The holiday season is one of those times when your kitchen gets used more frequently. From preparing the Thanksgiving dinner all the way to hosting your own New Year’s party, a lot of things happen in the kitchen during the holiday season.
If you are looking for the best time to make some changes and refresh the kitchen, now is the perfect time. Not only will you be refreshing the kitchen, but you are also making the space ready for the challenges of holiday cooking.
There is a lot you can do, including these six nifty hacks for a cozy holiday kitchen. Let’s get started, shall we?
Declutter First
Before you start making changes to the kitchen and prepare it for the holiday, the first thing you want to do is declutter and reorganize. Go through the food and ingredients you store in the kitchen and throw out expired items; you’ll be surprised by how many expired foods you actually have.
Go through the same process with appliances and kitchenware. Are you still keeping that chipped plate or a mug that no longer has a handle? It is time to get them out of the kitchen and start fresh. With the space decluttered, you can add new things and improve the kitchen.
Utilize More Storage
More storage space is always good for the kitchen, but it is certainly not the easiest thing to add. Still, you can store more items better by knowing how to use the available space in a more efficient way. Instead of storing pans horizontally, for instance, you can store more using dividers and other accessories.
Other storage hacks bring you open storage space to use. Adding a rack to the top of your kitchen windows or using floating shelves allows you to expand the storage capacity of your kitchen. Combined with bins, you can store seldom used items without cluttering the space.
Design a Flow
Understand how you cook and work in the kitchen. Rather than conforming to the design of the kitchen you have now, take steps to add a nice flow to the space. Simple things such as moving the pans from one cabinet to another make a lot of difference when they improve the flow of your kitchen.
Think about the time you will be spending in the kitchen during the holiday season and how much time you get to save when everything you need is within reach. Fine-tuning the layout of the kitchen also lets you work uninterrupted while others go in and out of the kitchen.
Function AND Beauty
Just because you are preparing for the holiday cooking marathon, doesn’t mean you can’t add gorgeous items and accessories to the kitchen. The kitchen still needs to look warm and beautiful for guests, so think about design and seamlessness when adding new things to the kitchen.
If you already have walnut accents around the kitchen, getting a high-quality cutting board made of end-grain walnut wood is the way to go. The cutting board will fade into the rest of the kitchen to create a seamless, cleaner look, but you know it is there when you need it.
Dishes, Linen, and More
Keep in mind that you will have a lot of guests, so it is also necessary to prepare some additional dinnerware, linens, and other accessories. Since they are usually stored in the kitchen, you want to pick up new pieces that are beautiful, functional, and can be stored easily without taking up too much space in the kitchen.
Now that you have made these preparations, the last thing to do is stocking up on napkins, drinks, cleaning solutions, and other items you will need to have a fantastic holiday season with friends and family. You will have a kitchen that is ready for some intense cooking and plenty of guests.
