Get Your Kitchen Ready for the Holidays

With the holiday season around the corner, now is the time to get your kitchen ready for cooking and entertaining! Creating space and restoring order in your cabinets, drawers, pantry, and refrigerator is easier than you think. Here are 10 easy tips to follow to create an efficient, clutter-free kitchen in time for the holidays:

1. Create space for special dishes and platters by storing out-of-season items like patio dinnerware, picnic baskets, and barbecue tools in a lidded bin on a closet shelf or in the garage. 

2. Purge expired food items, wipe down all surfaces, and move the shelves in your refrigerator to make space for large platters. Bonus tip: Do this before going on your big shopping trip.  

3. Discard expired food from your pantry and group like items with like. Bonus tip: Save time by creating "kits." When you go to make cupcakes, for instance, all you will have to do is find the bin with the baking spray, liners, and sprinkles.

4. Take inventory of your tupperware collection and discard all containers without lids. Bonus tip: Store tape and a Sharpie with your tupperware to make it easy to write dates and cooking directions.  

5. Store things where you use them i.e., mugs, coffee, filters, and sweeteners close to the coffee maker; olive oil, salt, and pepper near the stove.

6. Use drawer dividers to separate flatware and serving pieces from cooking utensils.

7. Avoid the noise and inconvenience of pulling a cookie sheet out from under a pile of heavy bakeware by using a vertical pan holder to organize pans, trays, and cutting boards.

8. Tame the pile of plastic grocery bags under your kitchen sink by storing as many as can fit in an empty tissue box. Recycle the rest at your local grocery store. 

9. Label shelves, drawers, and bins so that everyone who uses the kitchen can easily find things and put them back.

10. Keep your kitchen neat and guest ready by not using your countertops as storage space. If you have run out of space to store supplies and food in your drawers and cabinets, it's time to purge. 

Happy entertaining!