I know it is hard to believe, especially on an unseasonably warm Kansas City October day like today, but Thanksgiving is only five weeks away! Consider this a friendly reminder to start preparing your home for the holidays now. By de-cluttering and stocking up on essentials now, you’ll make it easier to do a quick clean-up before the relatives arrive, and be calm knowing that you have everything you need on-hand.
Since it all starts in the kitchen, here are a few tips for cleaning and de-cluttering to help everything go smoothly on turkey day:
De-Clutter
If you don’t have it, you don’t have to move it, clean it or work around it!
Take this opportunity to go through all your kitchen tools and toss anything that is too far past its prime; or donate anything that you haven’t used in the past year. Obviously this includes that broken potato peeler and rusty baking sheet, but also get rid of duplicates. If you’re anything like me, things like coffee mugs seem to breed like bunnies in the kitchen cabinet. It is okay to get rid of a few that you don’t use! It is so much easier to put the dishes away if you’re not squeezing and stacking, waiting for the whole mess to fall on your head when you open the door!
Real estate in the kitchen is valuable space, so make sure you aren’t wasting it by storing things that could be stored elsewhere, such as the change jar, your stash of scented candles and the kids’ shin guards. If possible, empty a couple of drawers or a shelf somewhere, and leave it empty. This way you’ll have a place to hide things in a hurry when you have five minutes left to tidy before the guests arrive.
Purge and Re-Stock
Just this morning I pulled the cinnamon out of the cabinet and noticed that it expired in July. Now is the perfect time to go through your spices, baking goods and canned items and to toss anything that is expired. Make a list of things that you need to replace.
Don’t forget to check the freshness of things that you use at the holidays more than other times of the year, such as baking powder, baking soda, yeast, sprinkles for cookies, soup stock, etc.
Disposables
The holidays bring an abundance of food and friends into our homes. It is nice to be able to put away and share leftovers easily. So, it is time to go through that big pile of disposable Tupperware and match lids to bowls. Recycle anything without a match, and make sure you have plenty extra. Other disposable items for your shopping list? It is much easier to cook for a crowd with ample amounts of paper plates and cups, paper towels, foil, plastic wrap, muffin wrappers and parchment paper.
Schedule Your Pre-Holiday Professional House Cleaning!
Right now is the perfect opportunity to schedule a pre-Thanksgiving professional house cleaning in Kansas City, Johnson County, Leawood, Overland Park, Olathe, Prairie Village or anywhere else in the KC metro area. Call Camille now at (913) 207-8677 to make sure you can book your preferred time! Then you can sit back and relax when the festivities begin, rather than running around at the last minute trying to clean!