Declutter your Kitchen for the Holidays
Here are some tips in helping you declutter your kitchen, not only for the holidays but for the new year.. It’s a great time to get rid of those items that are no longer useful…
- Toss your old herbs and spices. If they no longer smell and you have had them for some time, replace them. Keep the jars and buy new spices in bulk, you will save a lot of money. Any spices you do not use very often, buy in small amounts.
- Go through each of your cabinets and donate any old dishes, coffee cups, glasses, etc. that you no longer use, and anything broken get rid of.
- Go through your appliances, are you using the deep fryer or bread machine? If not, it’s time to donate and free up your valuable space. If you want to keep it, consider moving it somewhere else outside of the kitchen. Make sure everything you keep is in good working order.
- Go through drawers, and get rid of any duplicates or gadgets you no longer use. Keep only your best measuring spoons, vegetable peeler and so on. Throw out items that are broken or missing pieces.
- Go through your junk drawer. This is a great thing to do at the end of the year… Get rid of menus you no longer like, or coupons that have expired. Get rid of trash. Whatever is left, figure out where it’s best home may be and move it out of the drawer. Start fresh for the New Year.
- Go through your pantry, get rid of anything expired. Anything that has been on the shelve for awhile, donate it to a food shelter.
Thanksgiving Organizing Tips
It will be here next week, ready or not… With a solid to do list, some planning and preparation you will be on your way to a very successful Thanksgiving! Here are some tips on how to organize your to do list:
1. Write everything down that needs to be done by next week.
2. Sort into categories.
3. Write all tasks within category.
4. Check off as you complete!
Following in an example of a to do list:
Menu: Decide on all menus, including breakfast the next morning if you are having overnight guests. Bring out all of the recipes and sort by meal. Place menu on refrigerator. Count your RSVP’s. Figure out what you can make ahead of time and a timeline of how you will be cooking your meal.
Shopping: Make a detailed grocery list and review your recipes twice so you do not forget anything. Buy all staples now and only go to the store around the holiday for items that need to be fresh.
Cooking: Refer to your list above, what is your timeline? What needs to be cooked first and what needs to be last? Delegate some of the cooking. Have other family members bring side dishes, drinks, and/or dessert.
Cleaning: Recruit members of your immediate family to help with these chores. Know who is doing what and when you need it to be done. Do deep cleaning a few days before guests arrival. The night before and day of should only be touch up cleaning. Tasks for cleaning could include: cleaning the refrigerator inside and out, cleaning stoves and ovens, cleaning china and platters, guest bathroom, etc.
Activities: For children, research the web or go to a craft store for fun art and holiday activities to keep them busy. Bring out your board games or cards for a fun fulfilled evening of games while waiting for dessert! And of course get the TV area ready for the football games!
This is not meant to be a complete list only to get you started on your way. Fill in what you need to do for your own home, traditions and holiday. Being organized is about planning ahead and being prepared! Happy Preparing!
CD / DVD Storage
On the right, I have displayed a recommended product for Handstands 48 CD and DVD storage binder through Amazon.com. This has been a great solution for our family in organizing our DVD’s and video games. It eliminates having all of the cases spread around and instead of having a traditional CD/DVD storage system which can take a lot of room, this is something that can easily be put on a shelf or in a drawer. You can either get rid of the extra cases, or if you want to save them, which we did, for resale or whatever purpose, I put the cases in a clear bin with a label, DVD Cases. Then the box goes into storage. It’s a very easy process and can save you a lot of space and time looking for a particular movie or game!
Holiday Checklist
With planning and organization, the holidays can bring you a lot of joy and happiness! Here is a checklist to help you start your holiday season off to the right start!
Gifts:
1. Set a budget and stick to it.
2. Make a list of everyone you need to buy for with gift ideas. The more prepared the list, the easier it will be to shop. Talk with your family and friends about drawing names and set a dollar limit. This can really eliminate the stress of buying for “everyone”. And you can really concentrate on the one gift rather than many.
3. Shop online.
4. Shop for gifts as early as you can.
5. Organize your wrapping supplies, make sure to have one place where you store wrapping paper, scissors, tape, gift tags, etc. You can buy containers specifically for this purpose. Check out www.containerstore.com.
Decorating:
1. Schedule a time to go through your home prior to setting up decorations. Deep clean and declutter. Get rid of any items you are not using and make room for decorations.
2. While you are going through your decorations, decide which ones you will not be using and donate them. If you do it now, this will allow someone else to enjoy them for the season.
Entertaining:
1. For each event you are hosting have a checklist containing tasks, menus, and entertainment. Have a master list of all your events, dates, and times.
2. Inventory your pantry – make sure you have all the essential dry ingredients you need for the season. This will eliminate several unnecessary trips to the grocery store. Make the trip to the grocery store for only fresh produce, milk etc.
3. Ask for help. Whether this is recruiting immediate family members to help cleaning and tidying up or asking someone bring to dessert.
4. When entertaining, aim to have everything ready to go one half hour before your guests arrive. Relax and enjoy yourself. Make new memories without feeling stress.
The key to an organized holiday season : Prepare, plan, and do as much as you can ahead of time!
Take a Picture!
Quick Tip: Did you like the way you decorated for Halloween? And you don’t want to forget for next year… Take photos of the areas you liked best and place them where you store your decorations. It will make decorating next year a breeze!
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