With summer winding down, and the colder months slowly approaching, it is time to start thinking about winterizing your home. You need to ensure it is comfortable and functional all winter long, or it might be a liong and cold few months.
But in addition to preparing your bedroom and living areas for the colder winter and fall months, you need to do the same for your kitchen. In particular, you need to pay attention to your kitchen storage.
The last thing you want to have is inefficient and ineffective storage forcing you to make frequent trips out in the cold when it’s not needed. In an effort to help you out, this blog post is going to go over some tips to prepare your kitchen storage for fall and winter.
Make Sure Your Space is Satisfactory
First and foremost, you need to make sure you have enough space in and around the kitchen. This goes for your fridge, your freezer, and even the cabinets. Many people like to stock up on things in the winter to reduce the amount of times that they have to go out and face the cold. While some homes will have enough space to accommodate, this isn’t always the case.
Thankfully, things like more spacious kitchen cabinets, a larger deep freeze and other storage solutions in your kitchen and home don’t need to cost an arm and a led to buy, install and use. Having more space and storage in a home is never a bad thing and won’t only make life easier for you, but could also increase the value of the home.
Stock Up on Items in the Pantry
As we briefly mentioned in the last section, many people like to stock up on pantry items in the winter to reduce how often they need to shop. This ensures you will always have what you need and never have to go without certain things.
There are many things you should stock up on, but the exact things you get will depend on your tastes and what you like to make. Some people may stock up on soy milk, others on cereal, some on ingredients and others on frozen meals. There is no right or wrong answer, but ensure you have a lot of the things you like and are not short on shelf-stable food.
Of course, be sure to stock items in the right containers. Putting stuff in sealable containers that fit together can not only save space, but also keep pests like insects and even pets out of the food. Watch out for putting certain materials and packages in the freezer, too. In addition to food, other items like matches, batteries and candles are good ideas, as well.
Go Through Cupboards, Fridge and Freezer to Clean
Once fall hits, it is the perfect time to clean out your cabinets, fridge and freezer. Before you stock up with everything for fall and winter, go through every inch of your cabinets and get rid of things. This goes for things you never use, expired things and many others. Not only will this provide more space to use, but it will feel great as well.
The same goes for your fridge, as most of us have things in the back of our fridge from a long time ago that certainly aren’t good anymore. Don’t hesitate to give your freezer a deep clean, too. Take everything out, clean the shelves and walls and make sure it is looking and smelling great. Many of us leave things in the freezer for months and they do nothing but take up valuable space.
Sure all of this can take a bit of time and some effort, but is well worth the work to have a clear kitchen with no need to worry about expired items, at least for a while.
Ensure You Have the Right Gear and Ingredients Readily Available
In addition to the space your kitchen has for storage, you also need to think about the organization and how it’s laid out. If everything is simply thrown into your cabinets and cupboards without any rhyme or reason, that simply isn’t a very efficient way to do things.
You also need to optimize how your things are packed away. The things you use the most in the cold months should be more accessible than the things you don’t. You don’t want to frequently reach over the bulky blender you use to make smoothies in the summer to get to the coffee maker.
Also, winter is a very popular time for baking cookies, cake, pie and other things, so these ingredients should often be front and center. Whatever you prefer to use and make in the winter, keep it easily accessible for a more efficient kitchen.
All of these tips will be able to help you ensure your kitchen storage is on point once the fall and winter seasons arrive.
