Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, and no matter what you made or how many guests you had, we hope it went well! Of course, after any great feast comes the worst part of the holidays - cleaning up after the fact. You were probably too full of turkey and stuffing to get much done last night, but those leftovers, dishes, and place settings are going to have to go somewhere. After you’ve shaken off your post-dinner hangover and are looking for a little motivation to get everything cleaned up and put away, here’s a few tips and ideas to get you started: Send The Leftovers Home: Sure, it’s an old trick your parents used to try, but the more leftovers you can pass off to other people the less you’ll have to put away! Make sure everyone takes some turkey and potatoes back with them so you don’t have to spend two days looking at it. Make Sure There’s Room In Your Fridge: Of course, you’re not going to be able to give all the leftovers away, and that means you’re going to need to be able to keep whatever’s left safely stored. Get some Tupperware out, clear out some of the other leftovers that are probably already in there, and make sure you have room to refrigerate or freeze everything. If something doesn’t need to be refrigerated, get some kitchen cabinet organizers to stash your dry goods safely. (This is also probably best handled BEFORE dinner is over, to save time after the fact.) Get Ready to Do the Dishes: After the leftovers, maybe the hardest part of cleaning up from a good Thanksgiving is all the dishes and cookware you have to clean up. Set up a soaking station to leave things overnight to help with the actual scrubbing tomorrow, get some wire shelving to give everything a place to go when they’re dry, and don’t be afraid to let things soak a little longer if something’s really stuck on there. Vacuum a Little: Most Thanksgiving dishes leave a big mess in the room they’re served or eaten in (especially if you’ve got younger kids that aren’t too careful about where and how they eat). Once the dishes are done (or at least more manageable), take some time to sweep up and vacuum the carpet around the dinner table, and any rugs you might have near the kitchen that might have some little crumbs and surprises left over. Lastly, Conquer your Counters: After the dining room, the messiest place is going to be the rest of the kitchen. Reorganize your pantries, wipe down each of your countertops and cooking surfaces, clean out the oven (or at least run the self-cleaner), scrub off all the spilled gravy or leftover stuffing crumbs, and leave everything squeaky clean! (Or at least as clean as it was before Thanksgiving happened!) We’ll be back next week with some more non-Thanksgiving related organizational and cleaning tips, but for right now, sit back and enjoy those cold turkey sandwiches!