6 Tips to Prep Your Kitchen for Fall and the Upcoming Holidays!
Fall is officially underway and that means it’s time to break out your slow cooker to help with the back-to-school madness and busy activity calendar. While spring is usually the season for cleaning, fall can have some of the fun as well as you start to transition from light summer cooking to months of baking, roasting, and braising. Before you know it, the holiday season will be upon us so it’s to make sure your kitchen is ready for the extra cooking and baking that comes with entertaining and hosting guests! Follow these steps to prep your kitchen for fall and the upcoming holidays:
1. Purge your cabinets and pantry
As the weather turns cooler, you may find yourself in the kitchen more, making it easier for clutter to build up quickly. Take the opportunity now to clean out one cabinet a day, donating items you no longer use, match Tupperware to their lids, and check expiration dates on canned and boxed items.
2. Replace old dishtowels and potholders
Nothing makes you take a harder look at your kitchen than when you know your in-laws are coming to town! What will they think of your dishtowels and potholders? Have they seen better days? This can be a great refresh for your kitchen for $20-$30 and will keep your guests from having to touch your old, stained rags when they volunteer to help clean up or need to dry their hands.
3. Clean your oven
Your oven might have rested over the past few months, but now it’s time to turn it back on, warm up the house, and break out your favorite casseroles. Start oven season off right by giving it a good cleaning and making sure you have your oven thermometer ready to go and your hot spots mapped out and ready to avoid when breaking Grandma’s secret cookie recipe.
4. Get new recipes
September means you are still a few months away from the major holidays, so it’s a great time to seek out new recipes and test them out before presenting them at your big family gathering. If you save recipes on Pinterest or Facebook, print them out, test them, and if they are a keeper, stow it away in your recipe box or transfer it to a recipe card for your binder. Nothing is more frustrating than losing a saved pin or post and recipes are made much more often if they are within arm’s reach.
5. Stock up
Start stocking your freezer and pantry with fall essentials so you can throw together last-minute soups and stews. Make sure you have broth, beans, and seasonings on hand, and stewed meat in the freezer for when the weather is bad, and you don’t want to run to the store!
6. Wash before you buy
Before you toss all your old dishes and cookware, give everything a deep clean. You’ll be amazed at how refreshed you are to use some of your neglected pots and pans if they are sparkling new! Kitchen Tip: Clean your pans by filling them with warm water and dropping a dryer sheet in. The dryer sheet sucks up the grease and build-up and makes it easier to wipe down! Whether you are looking for some drawer organizers to help with your prep or are ready to transform your kitchen in time for the holidays, we can help! Please visit our Locations tab to find the nearest Kitchen Tune-Up.
