Thankful Thanksgiving Storage Tips
Are you hosting Thanksgiving? Make this year’s festivities the best yet! With some planning and a little organization, you’ll be on your way to the perfect holiday meal. From saving your favorite recipes to organizing your kitchen and packing leftovers, we’ll review everything you need to host a stress-free Thanksgiving so you can enjoy more time with friends and family.
Save your recipe collection.
From handwritten family recipes to your favorite cooking blog, your Thanksgiving menu recipes come in many formats, from lots of places—making organization a hassle. Thankfully, there are digital tools to help. Not only does digitizing your recipe collection take up less space, but it also keeps things organized. That means less time searching and more time cooking.
When using an app or even a Pinterest board, you can group or tag your recipes by themes like meal-type, cuisine, main ingredient, or occasion (like Thanksgiving!)—so you can easily find what you need. Save your Thanksgiving Day menu to easily access your recipes when you’re ready to start cooking.
Declutter your kitchen & organize your pantry.
Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving or any other big holiday meal, a well-organized kitchen is a must. With lots of food cooking at the same time, an orderly kitchen is key to keeping holiday meal prep manageable. You’ll know exactly where everything is, exactly when you need it.
Here are some tips for decluttering your kitchen and organizing the pantry before you start cooking:
- Look at your Thanksgiving menu and your recipes to determine what cooking tools & utensils you need
- Put non-essential kitchenware away to maximize counter space
- Organize your plastic containers to store food and send guests home with leftovers
- Clean up your pantry by grouping items into categories
Want more tips for cooking Thanksgiving dinner? Check out our 5 Thanksgiving Dinner Prep Tips for help planning a stress-free holiday meal.
Store Thanksgiving leftovers.
Want to enjoy your Thanksgiving feast after Thanksgiving? Then, plan to store your leftovers within two hours of cooking. Since we know you’ll be tired from the tryptophan, here are some easy storage tips for Thanksgiving leftovers:
- Store food in shallow, covered containers for quick cooling
- Remove any stuffing from the turkey and store it separately
- Carve any remaining meat from the turkey and separate it into smaller containers
- Avoid storing large containers; instead, divide food into smaller portions
With proper storage, you can enjoy leftovers from the fridge for up to four days—long enough to get you through Cyber Monday shopping.
Decoration storage tips.
Your Thanksgiving décor is an essential part of creating a warm, welcome ambiance. But once the leftovers are packed away, it’s time to pack up the Thanksgiving decorations too. Use these decoration storage tips to make the transition easy:
- Use medium and large clear plastic storage containers: they’re see-through and lightweight but durable enough to protect your décor
- Wrap fragile decorations in paper, tissue, or bubble wrap to keep items safe
- Group your decorations into categories and keep similar items together
- Take inventory of decorations: If it’s broken or has missing parts, decide to repair it or discard it
- Remove batteries from lights, candles, and other battery-operated items
- Label boxes to make unpacking easier next year
Are you in need of a place to store your Thanksgiving decorations?
Now that you’re ready to clear out the pumpkins and make room for the holiday season, contact the storage experts at Secure Self Storage. With affordable, secure, climate-controlled storage units in various sizes, we’re ready to help with all your holiday storage needs.