9 Ways To Enjoy Your Kitchen This Summer

1. Make a Summer Smoothie. Nothing is more refreshing than a cold, icy smoothie after being outside on a hot summer day. Make your own favorite blend by using your choice of the options below!

2 cups of your favorite frozen fruit (Our CRS favorite blend is strawberries + mangos)
1 cup ice
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup milk (We like to use coconut milk)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup yogurt (Our favorite is plain Greek yogurt)

*Blend all items together in a blender until mixed completely. Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy! (Recipe Serving: 1)

2. Use Your Countertops to do a Craft with the Kids. Your kitchen countertops can be used for more than just cooking. Spread out a summer craft or have a painting contest and spend an artsy afternoon with your kids! You can hang all the paintings and crafts on your refrigerator to enjoy all summer long!

3. Home-Made Popsicles. Popsicles are not as hard to make as you might think—in fact, if you have an ice tray, juice, and toothpicks, you can make some today! Google a popsicle recipe or grab your favorite juice. Pour it into a popsicle mold or an ice cube tray. Place the tray into the freezer for 15-30 minutes until the juice or puree turns into a slush. Then add your popsicle sticks or toothpicks. Leave to freeze for another few hours and enjoy these yummy home-made snacks later that day!

4. Create a Summer Chore Chart for Your Kids. When your kids get older it’s great to start giving them responsibilities and jobs around the home. The summer is a perfect time to do that! Create a fun summer “chore chart” for your kids listing daily chores and responsibilities around the home (i.e. vacuum the living room, wipe the kitchen counter, clean out the dishwasher). These charts can be hung on the fridge in the kitchen so you can keep track of their progress each day. Give them stickers to mark the items off as they complete them to make it even more fun!

5. Plant a Vegetable or Herb Garden. Whether you have a yard, patio, or just an open wall in your kitchen—everyone can have a little garden of their own! If you have kids, this can be a great way to teach them how to care for vegetables, plants, and flowers by watering them each day. It can also be fun to have basil and thyme growing right in your own kitchen or patio!

6. Home-Made Silly Putty. Summer is the perfect time for crafts and the kitchen is the best place to get a little playfully messy. You’ll need a 4-oz. bottle of white school glue, 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon borax, food coloring and glitter (optional). Directions: Squeeze the bottle of glue into a bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring and a few teaspoons of extra-fine glitter (optional) and mix together. Then, stir 1/2 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon borax together in a separate bowl. Add the mixture to the glue and stir until completely mixed. Knead the mixture together for about 5 minutes until it turns into a putty. Now—it’s time to play! Enjoy!

7. Summer Lemonade Stand. This is a great all-day activity for kids and a great way for them to make some extra spending money! Find your favorite home-made lemonade recipe online, make a sign, buy some biodegradable throw-away cups, set up a table outside, and then start selling to your neighbors and family!

8. Create Flower Bouquets for the Countertop. We love flowers—and nothing brightens up a kitchen counter like a beautiful, fresh bouquet of wildflowers from the garden. If you don’t have a garden, take your kids to the local Farmers Market and let them pick their own flowers for their own bouquets. This is a great activity that will brighten any day and every kitchen!

9. Organize your Kitchen Cabinets. Summer is a great time to Marie Kondo your home—and your kitchen cabinets are a great place to start. We all accumulate extra things when we live somewhere for an extended amount of time. You can declutter by throwing old things away and reorganize by buying a few clear storage containers and Tupperware!