What to Do Two Weeks Before Thanksgiving

Welcome to the third installment of Thanksgiving Prepper. Right about now is when things start to get real. If you have just started your planning, that’s no reason to panic. Go ahead and take a look at the first and second parts of this series, and when you’ve completed those tasks, continue with the ones listed below. As always, here is a quick overview of what I will be doing this week to prepare for the Big Day.

The short version:

• Purge and clean fridge
• Clean and defrost freezer
• Optional: Make and freeze turkey stock (and perhaps cranberry sauce)
• Do any deep cleaning and repairs now, including steaming the couch, fixing the drippy sink, etc.

Purge and clean your fridge

You are going to need room in your refrigerator for the bird (and a whole lot else). Start by removing everything from the fridge, throwing out any obviously bad food, and giving the interior a good wipe down. Then, identify the stuff that needs to be eaten soon and put it in a culinary triage box. Write “EAT ME FIRST” on the box, so you and your family know it is a priority.

Don’t forget the condiments in the door. Throw away anything that’s moldy, expired, or empty. (Be honest with yourself: You are not going to use that last bit of mayo you can barely reach.) Wipe down the interior of the door, then wipe down the condiment bottles themselves, paying attention to the sticky messes at the top.

Clean and defrost your freezer

Now do the same thing for the freezer. Start by throwing away anything you are unable to identify, or anything with an unsightly amount of freezer burn. Then defrost the whole thing, if needed, and give it a thorough wipe-down. Once it’s clean and frost-free, dedicate a portion of real estate to your Thanksgiving haul. (I use the whole top shelf.) In addition to your turkey (if you are storing it while frozen), you’ll need space for anything you decide to prep ahead of time, such as pie crusts, cranberry sauce, or homemade stock.

Do a tiny bit of cooking

I always make and freeze a bunch of turkey stock ahead of time, simply because I do not spatchcock my turkey (I smoke it), and therefore do not have access to any turkey bones until after the bird has been cooked and eaten. Luckily, it is very easy to find turkey wings the entire month of November—snag some smoked ones if you can. Make, strain, and freeze your stock, so you can have your gravy hot and ready to go the moment the turkey hits the table.

If you, unlike me, are a normal person who did not make your pie crust two whole weeks ago, now is a good time to get those made and frozen. (If you need a pie dough recipe, try our Flaky Pie Pastry; if you want to skip the pie pastry and make a tart instead, you can make and freeze our Almond Tart Shell or Whole-Wheat Tart Shell just as easily.)

To freeze your pie dough, shape it into a disc and double wrap it as tightly as you can in plastic wrap, then chuck it into the freezer. Try to make the disk as flat as possible; the thinner it is, the faster it will thaw. Transfer to the fridge to thaw a day or two before you plan to bake it. If you have extra space in the freezer (and extra pie plates) you can roll, fit, and crimp pie crusts on the plates, then wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze. No need to thaw before baking—just unwrap and toss into the oven.

Prepare for guests

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

Use this as an occasion to finally fix the sink that’s not draining properly in the guest bathroom. Or to wash the guest sheets. Or to deep clean all the bathrooms, or clean stains off the couch in the living room. Taking care of these things ahead of time can make the holiday week a bit less chaotic—and a lack of chaos is the goal.

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Claire Lower

Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.