If you take the time to do this now, you’ll be so grateful in a few weeks – I promise! These steps are quick, easy, and can very possibly be free depending on what sort of organizing things you have on hand.
1. Purge Your Pantry.
This is a pretty easy step – and one that always sort of horrifies me. It never fails that while I’m going through all of my cabinet and pantry shelves, I find things that are looong expired. In fact, this year, I found some cans of mini potatoes that expired in 2012. Um … gross. I’m pretty sure those have made it through a few moves! So, take some time to check all of the dates on your cans, boxes, and bags; throw out anything that’s expired, won’t get eaten, or that you just don’t like.
*Of course, if you have non-perishables that are unopened and not expired, give them to your local food pantry!
2. Take Inventory.
Kitchen items can take quite a beating, and this season is a great time to see what needs to be replaced. Go through your measuring cups, carving knives, cookie cutters, etc. to make sure you have what you need and nothing is missing. My measuring items have a tendency to lose themselves throughout the year, and I almost always have to replace them. You know that baster that exploded all over your white tablecloth last year? Trash it and get a new one!
3. Re-Organize.
Since you’ve purged the kitchen of things you don’t need, now is the time to re organize everything. I have an ungodly number of specialty kitchen gadgets … for real, it’s bad. Most of the time I keep them in the garage, but for the holidays these things get moved into the kitchen. If you have anything like this that gets frequent use during the holidays, it’ll make your life much easier to give them a place in your kitchen for a while. It’s the roaster pan, the mini pie maker, the apple peeler/corer, the pasta machine, and – of course – the cake pop maker.
*Make sure to leave space in your cabinets for the next step!
4. Stock Up.
In my area, holiday food staples are already going on sale. The other day, I noticed creamed corn on sale – 3 for $1! These are the kind of deals you want to take advantage of; especially if you can pair them with coupons. Not only will you save money by purchasing non-perishable staples ahead of time, but you won’t have to worry about going out the day before Thanksgiving to pick up pumpkin puree only to find the shelves wiped.
5. Make it Pretty.
Now that your kitchen is well-stocked, it’s time to glam it up! Everything is more fun when it looks nice. You might be wondering how to make the inside of your kitchen cabinets beautiful? Well, I have a few ideas:
Place smaller items like spices in plastic storage boxes so they can easily be sorted through when you need them.
Bulk quantities of items – like flours and sugars – can be put in large swing-top jars.
Put baking items like chocolate chips and nuts in mason jars so you can easily see how much you have on hand.
I hope these simple steps of purging old items, taking inventory of what you have, re-organizing for convenience, stocking up on holiday staples, and making everything pretty, will help your holiday season run a little more smoothly!
Do you have any tried and true tips for staying organized during the holidays?
linking to these parties
GREAT ideas! It’s that time…so excited! thanks for linking at Twirl and Take a Bow my friend xo
Thanks – they’ve helped me a TON over the years!
I just heard that there’s only 11 Fridays until Christmas … can you believe it?!
Great ideas! Easy and perfect for being prepared for all that super fun baking for family and friends!
Great tips for the upcoming holidays! Have a great week!
Great ideas. I always take this time to go through recipes, new and old, and make by baking and party menu plans. Pull/print the recipes, make a list of needed ingredients, and put the recipes in a special place. Buy a few items from the list each week.
What a great idea!