Easy Ways to Keep the Kitchen Clean During the Holidays

 

• Clean up messes right away. That little spill on your stove is a lot easier to clean up right when it happens instead of waiting until the next day.

• Wipe down the kitchen every night after dinner and put out a fresh dish towel. Load up the dishwasher or wash the dishes. You’ll enjoy coming into the kitchen the next morning without a pile of dishes waiting for you.
• Empty the sink and dishwasher before guests arrive so you can put dirty dishes straight into the dishwasher during or after your parties and get-togethers.

• Put a colander by the sink for dirty silverware – this is a quick trick to keeping silverware out of the sink and possibly down the drain or garbage disposal. Once the colander is filled up, place it in the sink and rinse the silverware and wash or put in the dishwasher.
• Before setting up for guests, put everything away and wipe down your island or that part of your counter you use to set out silver wear or food during the party. This will help make sure everything is ready to go for your party and is nice and clean to put anything down on.

• Gather silverware in a cup or pre-roll silverware in napkins to ensure that you have enough of everything and to keep it easy for your guests and family to locate that spoon.
• Make a beverage bar so people can help themselves. Hot cocoa, hot apple cider, and cold beverages can all be set up ahead of time to make grabbing a beverage easy for your guests. Make sure to have a printed dishtowel or something close by in case someone spills!
• Use a lint roller to give your dining chairs and/or furniture a quick once over to make sure your guests’ clothes don’t pick up any lint or pet hair.
• Make ahead dishes that you can. If you can purchase rolls, salads, and other items pre-made, do it! It will save you prep and clean up time in the kitchen and chances are, no one will notice, or care. Create a clean space to lay everything out while you’re setting up serving areas.
• Use craft paper or chalkboard paper instead of tablecloths and let kids doodle on the paper. No tablecloths to wash and a fun activity for the kiddos!
• Make your own disinfecting holiday scented kitchen cleaner (safe on marble and granite) with 3 tablespoons rubbing alcohol, 2 cups water, 1/4 teaspoon castile soap and 1 drop each of cinnamon, lemon and clove essential oils. (Feel free to adjust the scents or change to suit your taste.)  Spray on hard surfaces and wipe clean with a kitchen cloth.

It feels good to stay on top of the mess during the holidays and doing just a couple things to make a get together or just normal life run a little smoother is a win in my book. A clean kitchen always feels good to me and finding a couple ways to keep it clean during the holidays is especially helpful. A clean kitchen makes it easy to relax and enjoy family and friends without the worry of counters to clear and dishes to wash. A clean kitchen in the midst of the messiness of the holidays is my #cleanfeelsgood moment. Take a couple minutes of preparation and foresight and get your kitchen ready for new holiday memories to be made. You’ll be glad you did! If you need some great tools to get your kitchen (and house) cleaned up in a hurry, you’ll want to check out Scotch-Brite.

This post is part of the #CleanFeelsGood Holiday Blog Hop – click on the links below to see the other bloggers’ tips for staying tidy this holiday season! (This is a sponsored post from Scotch-Brite. You can see my disclosure statement here.)

• A Bowl Full of Lemons: 6 Ways to Welcome Holiday Guests
• Tidy Mom: Holiday Cleaning Tips
• Clean Mama: Easy Ways to Keep the Kitchen Clean During the Holidays
• Organizing Made Fun: 5 Ways to Feel Good About Clean this Christmas