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Kitchen Cleaning & Organizing Hacks - October 2022

Are you one of those people who is always trying new things in the kitchen? Maybe last month you organized your cookbooks by color, and this month you’ve decided to arrange everything according to cuisine. Or maybe you’re constantly trying to discover an even better way to organize your spices.

If this sounds like you, this list is for you. We rounded up the very smartest tips and tricks that we learned last month and put them all in one brilliant, time-saving post. You’re welcome!

The easiest way to clean your Dutch oven is with heat and water.

This simple solution for cleaning a burnt Dutch oven comes from America’s Test Kitchen. Here’s what to do: Fill your Dutch oven halfway with tap water, and bring it to a boil on the stove. Let it boil for a few minutes, and then turn off the heat. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the burned bits on the bottom and sides. Then pour out the water and wait for the Dutch oven to dry. Use warm, soapy water to wash away any remaining particles!

You’re probably storing your batteries the wrong way.

Do your batteries always end up disappearing? That’s the case for contributor Meleyna Nomura, who blames her past battery organization systems (and her kids for taking whatever they need for whatever random toy/remote/flashlight needs batteries). Her simple and totally doable solution (courtesy of The Home Edit)? A battery drawer. All you need is a drawer and some drawer organizers (which could be random pencil trays or small boxes you’ve collected).

Paper towels are the secret to cleaning dirty window tracks.

Regular contributor Shifrah Combiths finally found an easy and effective method for cleaning her window tracks, thanks to TikTok. Here’s what to do: Spray the tracks generously with a strong all-purpose cleaner, scrub with a sponge to loosen dirt, and then use a paper towel to lift the dirty water from the tracks. The absorbency of the paper towels lift dirt up and out of the tracks, rather than rub it all in.

You can reuse those silica packets.

According to Combiths, there are at least 14 different ways to put those silica packets to use — in the kitchen and beyond. Our favorite use: Keeping pet food fresh and crisp by taping a packet to the lid of the storage container.

You don’t need clips to store your open chip bags.

If you’ve ever stashed an open bag of chips without properly sealing it, you have learned just how quickly things can get stale and cardboard-y. That’s one good reason to always keep a stash of bag clips on hand. But if you can’t find a clip when you need one, don’t worry: TikTok to the rescue! All you need is a simple folding technique: Fold the top of the bag twice, fold the sides of the bag in, and then take the top fold and flip it to secure the entire bag. It really works!

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