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If you have been thinking about cleaning out your fridge and freezer but have been putting it off and putting it off, this may just be the perfect time of year to go for it and actually get it done. Just the thought of decluttering your fridge and freezer may seem overwhelming, but think about how much food you are likely going to be making for the holidays—and how much people are going to be giving you in return. The time to make space for all those extra treats is now.

Start by pulling everything out of your fridge and freezer. Yes, I said everything. Why? How often do you actually clean and organize your fridge and freezer completely? Chances are good that you have some caked on food and some unpleasant odors that you’d like to be rid of. Since you are already putting in a lot of effort, why not take care of everything at once?

After you pull everything out of your fridge and freezer and wipe the interior down, identify all expired foods and throw them away. Also check out packages you are not sure about (like that strange paper bag in the bottom corner of your fridge you haven’t looked inside in months). Anything that you are not going to ever actually eat needs to go.

Get the remaining foods organized and store them. If you need to, purchase some extra plastic containers for freezing in advance so that you can contain and organize your food. While you are at it, recycle any broken or especially warped containers you might have. These will not keep your food especially fresh, and may make it harder to stack plastic food bins.

If you have a particularly large fridge and freezer and it is still relatively full, you may want to actually create a list of items you have stored and how old they are (this is especially true if you maintain a long term food supply). You may want to go out of your way to eat food from your fridge and freezer over the weeks leading up to the holidays, just to free up some more space.

I also recommend that you maintain an inventory sheet for incoming holiday foods. This includes foods you make as well as foods you receive as gifts. Otherwise it is far too easy to lose track and forget about the tasty holiday treats you just put in the fridge or freezer. You do not want anything to go to waste.

Organizing food in the fridge and freezer is a time-consuming chore, but once it is done, you will be glad of all the space you have freed up. You will feel a lot less overwhelmed when you need to find a spot for the sugar cookies you just baked or the coconut macaroons that you were just gifted. And the less time you spend trying to find space for all of your holiday treats, the more time you can spend simply enjoying the holidays!