5 Easy Ways to Organize Your Kitchen Before the Holidays

The holiday season is coming fast! Check out 5 easy ways that you can organize your kitchen, be prepared, and then enjoy the season to the fullest!

The upcoming couple of months are some of my favorites of the year! Not just for all the festivities, but also just for the cozy, extra-special feeling around our home.

There is one thing that can tank that feeling really fast, though.

Disorganization.

That is precisely why I’ve spent the past few weeks going through one cabinet, closet, and drawer at a time.

It also helps that we scheduled a big yard sale right before the holiday rush!

No matter my best efforts, we always end up with spots that are just messy or unkept. Even the best organization systems seem to fail on busy school days or midst weekend activities.

I try to do a good clean-out and clean-up before the holiday season hits and the kitchen is a good place to start. Actually, the kitchen, kids’ toys, and kids’ closets are my priorities!

Let’s face it, those are the spaces that are going to fill up the quickest from Thanksgiving and Christmas! Ha!

In case you’re needing a little motivation to get your kitchen ready for the holidays, here are the 5 things I try to make sure I do to organize my kitchen.

Let’s get started!

Tip #1 to Organize Your Kitchen:

Declutter.

This sounds simplistic, but honestly, it’s the one thing that can make the biggest difference. I try to do this in all my spaces twice a year. It also helps me to be more intentional about what I bring into my space in the future!

I do have one sincere question…where, oh where, do all the coffee cups come from?!

Right? There’s no way I’m the only one who has at least one or two in every single yard sale or thrift store pile! Haha!

If your kitchen is anything like mine through the holiday season, there are all kinds of extras.

Extra food, extra snacks, extra gifts being collected for wrapping, extra paperwork and cards, extra everything!

Decluttering before all the extras make their way in can really help keep things under control.

Tip: go through each cabinet and drawer. Do a quick scan and pull out anything that you don’t need or use anymore. Add it all to a bin to be sorted for yard sale or thrift store.

I recently got a new set of cookware, which is amazing, by the way! If you’re needing new cookware for the holidays, I HIGHLY recommend the Ninja Foodie Never Stick Anti-Scratch Nesting System.

Rather than adding it to my cookware, I sorted out all the odds and ends, only keeping pieces that would supplement the new cookware set and only ones that we actually would use. Everything else? In the yard sale bin!

Here is a before and after of that drawer. It makes me smile!

Tip #2 to Organize Your Kitchen:

Clean out and organize the food.

Yikes. My pantry was definitely needing a good clean out! During the months of November and December, it seems to stay very, very full. What a blessing!

But I also really love for it to be tidy!

I go through and clear out any expired items and any bits and pieces.

Does anyone else’s kids eat the snack and leave one or two down in the package? Why, oh why, don’t they just finish the whole thing?!

Haha!

As I’m cleaning things out, I also wipe out the pantry shelves and pull outs. My kids help by washing the clear bins we use to keep our pantry organized. Or at least, try to anyway!

After trying different kinds of containers, these have definitely been my favorite:

Large: Perfect for chip and individual snack bags
Square: We use these for granola bars, K-cups, and treats. On my shopping list is to get more for Harrison’s dresser drawers though! They are great for organization!
Round: Perfect for smaller items, utensils, or even craft/art supplies!

While you’re at it, this a perfect time to deep clean your refrigerator and clean out/reorganize your freezer too! I do pretty good about keeping the refrigerator cleaned out, but the freezer? I conveniently forget. (wink, wink!)

Tip #3 to Organize Your Kitchen:

Restock the basics.

(Just to be clear, I am not suggesting hoarding or wiping out shelves at your choice of store.)

However, knowing that our family stays especially busy during the holiday months, I try to stock up on pantry essentials and save myself some time and trips to the store during those busy weeks!

I also try to pick up a few extra baking staples, since I know we will be doing more during the holiday season. Additionally, I grab some extra boxes of the kids snacks.

One less trip to the store in the middle of a busy week because the kids’ need school snacks is a win for this mom!

Tip #4 to Organize Your Kitchen:

Clear the countertops.

Literally. Take every single thing off and deep clean first!

You may not have time to do that again for a little while. Best to do it now and start the busy season fresh!

Obviously from my kitchen, you know that I put things back on my countertops and kitchen island.

However, I put them back intentionally, focusing on things that look pretty but still serve a practical function.

Okay, my big scale doesn’t count. Ha! It doesn’t actually serve a practical function for us at all, but it does make the pretty perfect spot to display a seasonal item, such as a pumpkin stack, plant, or Christmas tree.

So it stays. And partly because it is too crazy heavy for me to move by myself anyway!

Otherwise, every thing out on my counters has a practical function. Let’s take a quick look at my kitchen countertop staple items:

Wooden Cubby Box:

I keep items neatly displayed here that I use for seasonal tables. These items usually rotate with the season, so it doubles as a pretty seasonal display but also items that I will use frequently during a particular holiday or season.

I found a similar one here for under $15! This one also has a great look and the drawers are super cute!

Utensils:

I use a simple mason jar to hold my wooden utensils. With a small round riser underneath, they make a pretty vignette along with my spoon rest!

That spoon rest makes a great stocking stuffer, by the way! Under $3 and super cute!

Bread Board and Berry Strainer:

My kids LOVE grapes. As in, they devour them! I can’t argue with a healthy option like that, so I try to keep some out several times a week.

And if they have to sit out, they may as well look nice! I use a small breadboard and ironstone berry strainer.

You can find a great bread board here, here, and here!

Ironstone berry strainers are a little harder to come by, but I did find a couple online for you here and here! That first one is more expensive because it is a Dutch piece. Mine has the same stamp!

Vintage French Proofing Basket:

I like to keep fresh fruit on hand and thankfully, my kids are pretty good about grabbing an apple if they are handy! My vintage French proofing basket is a way to keep fresh seasonal items convenient and visible, while still adding to the aesthetic of our kitchen.

For the fall season, I added in some baby white pumpkins for an extra little fall touch in the kitchen!

I found a couple more, similar to mine, online here and here!

Pedestal By the Sink:

I keep a wooden pedestal by my sink to keep my dish soap, hand soap, and scrub brush conveniently located. By using a pretty stand and pretty containers, this also adds to the overall aesthetic while still being super functional!

You can find a similar pedestal here and here!

I also love to get the seasonal dish soap and hand soap! It makes everything smell better!

I use a vintage ironstone jelly mold for my brush and sponge. It’s easy to keep washed out but looks pretty too! I found similar ones here and here!

Tip #5 to Organize Your Kitchen:

Make it cozy!

Is there anything better than walking into a kitchen that smells good? I think not!

Even if I haven’t been baking, I want the kitchen to have that wonderful scent of the holidays. To me, that’s what makes a cozy kitchen!

Even on busy school days, I come home to holiday scents in my kitchen, thanks to my Pura smart fragrance diffuser.

I love that it uses my favorite Capri Blue Volcano scent, as well as the great Anthro holiday scents. I also use this diffuser in my kids rooms. It’s set to come on a little before we get home from school and goes off at bedtime!

If you don’t have a Pura, put this on your Christmas wish list! It makes a great gift too! I absolutely love mine. Something about a room smelling good just makes me feel better too!

Whenever I’m home in the fall and winter, you’ll most often find a candle burning in my kitchen. This is definitely my favorite for fall and this one is my favorite for Christmas!

I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration to start getting your kitchen prepped and ready for the holiday season. It is a lot of work, but feels so good when it’s done and makes me start getting more excited for all the decorating, baking, and entertaining!

Happy Kitchen Organizing!