Last Minute Preparation Tips for a Safe and Festive Holiday

By now, you’ve invited your guests, (or you’ve been invited) the menu has been planned and most of the food purchased.  It’s down to the wire, so now is the time to make sure everything goes off without a hitch – whether you’re hosting or not. Here are some last minute preparation tips you may not have considered that will help you have a safe and festive holiday.

Is your kitchen ready for all that food prep?  
Take a few minutes now to make sure you have enough storage containers, foil, trash bags, plastic wrap and pots and/or pans for what you plan to cook. If you get to the store today, you won’t face that Wednesday evening crush of last minute Thanksgiving shoppers. And shopping on Thanksgiving morning is just plain no fun.

 Will everyone be served?
Take a quick inventory of your glassware, silverware and dishes to be sure you have enough for everyone. It’s not too late to ask guests if they can bring some of these items if you’re short. 

Will the turkey fit in your roasting pan? Since it’s likely that you only cook a large bird or ham once or twice a year, consider a disposable aluminum pan. Remember you’ll have to store the left overs in something and that great big pan will come in handy!

When DID you buy those spices?
We’re all guilty of digging around in the pantry to make sure we still have the pumpkin pie spice that you’ve used once a year forever. The truth is those ancient spices will not taste the same as fresh. If your spices are over a year old, splurge. You will be amazed at the difference in flavor. You may even decide that buying spices for your kitchen is your newest holiday tradition!

Stage the Stain Fighters
Spills are going to happen. Depending upon your home vs what you will be serving and to whom, here are some handy helpers you may want to include in your stain fighting arsenal:

* Non-bleach detergent (carpet stains, urine stains)
* Vinegar (carpet stains, urine stains)
* Ammonia (carpet stains)
* Bleach (solution-dyed carpet stains)
* Rubbing alcohol (glue, ink stains)
* Hydrogen peroxide (stone countertop stains)

Time for Some Garbage Disposal Love
Yes we said it. Your disposal is going to get a work-out so it needs a little attention. To make sure your disposer can keep up, grind hard materials, such as small bones, fruit pits, and ice before everything else. This helps scrape the inside of the disposer and pipes, removing any buildup. Run cold water down the drain for 30 seconds before and after each use to flush food waste through the plumbing system and keep debris from settling in the pipes. And to keep it smelling fresh, you could pay for expensive disposal “freshener” but lemon juice works just as well and smells great!

Are your knives sharp?
You’ve probably heard that there’s nothing more dangerous in the kitchen than a dull knife and it’s completely true. But just how do you properly sharpen a knife?  This short video is a clever way to sharpen your knives even if you don’t have a proper sharpener.

 Sharpen Your Knife on a Coffee Cup 

If you’re worried that you may not have the space or cooking resources to handle the fancy meal you’ve planned, don’t forget your crock pot, toaster oven and even the outdoor grill. By thinking outside the kitchen, you may give yourself the extra square footage and equipment you’ll need

Have you been monkeying around with that microwave? 
Think about your microwave for a moment. Did you buy it, take it out of the box and just plug it into the wall? Or were there…issues?  One of the things we see here most at The Fix-It Professionals is unsafe microwave use. Here are some things you should NOT have done to get your microwave working:

• Remove the grounding prong to get it to plug into a plug without a grounding slot.
• Plugged it into an extension cord (because plugging it into the wall causes the circuit breaker to trip)
•  Re-wiring any part of the microwave 

If you’re “guilty as charged” with any of these counts of microwave mayhem, play it safe and consider the microwave “off limits” this Thanksgiving.

Once the holiday is over, why not give us a call? We can repair that microwave, help you install any appliances that didn’t survive the cooking frenzy or help you drag those holiday decorations out of the attic or garage. read on for our November Special.

  

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Is Your Kitchen Ready for the Holidays?

Easy Tips to Prepare for a Stress-free Thanksgiving 

Now that daylight savings time has ended, it’s time to get ready for Thanksgiving – Yes already! And by the way,did you remember to change your smoke and Carbon Monoxide detector batteries?

 It’s one of those holidays that sneaks up on us because we’re focused on the fun part (the planning and decorating) but we forget about the most important place – the kitchen! Is yours ready? Here are some things you might not be thinking about, that will help lower your stress at Thanksgiving:

Just how old ARE your kitchen appliances?
It’s 3:00 in the afternoon on Thanksgiving and you realize that despite the fact that you put the turkey in an hour ago, it is NOT cooking. Yikes! A broken oven is not the way to remember the holiday. Major appliance breakdowns may seem random, but in reality they have a known “life span.” Check the list below to see if your appliances fall into the range of “elderly.” If they do, now is the time to consider replacing them:  

• Gas range: 15 years
• Range hood: 14 years
  Refrigerator: 13 years
• Electric ranges: 13 years
• Garbage disposals: 12 years
• Freezers: 11 years

About that oven:
If your stove is nearing the end of its life span but you can’t afford a replacement this  year, remember NOT to run the oven cleaning cycle. This stresses the appliance and can cause a breakdown. In addition, oven temperature accuracy is a big deal when you’re cooking multiple items for a crowd. Purchase an oven thermometer so you’re not guessing.

Your ‘fridge will be busy too
Make sure it’s ready for extra duty. Clean refrigerator condenser coils (these are typically in the back) and clean the gaskets around the doors to ensure energy efficiency. Make sure all of the old “science experiments” (old food that you’ve forgotten) are thrown out to maximize storage space.

Been thinking of upgrading the storage capacity of your kitchen cabinets?
If you’ve been thinking of adding pull-out shelves, drawer organizers, or other ways to increase cabinet storage – now is the time

Think about repairs too.
Do you have shelves that are wobbly? Do you need to install new shelf paper? What about those drawers? Do they slide in and out easily or do you need to repair that one that’s fallen off the track?

Or maybe you just have too much stuff.
Now is also a great time to go through those cabinets and get rid of anything that you:  

• Never use
• Got as a gift that you hate
• Don’t know what it’s for
• Have multiples of for no reason

Remember that those less fortunate are also planning to be together for the holiday. Consider sending those items to a thrift shop. And if it’s garbage, release the item (and the guilt) by disposing of it properly.

Is the kitchen safe?
This is a great time to inspect to make sure your kitchen is safe for guests. Are there chords running across the floor? Do you have rugs or flooring that’s loose? If you’re expecting to have children as guests, is the kitchen childproof?

Where’s everyone going to sit?
When a new army of people come over to visit, seating is always at a premium. You’ll be less stressed out if you know in advance that you have enough space for everyone to sit down for dinner. Before you borrow bulky items, think: what can you re-purpose? Do tables or chairs need repair?

Bonus tip:
Make it an elegant affair. Recently on Food network it was suggested that one way to make your celebration extra fun and special is to send out formal Thanksgiving dinner invitations...in the US mail. During the segment, Alton Brown jokingly added that you will then likely have to follow up with an email to make sure your guests got their invitation.

Of course doing all of those tasks might seem overwhelming. Would you like some help fixing that table? Installing shelving? How about a dump run to get rid of the clutter? We’re here to help! Read on for our November Special.

 

 

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