4 pro tips for organizing your kitchen before turkey day
Don’t lose small items in your cupboards.
By Aimee Heckel
Joanna Monahan recommends reorganizing your kitchen every few months — and right now is the best time to tackle it. Before the guests arrive. Before you’re scrambling to baste the turkey and can’t find your gadgets. An organized kitchen can save you big money and big time during the holiday season.
“It’s way more inviting to work in a clean kitchen, so the idea of organizing and containing the clutter in your kitchen means it’s going to get used more,” Monahan says, “and using it more means eating at home, which is good for your budget and health — especially around the holidays.”
Monahan is a professional organizer, aka “liberator,” with the Colorado-based company Major Mom. We check in with her every month to provide pro tips for busy parents.
Here are four of Monahan’s points of organizing your kitchen before turkey day:
1. Work in zones. Divide your kitchen into different zones: pantry, fridge, cupboards, cooking area, prep area. Go through everything and make sure it is stored in or near the proper zone. Work on one zone at a time, to keep focused.
2. Determine your treasures. What do you love? What can you get rid of? Ditch duplicates. Ask your kids to go through the Tupperware and make sure every piece has a lid. Only keep what you use and need.
3. Designate homes. Pick a logical home for every item. Keep your plates near the dishwasher (so putting them away is quicker) and pans near the stove. Store seasonal items on a higher shelf, and things that you use regularly in an easy-to-access drawer. Keep your spices, oils, measuring cups and spoons in the same “food prep” location. Store spaghetti and sauce together. Organize your spices by sweet and savory or alphabetically.
4. Use smart storage solutions, such as containers to organize smaller items. Monahan recommends small Mainstays baskets with handles, available at Walmart, to organize smaller, related items, like spices. The handle makes it easier to pull off a high shelf.
“You lose things in the back of cabinets, so put smaller things that sometimes get lost into a container that’s easy to reach, and that will save you time and money form searching and buying duplicates, or losing something in the back and it expires,” Monahan says.
Monahan also likes using wire shelves to create more storage space, like these “add-a-shelf” helper shelves, just $8.97 for a three-pack at Walmart.
Save money at Walmart with these coupons. Read more articles about saving money at Walmart here.
Want more tips? Check out more of Monahan’s advice tomorrow.
Save money on items for babies and kids with these coupons.
Other articles you might also enjoy:
