5.  Take inventory of your pantry and spices – The three spaces I check every year are my mudroom pantry, lazy suzan, and my spice drawer to make sure I have everything I need, that everything is accessible and within reach, and my spices are filled.  There is nothing worse than planning a recipe only to find out you are missing spices!

 

6.  Clean out refrigerator and freezer – As I was saying earlier, I did this today.  Take everything out of your refrigerator and freezer and wipe it out using Dawn dish soap and warm water.  Granted I still have time but I knew I had several containers in the freezer from when I created the cookbook that needed either thrown away or thawed out for tomorrow’s dinner.  Make sure you have everything organized, within reach, and your refrigerator is clean.  Buying storage containers that fit nicely such as an egg holder, ice box, seal tight container for lettuce, etc.  Check all expiration dates of jellies, jams, creamers, etc.  Throw out items that look questionable.  Add a box of baking soda in your frig and don’t forget to mark the date on it.  I change mine out every 5 months.

 

7.  Clean dishwasher, oven, and sink – My double ovens have a self clean option to them but I love mixing up a DIY non toxic mixture together to form a thick paste. I spread it on, let it sit for a few minutes, and wipe down using warm water.  All you need is baking soda, coarse salt, liquid dish soap, and a sponge.  Check out this blog I found called https://hellonest.co/natural-oven-cleaner/ on how to property clean your oven.  As for my dishwasher, I add 1 cup of vinegar to the top rack and run it on the normal cycle.  This helps with soap buildup and caked on food.  If you are smelling a stinky, musty odor coming from your sink drains, add a cup of vinegar to each drain, 1 cup of baking soda to each drain and let sit for 2 hours.  Run hot water in both drains for a few minutes and this should eliminate the odor.  If you like the smell of lemon, add a few drops of lemon oil to your sink drain.

 

8.  Have your recipes in order – Have your recipes in order and placed in a space where you can properly read them and they are not getting in the way.  Have them organized as to how you will be cooking.  If you are baking a pie first and want it done and cooled, put your pie recipe as the first recipe of the day.