Is your kitchen ready for the challenges that Holiday Season is ready to throw its way?
The holidays are rapidly approaching and you want your home to look magazine ready! Well, let's start with (arguably) the most important room in your home... THE KITCHEN!!! Let's face it, your guests will hang out here, your food will be prepared here, and you're probably going to spend most of your time here getting food prepped, cooked, and then cleaning up in here. To me, it's the best place to start- the centerpiece of your holiday entertaining.
Step 1: Declutter
In my kitchen, there's an island, and it serves on purpose in our home... to collect everyone's junk. I know I can't be the only one. So start with putting away all the junk, sort and recycle all the random mail, have your kids and spouse put away their small tidbits that have collected on the counter (currently my island houses random legos, doll shoes, a laptop, spare change, crayons, and random business cards my husband dumps out of his pockets)- just put it away in the proper place. If you don't have an island that collects all the things, a.) I am jealous and b.) you get to skip that step and move on to the second part of decluttering!
Once you've got the junk cleared out it's time to make sure your counter space isn't overwhelmed with kitchen appliances. Do you have a stand mixer, blender, instant pot, crockpot, air fryer, electric kettle, or any combination of the above crowding your counters? These items take up precious counter space and if you're not using them daily is it worth leaving them there? With holiday cooking I realize that you'll probably need a couple of these items out to pull their own weight to help you prepare for holiday entertaining, but once you're done using them, put them away to help clear up some precious real estate on your counter. My stand mixer is proudly displayed on the top of my fridge, it isn't in a space that I need for preparing food, but it's still out to let people know that sometimes I bake. The rest of my fun cooking appliances get tucked away in the cabinets or pantry because they're big and take up a lot of space in my small kitchen. While we're putting away oversized items, you should make sure any additional and important kitchen counter items like fruit/ veggie baskets or a random jar filled with kitchen tools are clean and organized.
Step 2: Blast Off
This is definitely the fastest step. Choose your favorite all-purpose cleaner and degrease (ahem Super Blast Off) and start spraying! Now that you can see your countertops, this should be quick and easy. Spray it everywhere, move the toaster and any other items that are left on the counters, so you can clean underneath and behind them. Spray the stovetop, oven door, cabinets, fridge, microwave, and sink... then get to wipe it all down!
For glass stovetops, glass oven doors, and microwave doors we suggest using a heavily diluted Super Blast Off mixture and then making sure you wipe it down with a dry cloth after. Doing so will give you the best reflection possible! And don't worry, even strongly diluted Super Blast Off is capable of degreasing kitchen grime.
Make sure you repeat these steps before guests arrive, and if you're like me, just clean the kitchen as you cook to make it less burdensome after the fact!
Step 3: Enjoy
The last step is the easiest, sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor, the delicious food you prepared, and the company you've invited. Have a cocktail or glass of wine (enjoy one for me while you're at it!) and have fun this holiday season. 2020 has been a weird year, so any glimpse of normalcy this holiday season should be welcomed and relished.
Now get to cleaning- these next few weeks are a great time to work on keeping your counters decluttered and getting your kitchen holiday ready.