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Organizing Kitchens, Pantries, Menus and Meals.
Organizing for Clean-Up Makes for an Easier Holiday
Putting out a big Thanksgiving spread creates something for which to
be thankful. It also creates a giant mess in the kitchen and a ton
of dishes.
There are a few tricks for organizing a big meal that help with
clean up time. Some of them you do before the meal and some after –
so don’t wait to devour this after the pie!
Plan for Leftovers:
You know you will have leftovers so plan on it before hand by
thinking about what you want to do with them. Add baggies, plastic
wrap, aluminum foil, and/or containers to your Thanksgiving shopping list.
Tidy up your fridge and freezer. Where are you going to put things?
Take the time to use up other leftovers and clean out the fridge and
freezer.
Sharing leftovers with guests? If they brought a dish, give it a
wash and use it to send home their leftovers. Or, purchase some
disposable type plastic tubs with lids from the grocery that you can
send home leftovers in and then not ever worry about getting them
back.
Keeping some leftovers? If possible, save the original container.
For example, if you put out a serving bowl of spicy mustard or
cranberry sauce, save the jar in the fridge. Return the remaining
contents to the original container. For prepared dishes, decide if
you can eat the amount of leftovers within the next three days. If
yes, then store in the fridge. If not, store in the freezer.
Plan for a Mess:
Prep those dishes. That means spraying every cooking pot, pan and
baking sheet with cooking spray no matter if you think it will stick
or not. It can’t hurt! Make use of easy-release aluminum foil. Place it in
the bottom of baking dishes so items lift out easy and you don’t
have to soak the pan for hours.
Run and empty the dishwasher before guests arrive. Wipe down
counters so you start with the cleanest area possible.
Take out the trash and recyclables. Bring in an extra trash can.
You’ll probably need more than one. Lining them with several trash
bags is also a good idea.
Before Serving Dinner:
Take a deep breath and use less than
5 minutes of time before
announcing dinner is ready.
Make the kitchen ready for the clean-up.
You can share these chores with anyone standing around asking
“what can I do?”
Toss any trash or containers you won’t reuse into the garbage.
Make a sink of hot, soapy water. Drop in mixing bowls, utensils and
the like as you finish with them. They’ll be ready to load in the
dishwasher when you are ready to do it.
Put away any leftover dip or appetizers you had out for snacking.
Place appetizer plates and serving pieces, cooking utensils, dirty
glasses, cutting boards, dishes and bowls you are done with into the
dishwasher. Turn it on so it can run while you feast and then be
ready to be reloaded.
Wipe off counters so there are now places to work following the
meal.
Following the Feast - Handle Food First:
What creates such a mess is everyone brings their own dishes into
the kitchen but there isn’t room for all of that at one time along
with the food. Instead, when the meal is over, ask everyone to leave
their dishes behind and carry in one food item to the kitchen.
Put away all of the food, packaging leftovers and storing them
properly. Scrape pots, pans and serving bowls into the disposal or
trash can and set them aside.
Once the food is stored away, you have room to tackle the dishes.
Those can now be carried into the kitchen.
Next, Tackle Dishes:
If your silverware basket comes out of the dishwasher and can be set
on the counter, do so. Have the silverware dropped directly in it.
If not, place a bowl there for silverware.
Have glassware set in one spot.
Have plates handed to you or someone at the sink. Scrape salad,
dinner and dessert plates into the sink and load into the dishwasher
immediately, rather than stacking them on each other which dirties
both sides of the plate with food debris.
Place the silverware basket or silverware into the dishwasher. Load
the glasses in the top.
If the dishwasher has any space, add odds and ends to it. Turn it
on.
If you have a table pad protecting the wood, or you table is liquid
proof, you lightly pre-treat stains on the tablecloth while you can
see them. Once treated, bundle it up with the napkins and take it to
the laundry room.
For the remaining pots, pans and dishes: Either rinse and stack next
to the sink for a second dishwasher load or prepare to hand wash.
Before starting to hand wash, clean counters again and pull out
clean towels.
Wash dishes from the cleanest to the dirtiest. If you begin with
something greasy, such as the gravy boat and then move to your
drinking glasses, grease will end up on the dishes. So begin with
your glasses and cleanest items and end with your greasiest dishes,
such as the roasting pan.
Sweep the floor. Unless you want bits of pie tracked around the
house, it is worth taking a minute to do this task.
Take out the trash.
Even if you opted to stack dishes for a second load, your dining
room should be empty, your trash out, your floor swept, and your
counters clean. It will be easy to put away that second load.
Put your feet up
and relax!
