October is a good time to think about letting go of things, says certified professional organizer Janine Adams, creator of Peace of Mind Organizing in St. Louis. Start small to get started.
“It’s so easy for kitchens to contain things that we don’t use because nobody wants to pull out all their stuff and declutter it on a regular basis,” she says.
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But during this transitional time– “the calm before the storm,” as Adams refers to the early weeks in October–think about how to maximize your space and efficiency at holiday time by looking for things you could part with permanently. “You may notice that you have three ice cream scoops that came up during the summer and maybe you only need one,” she says. Take the time now to notice where duplicates exist because they’re taking up valuable real estate in your kitchen.
A clean slate will give you the mental space to prepare for the busyness of holiday entertaining and hosting. With that new perspective, consider creating a list of items that you’ll need easy access to–think holiday dishware, specialty pans, and serving trays–and find a place to store them now so they’re readily accessible when it comes time to cook or entertain. “If having Thanksgiving dinner at your house is a stressful thing for you, then having easy access during that time would be really helpful,” says Adams.
Keep in mind that you’ll still need your everyday items, and won’t want to give up that valuable space in your kitchen. One way to make room in tight quarters is to look around and ask yourself: What are the things that you use in the summertime–iced tea glasses, banana split dishes, for example–that you could swap places for the holiday stuff? At the very least, adds Adams, know where your holiday items are. “Identifying them will make that dinner, prepping for that dinner, a little bit easier.”
As for the refrigerator and freezer, the more you clean them the easier it is to maintain them. To maintain order, Adams uses clear acrylic bins to group like-items, such as jellies or sauces. And, as with the pantry, know what you have before doing your grocery shopping. “If you’re organized enough to, like, every Sunday or every month, pull out all your crackers and see what you’ve got and throw away the expired ones, rather than just buying new crackers when you get to the supermarket because you don’t know if you have crackers, that can be really helpful,” she says.
Before the start of the holidays, do yourself a favor by making your kitchen space as least crowded as possible. Says Adams: “If you’re doing that, you make some space for those items that you’re using during the holiday season. And, then, if you want, you can put that stuff back and enjoy some empty space or more ease in your cabinet system.”
