8 Ways To Keep Your Kitchen Safe This Holiday Season

The holiday cooking season is upon us! Today we’re taking a look at how to keep your kitchen safer and less hectic while you prepare those big meals for your family. Keep reading for some easy-to-do tips that’ll help keep you safe and stress-free this holiday season.

8 Holiday Cooking Safety Tips

Let’s start off with eight tips to make your kitchen a little less hectic and a lot safer when you’re cooking for the holidays!

1. Invest in a fire extinguisher for your home

Even outside of the holidays, it’s a good idea to keep a home fire extinguisher on hand, somewhere easy to access. A Class A home fire extinguisher can quickly address a stovetop or other kitchen fire before it gets out of hand, and buying one won’t break the bank. Basic extinguishers can run you anywhere from $20 dollars for small disposable ones to $60 for premium whole-home rechargeable models. A standard, rechargeable name-brand kitchen fire extinguisher is probably going to cost you around $30 – well worth the price for safety! Just make sure you’re purchasing one that can be used on common kitchen fires, like grease fires.

Once you have one, don’t forget to educate yourself on how to use it. Most extinguishers are operated in the same way, the PASS method:

• First and foremost, stand clear of the fire. About eight feet away, if you can.
• Pull the pin at the top of the extinguisher.
• Aim the extinguisher’s nozzle at the base of the fire, not the upper part of the flame.
• Squeeze the extinguisher’s lever to discharge it.
• Sweep the nozzle back and forth, moving it from side to side while keeping it aimed at the fire’s base.

If you’d like more instruction, fire extinguishers come with some clear pictures right on the tag, and you can usually get additional help on how to use one from your local fire department. 

2. Familiarize yourself with your menu ahead of time

Whether or not you’re trying out new recipes this year, make sure you read over everything a day or so ahead of time. No need to memorize anything – you just want to be roughly familiar with the steps to prepare each dish. Going into cooking with an idea of what needs to be done will reduce the risk of over- or undercooking your food or missing ingredients. It’ll also make checking that recipe book or your phone less necessary, cutting back on that hectic feeling of having too much to do.

If you’re not an experienced holiday host, it may benefit you to graph out how long everything will take to cook ahead of time. With those numbers, you can establish an order for cooking dishes and better manage just how many things you have going at once. With a plan, you can better ensure that dishes are done and ready to serve at roughly the same time, with less panicked, last-minute rushing. For example,  most turkeys need to rest for at least twenty minutes after they’ve finished roasting. That’s ample time to start or reheat smaller side dishes that may have risked being forgotten and left to burn if done earlier.

3. Make sure everything works!

There’s a lot to account for when planning a big holiday dinner. At least a week or two ahead of time, you should be checking the electronics and appliances you’ll be using to make sure they’re in working order.

Here’s a quick list of things you can check up on to make your holiday meal come together a little more smoothly:

• You should have smoke alarms on every level of your home, especially one near your kitchen. Make sure they are all working and do not need replacement batteries.
• If you have an older fire extinguisher, make sure it’s still properly charged!
• Get to know your phone’s timer settings. All modern smartphones will let you set multiple timers at once, each with a different description. Keeping track of each thing will cut down on rush and reduce the risk of burnt food or fires. Relatedly, keep an easy-to-read clock in your kitchen for some extra assistance.
• Replace any burnt-out appliance bulbs, stuck door latches, or damaged gaskets ahead of time so they don’t cause you grief on the anticipated holiday.
• Whether you’re planning a whole roast or just looking to bake a loaf of bread, you can make sure your oven is properly calibrated to achieve the correct temperature with our in-depth guide.
• Give all your appliances a thorough cleaning, especially your range. Clear any built-up grease off the cooktop, and get rid of any big bits of food debris in the oven, but skip the self-cleaning function for now. This cleaning will not only make your home look nice, it will also help prevent fires! 
• If you feel like one of your major appliances is causing issues that might interfere with your cooking, head on over to our YouTube channel and check out one of our many troubleshooting tutorials. We cover just about every issue you could imagine, from refrigerators running warm to ovens not heating evenly. We’ve also got eight more great tips for prepping your kitchen for a holiday feast on our blog.

