Your Holiday Season Cooking & Cleaning Checklist

I love the holiday season and everything it brings – good food, quality time spent with family and friends, and a few days out of the office!

Growing up, I always remembered the holidays being busy. From family coming from out of town to visit, to wrapping up school exams, and more, December always seemed to be over before it began (except of course those few hours spent waiting impatiently for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve…)

The busiest room in our home during the holidays was always the kitchen. It’s the epicenter of frenzied activity… cooking, cleaning, people coming in and out, and general craziness. Throughout the holidays, it’s important to remember to take deep breaths, relax, and have fun. Here are a few tips to help you keep this part of your home orderly and all things running smoothly, despite the chaos:

  • Before you cook even one holiday recipe, remove kitchen clutter, making as much room as you can for holiday preparations. Take stock of what’s on your kitchen counters, get a cardboard box, and fill it with all the things you won’t need until after the holidays. Then, stash the box out of sight.
  • Attack your refrigerator. Discard everything that has spoiled, expired, or that you don’t anticipate using before its expiration date. Clean off shelves to make room for bowls of cookie dough or trays waiting to go into the oven.
  • Read recipes carefully and take inventory of each meal you’re planning to make sure you have all supplies you will need. Pay special attention to particular pan sizes or for cooking utensils you’ll need which you may have stored throughout the rest of the year.
  • Check to make sure you have plenty of storage containers and materials, including plastic wrap, wax paper and aluminum foil. If you use glass or plastic containers with snap-on lids, organize them to make them easy to find.
  • Clean as you go. Make a habit of washing, drying, and putting away kitchen utensils as soon as you can after using them.

From our Agency family to yours, we hope that you have a very happy holiday season!

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