If you're hosting Thanksgiving next week, you already know it is extremely stressful to clean the house and cook. I hope you are blessed to have folks in your life who help cook and don't show up empty-handed. Besides stressing about cleaning all the baseboards and washing all of your rugs, you need to remember some crucial things that could really save you on Turkey day. Here are 5 things you should do before you hit the grocery store this weekend.

 

  1. Take inventory. Have you checked your pantry for all the spices? Here is your reminder, "YOU ALREADY BOUGHT THOSE SPICES IN 2016!" Also, you still have that Turkey roasting bag you saved from last year.
  2. Clean your fridge out. You know that you will need all the space for the turkey, ham, and all the crazy leftovers. That half-empty gallon of milk will get annoying real quick.
  3. Finish grocery shopping before Sunday. The turkey, the ham, all of the canned ingredients, the fresh ingredients, even the drinks, we mean EVERYTHING. Have you seen the grocery store on a Wednesday before Thanksgiving? EMPTY.
  4. Defrost your turkey. The USDA recommends one day of thawing in the fridge for every 4 to 5 pounds. Have you ever tried to cook a turkey what was still frozen? It is heartbreaking. If you bought a 14-pound bird, you need to defrost it at least 3 days in advance.
  5. Allocate the Tupperware. One of the most stressful things about Thanksgiving? The cleanup. Make sure you have more than enough Ziploc bags and Tupperware to handle the crazy leftovers. Go as far as putting post-it notes on certain Tupperware items so you don't stress about double booking a certain Tupperware.

In case no one has told you, you're the hostess with the mostess. You are the King and Queen of Thanksgiving. This awesome day could not be a hit without you.

 

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