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A clean and organized kitchen that is ready to handle one of its busiest days of the year is one surefire way to a less stressful Thanksgiving. Turkey, fruit, baking goods, and other Thanksgiving feast requirements can take up valuable fridge and pantry space, so getting your kitchen organized first will help. Here’s how to put a pre-holiday kitchen organization plan into action:
Organize Your Pantry for Holiday Cooking Efficiency
Now is the time to be more organized and make it easier to find those spices and ingredients you don’t use often, but are crucial to holiday dishes, as well as make room for new ones. A big part of this will be pantry organization.
Remove everything from your pantry, even if it seems drastic. This is the only way to get an accurate reflection of what’s in your pantry, especially in the dark corners where you may not have looked in months(years?). As you remove things, organize them on your kitchen table or countertops by category.
Remove any loose debris or dust from pantry shelves with a handheld vacuum. Clean the shelves and wipe down any grimy or dusty things using a mixture of warm water and a drop of dish soap. Just make sure to rinse well so that foods are not tainted by the smell or taste of detergent.
Examine the expiration dates on everything you’ve removed and toss out anything that has passed its expiration date. Also, build a donation pile for anything you don’t need that you have multiples of, and plan to take it to a food bank before the big day arrives.
Take a whiff of the remaining dried herbs and ground spices. Even if they aren’t expired, throw them away if you can’t smell anything. Every six months, the majority of these should be replaced anyway to get the very best results when you are using them to prepare anything (but especially those holiday dinners).
To organize your food, use turntables, transparent plastic bins, and/or reusable, sealable clear containers to restock the pantry. Keep your most commonly used things at eye level and kid-friendly goods on lower shelves. Things that are infrequently used can be stored on high shelves or in out-of-the-way nooks.
Organize Your Fridge
This is likely to be the most crowded your refrigerator will be all year, and you’ll need every inch of extra space you can get.
Once again, plan to remove EVERYTHING from the fridge, moving it all to a kitchen counter, one shelf at a time. Wash the shelves with a moistened cloth, then dry thoroughly with a clean towel before doing anything else. Wipe off the refrigerator door and all the drawers as well, paying special attention to the door seals, which can gather dirt and crumbs and even prevent the fridge from closing properly, leading to spoiled food or rapidly defrosting meat.
Also, if necessary, use your refrigerator’s adjustable shelves to begin rearranging them to fit a larger bird and all those leftovers.
Examine the rest of the contents of your refrigerator, rescuing what you can and tossing out expired foods. To make it easier to find similar things, group them together. Keep the items you’ll need most in the next few weeks as close to the front as possible for quick access.
Keep condiments, salad dressings, and pickles together on the door or on the top shelf in shallow plastic boxes that are easy to pull out and slide back in. More perishable foods, such as eggs, meats, and fresh juices, should be kept on the lower shelves of the refrigerator, where the temperature is cooler.
To ensure a longer life, vegetables and fruits should be stored in their designated drawers with the proper temperature setting.
Here’s what goes in each drawer as a reminder:
- Things that wilt go in the high-humidity drawer (like leafy greens, broccoli, cucumbers, and green beans) Moisture stays in the drawer with the vent closed, keeping the greens fresher for longer. And while most fruits go in the low humidity drawer, berries, like strawberries and raspberries, are ethylene-sensitive fruits and vegetables that should be placed in this drawer to keep them away from ethylene makers.
- Things that deteriorate quickly go in the Low-Humidity Drawer (like apples, pears, grapes, and other high-ethylene gas emitters). Those gases can escape with the vent fully open, preventing fruits and vegetables from spoiling prematurely.
Also, store leftovers at eye level rather than tucked away on lower shelves, so they’re visible and serve as a constant reminder to use them up! Any veggies or proteins that are left over should be eaten or turned into new soups, casseroles, or grain bowls. Any berries that are on their way out should be frozen for future smoothies. Vinaigrette can be made with the remaining spoonful of mustard in a jar. You get my drift.
Declutter and Organize Your Kitchen Counters
The majority of us would claim their kitchen lacks sufficient counter space. But sometimes the clutter they harbor does not help a lot either. Now is an excellent time to inventory what you have on your counters. Find a location to temporarily store things if you don’t use them often and won’t need it for holiday meals.
Clearing and organizing your counters to make room for slow cookers, electric pressure cookers, or any other gadget you’re using to free up the oven and burners now will save you a lot of time and hassle on the day, when you are going to be busy enough!
Prepare to go Shopping and Cook.
You’ll have a mental note of what you presently have and what you actually require now that you’ve arranged and organized your pantry and refrigerator. After that, organize all of your recipes into one master shopping list, add it to your phone, and then plan to stick to it.
While you are shopping, make sure you pick up supplies for dealing with leftovers. Who doesn’t enjoy the days after Thanksgiving when turkey sandwiches are served, or the pleasure of opening the refrigerator on Sunday night to find a last slice of pumpkin pie? These aren’t scraps; they’re extras!
Give your guests the gift of continuing to enjoy the dinner you worked so hard to prepare even after the holidays are over. Fill storage bags, containers, and boxes with food so that your visitors may take it home with them. To designate which bag or box belongs to them, offer them custom labels or a permanent marker to make notes with. Keep in mind that the more they take, the less you’ll have to store in your newly organized kitchen!
Need help with kitchen organization, or holiday organization in general? Let’s chat about it. Send us a message or give us a call here, and we’ll discuss how Just Organized by Taya can help you! Already know what needs to be done? Book an appointment right away here.
Working with Taya and her team is easy. You can book an appointment easily on her website, or contact her directly at 832-271-7608
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