12 Ways To Make Thanksgiving Cleanup Easier

Thanksgiving is the ultimate cooking holiday. It’s perhaps the only holiday that centers almost entirely on eating and cooking. There are a ton of delicious Thanksgiving staples, and for the most part, this holiday is a relaxing feast of flavors. The only stressful part comes after everyone eats, and there is a tower of dishes and a messy kitchen to clean.

To make your Thanksgiving cleanup easier and less stressful, try to do all your prep cooking the day before, and ensure you soak any crusty pans right away. Use recyclable aluminum pans, and ensure your dishwasher is empty before you sit down to eat. Put your leftovers away right away, do your best to clean between courses, and consider using paper plates for appetizers, and desserts.

Thanksgiving cleanup can be a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many effective methods and preventative measures you can take to help make your Thanksgiving cleanup quick, simple, and painless. Below is a list of 12 different ways you can help make your holiday cleanup faster and less labor-intensive after your feast.

12 Ways To Help Make Your Thanksgiving Cleanup Easier

1. Soak Your Pots And Pans Right Away

Sometimes the pots and pans you use to cook Thanksgiving food get crusted over and burnt. There is a lot of dairy and sugar cooked on this holiday, so don't be surprised if all your pans have a bit of crust that is hard to remove. 

The key is to soak your pans right away, and not let food residue sit out and harden. As soon as you can, soak all your pans that have residual food stuck to them. Try to scrub them with a brush to loosen the food particles, and then try to scrub them a bit later. Try to soak what you can before dinner, so they are easy to clean later.

2. Use Disposable Aluminum Pans

One great way to reduce the amount of time you need to spend cleaning up your Thanksgiving feast is to use disposable aluminum pans. Aluminum pans are great for cooking casseroles like sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. 

A large aluminum pan is also often the best way to cook a turkey. These pans can be rinsed and then recycled. It is much easier than spending hours soaking them and even more time scrubbing them. You can quickly deposit these pans in your recycling bin, freeing up space on your kitchen countertops.

3. Store Leftovers Right Away

Another way to help prevent your kitchen from looking like a disaster after a Thanksgiving feast is to put your holiday leftovers away as soon as possible. This is helpful for several reasons. For one, it helps get rid of the many dishes of food that likely line your kitchen counters after the big meal.

Furthermore, it is important for food safety reasons to put your leftovers away in a timely manner. This will keep all your holiday leftovers fresh for longer when you store them in the freezer.

4. Double Line Your Trash Bags

Your trash can is likely to get a lot of use on Thanksgiving. Between food scraps, turkey bones, and countless other items, your trash is going to fill up. To prevent a spill or disaster, it’s best to double-line your trash can on big holidays like Thanksgiving. 

This will prevent leaks or breaks in the bag when the trash gets overloaded. In turn, it can reduce some messy and undesirable trash cleanup. It will also help keep your trash cans free of leaks and maggots.

5. Enlist Help To Wash And Dry Dishes

Even if you have a dishwasher, you are probably going to have to hand wash a lot of dishes on Thanksgiving, especially if you host a large group on this holiday. One way to help make hand-washing faster (and more enjoyable) is to enlist help. Have someone wash dishes while you (or someone who knows your kitchen) dry and put away dishes. 

This dish-washing assembly line ensures the drying rack never gets full. It’s also nice to have company when you do the dishes.

6. Make Sure Your Dishwasher Is Empty Before Dinner

There is a lot to think about when you host a Thanksgiving feast. There is a great deal of coordination and timing involved to ensure all your food is served at the same time at a the right temperature.

Still, even with all this coordination, you must make sure the dishwasher is empty before you sit down to eat. An empty dishwasher will make your first round of cleaning in the kitchen significantly easier. It will also quickly reduce the size of the giant pile of dishes in your kitchen.

7. Do As Much Prep Cooking As You Can The Day Before

One of the best ways to stay ahead of cleaning and to be fully prepared to host Thanksgiving is to prepare in advance. You can cook a lot of food the day before, or even several days before. This includes prep work like peeling and chopping vegetables.

The more prep work you do in advance, the less trash and the fewer dishes you make on the big day. This will make cooking easier and will keep your kitchen more organized.

8. Use Paper Plates For Appetizers And Dessert

While you likely want your Thanksgiving dinner spread to look gourmet and expensive, there is no shame in using some festive holiday paper plates for your appetizers and desserts. Using paper plates for the entrees before and after the feast means you only need to worry about an influx of dishes at one time.

9. Soak Cloth Napkins And Stained Table Cloths Promptly

If you use cloth napkins and tablecloths, then it’s a good idea to soak and spot-clean them as soon as the meal is over. With all the cranberry sauce and red wine that is consumed on this holiday, there is a good chance there will be some stains.

If you treat stains right away, you don’t need to spend much time scrubbing or washing your cloth napkins and tablecloths. The longer you wait, the harder it is to remove these stains.

10. Make Plenty Of Space In Your Refrigerator Beforehand

Another great way to reduce the time and stress associated with Thanksgiving cleanup is to make lots of room in your refrigerator beforehand. When you have a lot of fridge space, you can tuck in entire casserole dishes, and bowls with salad and other items.

This is helpful when you want to keep your cold food cold, and don’t have time to transfer everything right away. It buys you time while you focus on scrubbing other pans and cleaning up the more urgent mess in your kitchen.

11. Send Guests Home With Their Casserole Dishes

If guests bring food in a casserole dish, send them home with that dish. You can send it home as is, or if it is easy to clean, then you can wash it. Either way, you can prioritize these dishes, and get them out of your kitchen and into the hands of their rightful owners quickly to help keep things organized.

12. Wash Dishes Between Courses

Lastly, if you are serving a Thanksgiving meal with several courses, or even just a dinner and dessert course, then try your best to clean between courses. Usually, there is plenty of downtime between courses.

While you make coffee, enlist the help of a few friends to put away leftovers, soak pans, and wash plates and cutlery. If you clean between each course, you will have a more manageable mess, and won’t be left with an overwhelming amount of cleanup in the end.

Wrapping Up How To Make Thanksgiving Cleanup Easier

Cleaning up a Thanksgiving feast can feel daunting and overwhelming, but there are ways to make it easier. Use as many aluminum and recyclable casserole pans as possible, put leftovers away as quickly as possible, and soak pots, pans, and soiled linen right away. Enlist help to hand-wash dishes between courses. Try to free up space in your fridge and freezer beforehand, and ensure your dishwasher is empty before you sit down for dinner.

Related Guides:

• 11 Turkey Alternatives For Your Thanksgiving Feast
• Tips For Hosting Thanksgiving On A Budget
• How To Keep Thanksgiving Food Hot When Your Kitchen Space Is Limited