiling support? Also, I could really use some step by step directions...do you know of a good website to help me with the wripping down and then the building up of my endouverous project? 

Jake's answer: 

Sally, Thanks for writing. I assume those pieces you are talking about are the vertical members placed there to help stabilize the top and bottom framing boards. They shouldn’t have any structural need. Regarding a web site, try this. This site has some pretty good detail on how to lay out a soffit and even how to build one.