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27 Things to Get Rid of in the Kitchen Before Thanksgiving

Shifrah Combiths
Shifrah Combiths
With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She's been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.
published Nov 6, 2017
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Nothing turns a happy chef into a frazzled one like rifling through drawers or disassembling the kitchen to dig out the necessary tools. Don’t let this be you at Thanksgiving. For a smoothly running kitchen — and, more importantly, a smiling cook — eliminate everything that doesn’t need to be in your kitchen before the big day.

Donate or toss these extras:

  1. Any more than three spatulas (keep any combination of no more than three sizes or types)
  2. Can openers (you only need one)
  3. Corkscrews/wine bottle openers (keep the one you always reach for anyway)
  4. Tupperware missing lids
  5. Lids missing tupperware
  6. Empty glass jars you’re keeping “just in case”
  7. Used twisty ties
  8. Pens, pencils, Sharpies (you get to keep two of each)
  9. Paper and plastic grocery bags (depending on what you use them for, keep about five of each)
  10. Condiment packets from fast food places or restaurants
  11. Take-out menus
  12. Everything in the junk drawer (except what’s worth putting back in and organizing)
  13. Papers and pictures stuck to the fridge
  14. “Junky,” advertising, or broken magnets
  15. Extra whisks (no more than three in different sizes and materials)
  16. Used candles
  17. Salad tongs (you need one set, max)
  18. Napkins from the drive-through
  19. Expired spices (get new ones for maximum flavor; make a list)
  20. Expired canned goods and other pantry items
  21. Chipped mugs
  22. Chipped dishes
  23. Chipped anything
  24. Old rags and sponges
  25. Cleaners you never use (again, keep only what you always reach for)
  26. Bottle brushes (you can keep three if they are different sizes)
  27. Aprons in excess of whoever cooks in your household plus one for guests
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(Image credit: Leela Cyd)

Move these things somewhere else:

These kitchen items don’t need to occupy valuable real estate in prime locations of your kitchen. Things that you use only a couple times a year should be stored in the hard-to-reach spots or, if you have the space, elsewhere in the house, like a cabinet in the garage.

Bonus: If you dig up and move these things out of the way now, you’ll know exactly where they are when you need them on the big day.

  • Party platters
  • Cake/cupcake carrier
  • Pie pans
  • Pie weights
  • Specialty bakeware (the madeleine pan, the tart pan, the springform pan, etc.)
  • Trifle bowl
  • Sprinkles collection
  • Cupcake liner collection
  • Piping bags and tips
  • Candles
  • The apple peeler/corer
  • Specialty molds (a spoon mold, heart molds, bundt cake molds)
  • Cake stands
  • Gravy boat
  • Large roasting pan
  • Electric knife

Putting the time in now to get behind-the-scenes ready will not only pay off on the biggest cooking day of the season, but will also give you an efficient kitchen all year round.

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thanksgiving

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