A Well-Organized Kitchen Makes Holiday Hosting Less Stressful
The holiday season is filled with many things: joy, laughter, family, friends… and often, lots and lots of food. Cooking and baking are key parts of holiday hosting, whether it be the Thanksgiving turkey, the Christmas pie, or Hannukah latkes. The kitchen is often a place of chaos during the holiday season, but it doesn’t have to be. You can stay prepared and calm in a well-organized kitchen this holiday season with just a little bit of organizing.
Importance of a Well-Organized Kitchen for Holiday Hosting
The kitchen is often the place of final preparations for holiday hosting. Just before everyone arrives (and even as they’re arriving!) you’re buried in recipes, ingredients, and dozens of different pots, pans, and baking sheets. Food is one of the best ways to bring people together, but it’s also one of the easiest stressors during the holiday season. It’s also the place where stress and emotions tend to boil over; if you’re already at your max from organizing the rest of the holiday, the kitchen can be the place where you lose your cool. It doesn’t have to be this way though; keeping a well-organized kitchen and going into holiday meals with a strong sense of your kitchen and what you want to accomplish can help make this final step calm and enjoyable. It can also prevent any mishaps that lead to a less than tasty meal - something that can spoil the mood for everyone!
Decluttering Countertops and Creating Functional Cooking/Prep Zones.
One of the first things you can do to organize your holiday space is clear your countertop space. Any appliances or extra utensils that aren’t in use can get stored away to create room. If you have any food stored on countertops, see if you can find another place to store the food – in cupboards, the fridge, or even in another room. Once you have your counter space cleared, you can organize the area into cooking and prep zones. Keep any ingredients and utensils needed for prep by the sink and trash cans; this is the place to keep knives, cutting boards, and the like. Cooking utensils and seasonings can be kept by the stove and oven to be used during the cooking process. Do what works best for you; if there are things you tend to forget until you’re in the middle of cooking, keep them near the stove so you have them at hand’s reach.
When making multiple courses, keep track of how long each dish takes to make. Start with the longest and rotate your counter space. When you move something to the cooking counter, you can set up the prep counter for the next dish.
Storage Solutions for Holiday-Only Items
‘Tis the season for an abundance of holiday décor; linens, party favors, decorations, cookie cutters… the options are limitless. Your space, however, is not. When organizing your holiday décor, try and keep everything in one space, whether it be a designated bin, shelf, or closet. Keeping it all together means you can spend less time searching and relieve the stress of trying to remember where you put something the year before. This will also provide easy access for when you want to pull something out. Alternatively, you can organize your holiday décor by room; if you have certain things for the kitchen, keep them near the kitchen, and so on. It’s up to you how you want to keep your space organized but having a system can help prepare you for the holiday season. When the holidays are over, put each item back where you found it to keep the system going.
Pre- and Post-Event Organization Tips for a Well-Organized Kitchen
When hosting an event, the kitchen is often the main space where the planning happens, including the chaos. Before your event, make a plan for what you’re going to make and when. If there are multiple people involved, make sure everyone knows what they’re making and communicate as much as you can. Inevitably, you’ll have to shift gears at some point, and being able to check in with your family members and friends who are helping you out in the kitchen can save a lot of stress and time.
After the event, there’s going to be a lot of clean up and reorganizing to do! Start by packing away any leftovers to send home with family or to put in the fridge for later. Then, you can tackle the dishes. Hopefully, if you’ve been doing them as you go, there shouldn’t be too many left over! As everything gets cleaned and put away (ensuring any holiday dishes get set together with other appropriate décor), you can start on cleaning up the space itself. Throughout this process, don’t forget to stay hydrated and have fun! Put on some tunes and jam out while you put your space back in order.
Cooking can be a stressful part of the holiday process, but it doesn’t have to be. Staying organized and having a plan can ensure that your ship runs smoothly and that the holiday meal is as enjoyable for you as it is for the people who get to enjoy your creations.