4. Keep kitchen foot traffic to a minimum

“Too many cooks in the kitchen,” is more than just a saying, it’s a real problem during the holidays! A crowded kitchen is likely to cause accidents, especially if you have guests who aren’t familiar with your kitchen layout. Here are some tips for keeping your kitchen clear for a holiday feast:

• Set up a gathering spot outside of the kitchen. Make sure drinks, in particular, are available outside the kitchen via a temporary coffee station at a dining room table, a cooler with soft drinks, or even a bar, if you have one. If you’re serving up snacks before dinner, set them up outside the kitchen, as well, in a place with ample space where people can gather and chat.
• Make sure pets and small children are kept out of the kitchen. You don’t want the smallest members of your family underfoot and risking serious injury! For pets, this may require keeping them on a different floor or in another room. For kids, you can make this a bit easier by making sure they’re occupied with games or other activities.
• If you’re expecting a big group for dinner, pick someone to play defense – a designated person to fetch things and help clear out the kitchen if people start to gather there.
• If anyone wants to help, set them to simple out-of-the-way tasks like setting the table, peeling potatoes, or chopping vegetables.

5. Main pathways through the kitchen should always be clear

Make sure your kitchen floor is clear of excess clutter like bags, coolers, or soft drink cases. Find temporary spots for things that would otherwise get in the way, at least until dinner is over.

While cooking, turn all pot and pan handles to the side so they don’t stick out over the front of the stove. This will reduce the risk of them being bumped into and make them less likely to be grabbed by curious hands if the kids happen to wander in while something’s cooking.

6. Account for all that extra clutter

Keep flammable items like potholders, dish rags, paper towels, and food packaging away from the stove. Make sure that potentially dangerous items like knives, heavy cutting boards, and hot pots and pans are never set on the edge of a counter or table. They should be placed toward the middle where they can’t easily be bumped or knocked over.

7. Don’t leave your cooking unattended!

Unattended cooking is the number one cause of home fires in the United States. We understand – especially around the holidays, there are a lot of things to get done, and sometimes that pot of water really does take forever to boil. However, the surest way to prevent stove top fires is to make sure you always have someone watching what’s cooking.

By contrast, a constant eye isn’t necessarily required when roasting, baking, or broiling, just make sure you check on what’s in your oven at regular intervals based on suggested cooking time. Either way, if you need a break, don’t be afraid to tap someone to step in for you.

8. Have a first aid kit handy

Cuts and burns are common when you’re doing a lot of work in the kitchen. Have a well-stocked first aid kit handy with burn cream and a variety of bandages. If someone does get hurt, be sure to carefully clean the wound with gentle soap and water.

What to do in the event of a cooking fire

Kitchen fires can happen to anyone, especially when you’re trying to juggle a multi-course meal for your whole family. In the event of a fire, try not to panic. Here are some specific tips:

• Have a fire safety plan. Be aware of all your exits, and make sure those in your home are aware of them, as well.
• Don’t pour water on it – especially if it’s a grease fire! Water and grease don’t mix. It’ll just make the fire worse, and risk splattering and burning you.
• Assess the risk. If the fire is spreading quickly and you don’t think you can get it under control, your first priority should be to get everyone out of the house and call your local fire department!
• Don’t move a burning pan more than absolutely necessary. You risk spreading the fire by doing this.
• You can potentially smother pot and pan fires by covering them with the pan’s lid or another metal cover, like a pizza pan or cookie sheet. For the same reasons mentioned above, do not use a soaked dish rag to smother a fire.
• If the fire is in your oven or microwave, keep the door shut. Opening the door while there’s a fire inside will let more oxygen in, which will make the flame worse. If you can reach, shut off power to the appliance and unplug it, but don’t put yourself at risk.
• Use the extinguisher! If smothering the flame didn’t work, use your extinguisher per the instructions we laid out at the beginning of the article.
• Again, if the fire is spreading quickly, you should prioritize getting yourself and your loved ones out of the house and to safety. Do not return to retrieve dropped items like cell phones or computers until the fire is safely extinguished.

Wrapping Up

We hope our safety tips have helped you out. Want more advice on how to stay safe while doing it yourself? Check out the DIY Safety Tips guide on our blog, and the next time you need to troubleshoot an issue with your home appliances, keep AppliancePartsPros.com in mind! With our expert staff and a massive inventory of genuine OEM replacement parts, we’ll help you keep all of your appliances in tip-top shape.