Countdown to the Holidays: Time for a Kitchen Tune Up

By Leslie A.M.
RefacingCabinet.com Columnist

A kitchen tune up is just the thing to help your kitchen look fresh and bright while your extended family comes to bombard you with holiday trimmings. To help you plan, think of your kitchen tune up as preparing a Thanksgiving meal. Start with the menu and make a list of everything that needs to be done. Then get cooking!

Prep Work: How to Clean Kitchen Cabinets

First things first, wash everything that needs it. Know how to clean kitchen cabinets so that they stay cleaner longer--don't use a cleaner that leaves a residue and attracts more dust into your kitchen. Clean your oven. Your looky-loo mother-in-law will want to be able to look in the window and see more than grease splatters. Organize your kitchen cabinets and the drawers. People want to help with big meals and to help, they look for spices in the pantry, dish towels, and containers for leftovers. Impress them with your tidy kitchen.

Season for Perfection

Short of remodeling kitchen cabinets, consider what you can do that will make your guests wonder what it is that's different. Stow away appliances or canisters that take up so much valuable kitchen counter space. Replace with some great new accents with splashes of color. Match the color with some new dish towels.

Bake Until Golden Brown

You probably don't have an extra weekend for resurfacing your kitchen cabinets, but you can make sure everything is working properly. Are all of your light bulbs working? Your kitchen might look dingy without proper lighting. Do your custom cabinet doors all swing properly on their hinges? If not, tighten the hinges and any loose handles or knobs.

After your kitchen tune up is complete, serve it up! You are ready to have the relatives home for the holidays … your home.

 

About The Author

Leslie A.M. Smith is a freelance writer and desperately needs a new kitchen. Until she can afford it, she has her eye on refacing her cabinets.