Prep Your Kitchen For The Holidays

Do these five things to get your kitchen clean, organized, and functional for the holiday season.

It’s November, and you know what that means…your kitchen is about to get the workout of the year. From mid November to mid January, your kitchen is working overtime, bursting at the seams, and getting pretty stinkin’ dirty.

Before things start to get crazy, take a weekend to knock out these 5 tasks to prepare your kitchen for the holiday season. Time to roll up your sleeves and get to work!

5 Things To Do To Prep Your Kitchen Before Thanksgiving

1. Clean Your Refrigerator

It’s super important to get your refrigerator under control before you start stocking up for holiday meals. Throw out anything that’s old or you know you’ll never consume. Trash expired condiments. Wash the shelves and drawers, and wipe down the inside of the fridge and freezer. Add organizers, containers, and extra shelves if needed.

2. Purge Your Pantry

Again, you need to make room for all the extra food you’ll be buying over the next two months, so cleaning and organizing your pantry is a must. Trash anything that’s expired, donate anything you don’t think you’ll eat to a homeless shelter, wipe down the shelves, and consolidate bulky packages into airtight containers.

3. Take Inventory

This season you’ll be using those serving dishes on the top shelf that never really see the light of day, along with more Tupperware containers and food storage bins. Plus you’ll have more people around the table than usual. Take time to look through all your serveware, dishware, utensils, and containers to make sure you have enough. This post can help you check everything off your list.

4. Clean Your Trash Can

When was the last time you cleaned your trash can? Next time you take the trash out, before you add a new bag take the can into your bathroom and sit it in your shower. Squirt a tad of dish soap inside and wipe it down with a sponge, then rinse it out under the shower. Either dry it with a towel or leave it outside to air dry. (Don’t forget to throw away the sponge)

5. Address Repairs

If your faucet leaks a little, your dishwasher has a funky smell, your refrigerator seal is loose, or a light flickers, go ahead and address that stuff now. What may not be “that big of a deal” right now could be a big fat mess if it messes up more during Thanksgiving dinner prep. The Family Handyman has a lot of easy DIY fixes for common kitchen problems.

Want To Get Your WHOLE House Ready For The Holidays?

My 30 Day Holiday Cleaning Calendar has got you covered. For six days a week, five weeks in a row, I give you one easy and simple task to do to clean or organize a small space of your home.

By the time you’re done, your whole house is all set before the first guest shows up with gifts and wine. Just drop your email address below and I’ll send it straight to you.