Are you the one who prepares and serves Thanksgiving dinner? I personally love to cook, so it’s usually a joy for me when I’m the one doing it. Part of the fun is using all of the fun kitchen equipment that I only use once a year.
I have a smart friend who sets out all of her serving dishes and prep items the week before Thanksgiving to save herself the headache of locating those items when the big day arrives. If you do the same, why not give yourself one additional day to take a peek at the stuff left sitting in your cabinets when all of your good items are out?
If you’re thinking of downsizing any time soon, it’s a good idea to take inventory of your kitchen and entertaining supplies with an eye toward downsizing. In particular, you may want to look at:
Serving Dishes
Many of the serving dishes that have been handed down to me from family members are really too small or too specialized (hello, crystal relish tray) to use for our special meals. And they’re too special to use for our regular meals. And for those reasons, many of them have gone unused for, say, 20 years. Time to go.
Duplicate Items
This goes for any genre of equipment in the house, but now is a good time to take a hard look at how many colanders, potato mashers, tiny little saucepans, and glass mixing bowls you have. Pick your favorite and necessary ones to use during your cooking and entertaining this season, and set aside the rest.
Outdated Spices and Shelf Items
I’m pretty sure I still have spices I brought over from our first home in Sleepy Hollow almost nine years ago. I’m also not above using them, which is why I plan to do everyone a favor and buy some fresh poultry seasoning and throw away that crusty dried sage from 2004. If you have food in your pantry that you haven’t used in over a year, now is a good time to pull it out. You can donate unopened dry goods and discard the rest.
If you are ready to part with some quality items you don’t use much anymore, you may take this opportunity to offer them to friends and family who are visiting. If you don’t get any takers, go ahead and add them to the donation pile. You’ll be glad to have more space in your cabinet and less to move when the time comes.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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