It’s November, which means the holidays are upon us, or at least that’s what all the malls and stores would like us to think. We’re coming up on Christmas, but there’s plenty of time to worry about that - Thanksgiving is on the way, and that means dinnertime! If you’re the type who loves preparing Thanksgiving dinner (and we’re not judging if you aren’t, it’s a lot of work!) you might want to start making a list to prepare now. A big part of this preparation involves tidying up the kitchen and making sure you can get access to the ingredients and supplies you’ll need when the big day comes. Looking for some inspiration, motivation, or just some plain old advice to get started now that you’re (probably) done with your Halloween candy? Read on and get in that Turkey Day spirit:

Step 1: Start With The Fridge

Again, no judgments, but...let’s face it, everyone’s fridge needs a little cleaning out sometimes. Considering the amount of ingredients you’re going to need to hang onto for dinner, you’re going to need all the space you can get. Take stock of everything in there and ditch anything that’s gone bad or isn’t quite needed anymore, even if it’s something you can move into dry storage in case you need it later (like hot sauce).

Step 2: Also Clean Out The Pantry

The pantry is next! This might require a little less “throwing things out” and a little more reorganization to make sure you can get to the stuff you need more quickly - don’t need your stuffing and potatoes tucked away behind the Spam, right? Now might be a good time to consider some kitchen cabinet organizers (or wire shelving if you’re lucky enough to have a walk-in pantry) to put everything where it needs to be so you can get to it when the time comes.

Step 3: Get Your Recipes Together

Whatever it is you’re making, you’re going to want to get your recipes together early on. Not your ingredients, or at least not yet - the first step is to figure out what you’re making and how to make it! Pull out grandma’s old stuffing and turkey recipes and make lists of everything you need to buy and prepare, then get shopping!

Step 4: Designate Space For Everything

Once your shopping list is done and the ingredients are back at your house, take advantage of your previously-cleaned pantries and fridge and find spaces for everything to go. Try to make a specific “Thanksgiving area” to keep supplies and ingredients together (and unused!) until you need them.

Step 5: Use That Dishwasher!

Odds are, your Thanksgiving dinner is going to require a number of specialized cooking and serving dishes, trays, pans, and so on. After you’ve made a special area for your ingredients, try to wash up everything you think you’ll need ahead of time and designate a space for them so they don’t accidentally get used in the meantime. After this, you should be all set to start cooking! You’ve got a few weeks until Thanksgiving, so some early preparation should help take a little of the stress out of it for you. Cleaning up afterwards, of course, is going to be its own battle, but we can cross that bridge when we come to it!