Get your kitchen ready for holidays

If you plan on doing a lot of hosting over the holiday season, your kitchen is likely to get quite a workout. But before you start basting the turkey and preparing the stuffing, it’s good to get your kitchen in as good a shape as possible. You can hire a professional house cleaner to handle this, at an average cost of $170, or you can clean your kitchen yourself.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most important tips the pros use when they clean house.

• Work from top to bottom, back to front

When you’re cleaning, dirt and debris tend to gravitate downward, such as crumbs being knocked off your counter when you wipe it down. So, you want to start cleaning the highest points first and sweep/mop the floor at the end. And going back to front (or just picking one corner and working out from there) ensures you won’t go over areas more than once.

• Think about the areas you ignore

Some parts of your kitchen get very little thought most of the time. But those are the ones that might need it the most. Sweep underneath and behind appliances, clean debris off refrigerator coils, and scrub into nooks and crannies. Check the tops of door jambs and cabinets, which can retain dust. Don’t overlook your range hood; as the months pass, grease can build up on it. Scrubbing off the grease gives it a fresh start! (And if you have cabinets above the stove, check their doors for stuck-on grease as well.)

• Deep clean your fridge and cabinets

If you have major cooking plans, you’re going to need all the space you can get. Go through your refrigerator and discard any expired items. Wipe down all the surfaces, and make sure to get crumbs out of drawers. Then, go through your cabinets and do the same. Scrub all the surfaces beneath them, then put everything back in an organized manner. You’ll thank yourself later when Thanksgiving or other holiday meals call for a neat, orderly area.

• Clean inside things that don’t get much attention

You probably clean your floors and counters on a regular basis, but how often do you clean inside your garbage container? What about your microwave, the bottom of your stove or the window sills in the kitchen? Giving yourself a clean start on all these things going into the holidays will make major meal prep that much easier.

• Keep your tools in good shape

This is an excellent time to sharpen your knives, check that all your pots and pans are in good condition, and test all your appliances for any problems. If something’s going wrong, fix it now, before you’re up to your neck in cooking.