Week Eight sees us down and dirty in the heart of the home: the kitchen. It’s Kitchen Week at the Holiday Grand Plan!
This week, we’ll clear the decks for the holiday cooking to come with a kitchen clean-up and declutter. Routing out the year’s dirt and disorder gives us a fresh, clean start for holiday cooking to come.
In holiday prep, it’s Checkpoint Week and time to make plans for Halloween night.
Ready? Let’s get organized with Kitchen Week in the Holiday Grand Plan!
Holiday Prep
- Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
- Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
- Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
- Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes.
- Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
- Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
Checkpoint Week! Evaluate Your Progress:
- If unable to find an item for a person on list contact them or their family for ideas.
- If a homemade gift is not going well, set it aside for after Christmas and decide on another gift.
- Buy pumpkin for Halloween.
- Review costume plans with children.
Cleaning/Organizing Area: Kitchen
Kitchen Closets: Empty them! Pull everything out. Use trash bags, boxes, etc to sort and redistribute your items. Remember-places would love donations of kitchen items. If you have not used something in a few months, chances are you just will not use it so donate it. Kill the clutter!
Kitchen Cabinets: Tackle one by one if the job seems overwhelming. Start above counters, on one side of the room and work in one direction & when done, tackle cabinets below the counter. Save the under-sink area for last, for me it was the hardest.
Get Rid Of:
- Old, currently unused cleaners
- Cans & Bottles of food over 6 months old unless there is a later expiration date.
- Old cracker/cookie boxes probably stale
- Pans & pots that you don’t use, have duplicates of, are in horrible shape, etc.
- Extra serving dishes (store them elsewhere unless you have lots of room) until needed. Donate if you have not used them in the past six months.
Check any open boxes for bugs.
Don’t forget to wipe down empty shelves, re-line (if necessary).
If you store medicines in the cabinets, check expiration dates. Verify prescription items with your pharmacist. Throw out medicines that “didn’t work”, expired or tasted so horrible you won’t use them, etc.
Don’t forget to empty drawers, clean inside, then replace items. Get rid of duplicate items (utensils) if you can.
Clean all appliances inside and out (refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker–use vinegar once through, followed by several rounds of water– stove vent, etc.)
Sink: Use a toothbrush to get rid of gritty dirt at faucet. Clean drains, disposal, etc Use favorite cleaner to make “shine”.