What You Should Do Two Weeks Before Thanksgiving

The second week in November is a weird one. Thanksgiving looms, but it’s still too early to shop for perishables. You could probably do absolutely nothing to prepare this week and be totally fine, but it’s a great time to set yourself up for stellar success.

If you haven’t planned your menu, shopped for non-perishables, ensured you have enough dishes and serveware, or ordered your turkey, you should go ahead and do all of that. If you have all of that under control, you’re in for a pretty chill week. Here are a few things you can do two weeks before Turkey Day to make the holiday as stress-free as possible.

Do a quick purge

If your fridge, freezer, and pantry are anything like mine, they’re probably not ready to handle a full Thanksgiving feast’s worth of ingredients and leftovers. Open your fridge, take everything out (put perishables in cooler if this is going to take a while), and wipe down the inside with an all-purpose cleaner. If the shelves and drawers are gunky, pull them out and wash them with hot soapy water in the sink. Dry them and return them to their proper places.

Next, turn your attention to the food. Toss anything that’s expired or moldy, and put anything that’s on the verge of “going bad” in a triage box. Write “EAT ME FIRST” on the box so you actually eat it. If you have any food that’s good, but you simply do not want to eat it, consider donating it to a free fridge or similar program in your area (or make your children or partner eat it).

Do not overlook the condiments, even if they mostly live in the door. (The door can hold all kinds of Thanksgiving ephemera.) The expired salad dressings, the separated hot sauce that’s been sitting in there for five years, the homemade pickles you don’t like that you only keep because someone made them for you—toss it all. Wipe up any sticky spots or spills.

Purge your freezer in a similar manner. Toss any freezer burned food that you’re never going to consume, then defrost the whole thing if needed. Once it’s clean and frost-free, dedicate a portion of the freed-up real estate to Thanksgiving. In addition to your turkey, you’ll need space for anything you decide to prep ahead of time, such as pie crusts, cranberry sauce, gravy, or homemade stock.

Finally, raid the pantry. If, like me, you have more than five (5) different kinds of chips, consider getting high and pouring them into one big bowl. If you have many boxes of crackers, taste them to identify the stale ones, then toss them once identified. Eat the non-stale ones with cheese. If you have a lot of canned or dried food that no longer appeals to you, consider donating it to a food pantry (or feed it to your children and/or partner).

Do a tiny bit of cooking

This is great week to make and freeze a few things you know you’re going to need. If you want homemade turkey stock, but (obviously) aren’t ready to cook The Big Bird (not Big Bird, who is Muppet and would taste bad), grab some turkey wings and use those as your base. Wings have a ton of collagen, which makes for a supremely rich and satisfying stock. (You can also supplement with other animal bones, for flavor.) In addition to stock, you can pre-make your gravy (without any pan drippings!), your cranberry sauce (with rum!), and your pie dough, all of which freeze and defrost very well.

This is also a good week to test out any new recipes, especially if you are swapping out a time-honored classic with something that’s “elevated” or “more exciting.” Thanksgiving is all about nostalgia, and menu changes can startle guests, especially if you’re replacing a major player (like classic cornbread dressing) with something a little experimental (like a savory brioche bread pudding), so try it out alone to make sure it deserves its place at the table.

Prepare for guests

Nothing you clean this week will stay spotless until Thanksgiving day, but this is a good week to deep clean or do any needed repairs in common areas or guest rooms (if anyone is staying with you).

Fixing the sink that’s not draining properly in the guest bathroom, washing the guest sheets, deep cleaning all the bathrooms, cleaning stains off the couch in the living room—these are all things you can do to make Turkey Day (and Turkey Week) a little less chaotic. It’s also a good time to make sure you have enough chairs for everyone to sit in. I never have enough chairs.

Try and relax

I am an anxious over-preparer who makes lists to calm her frazzled nerves, but I also recognize that this method of Thanksgiving prep may not be as soothing for others. If you’re a seasoned hosting veteran who prefers to wing it, I’m sure you can pull it off. No matter what happens, a semblance of the Thanksgiving meal will make it to the table, and your guests will be appreciative, even if the turkey is a little dry. Everyone is there for the side dishes anyway.