It’s mid-December, so it is officially holiday celebration time. Christmas cookie celebrations, holiday potlucks and lavish dinner parties start to fill every blank place on the calendar. It’s also a time which can get fairly stressful if you’ve decided to sponsor a joyous get-together.
Rather than getting worried, get organized! Your kitchen will probably be the hub of activity and the place where guests are going to need to devote time, therefore it is important to clean every nook and cranny. Ensure that your kitchen is prepared to take on food and guests to reduce damage and major cleanup later.
Capoferro Design Build Group
1. Clean clutter from countertops. Get rid of email and bills lying around, and put significant papers away. You do not wish to have any kind of paperwork lying about while your own kitchen is a flurry of activity. Make sure all your surfaces — backsplash, counters and floors — are sparkling clean.
MN Builders
2. Clean the microwave. That can be overlooked, but it may be pretty embarrassing to have someone offer to help heat up food and watch a gross, food-splattered microwave.
Camber Construction
3. Prep your own oven. Prevent running the self-clean cycle onto the oven right before a large party — it is actually really stressful on the oven and can cause it to fail right when you are about to put your turkey in. Instead, do a fast cleaning with a moist rag around the top burners, and leave the rest until after the new year.
Rebekah Zaveloff | KitchenLab
4. Clean out the refrigerator. The refrigerator is bound to be used a lot through a big meal — opened and closed continuously and filled to the brim with heavy dishes. Be sure that the door handles and gaskets are tight, clean the chilly air vents and replace any burned-out lighting. Make sure the vents are not blocked by food or condiments so the fridge stays cool and nice throughout the evening.
Eliminate your refrigerator shelving and wash it in the sink with dish soap. Dry the shelves with a dish towel, and be sure they are secure when putting them back in the fridge.
Mullet Cabinet
5. Disinfect garbage cans. However careful you’re, food and gunk handles to collect at the bottom of a garbage can. Use a holiday celebration as an excuse to wash garbage cans. Take them outside and wash them with a garden hose and dish soap. Disinfect them with a cleaning spray. Ensure that you have extra trash bags, also.
Mullet Cabinet
6. Check your own dishwasher out. Make sure your dishwasher will run efficiently with a large number of dishes in it. Check the drain and clean off any residue, and be sure there’s no broken glass or lost utensils at the bottom. Wipe off the rim of the doorway and the door gasket, using white vinegar plus a sponge to remove any gunk.
Whimages
7. Get your serveware prepared. Have your knives sharpened so that you do not end up hacking away at your honey-baked ham. Or sharpen yourself if you understand how — be careful.
Take stock of some basic supplies that you are missing, and buy or borrow them prior to the celebration. Assess your utensils, cookware, serveware, spice cabinet, cooking oils, canned goods and other pantry requirements.
If you are serving your meal on nice serving plates, clean them up and make them ready to go. Polish silver, wash plates and wash and iron cloth napkins.
Boor Bridges Architecture
8. Double-check security mechanisms. If little children are going to be around, make sure everything is childproof. Set aside a special area beyond the kitchen for children to hang out. But be sure plugs from the kitchen are covered, lamps and other glass items are away from table edges, and stairways and other dangerous areas are blocked off.
Check your smoke detector and CO2 detector batteries, and replace them if desired. Ensure you’ve got a fire extinguisher available, also.
Take a look at your own first-aid kit, and replace any lost materials. You never know when someone is going to cut down themselves, get burnt, or slide and fall.
Julie Smith
9. Stock your kitchen correctly. Do some of your guests have allergies? Is anyone vegetarian, fermented or vegan? Take these and prepare yourself accordingly. Make sure there are lots of non-alcoholic drink options available, also.
10. Create a cooking schedule. Prep what you can ahead of time. Many casseroles and potato dishes can be set in a skillet ahead of time, and vegetables can be chopped and kept, also. Possessing a schedule of when everything has to be created and put into the oven won’t only help you keep things organized, but it is going to help your visitors know when and how to help.
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