How to Clean & Set Up the Perfect Thanksgiving Table Ahead of Time

This shop, How to Clean & Set Up the Perfect Thanksgiving Table Ahead of Time, has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and photographs are mine alone. #ScrubSeason #CollectiveBias

Who’s got their Thanksgiving Game Plan prepped and ready to go? You know I do. I’d love to tell you that I have it written down in some incredible, sticker-filled planner, but I don’t…yet. For a big cooking holiday like Thanksgiving, you’ve absolutely got to have a plan – whether you write it down or not, you need to know what you’re cooking way ahead of time, and be sure that all of your servingware is clean – otherwise it just becomes impossible to stay on top of All.The.Cooking and All.The.Cleaning.

So today I’m super excited to share with you how I set up my perfect Thanksgiving table ahead of time (and then how I easily clean it all up later). That’s right. Come Thursday morning I will be sitting on the couch (read: chasing Harper up the stairs), eating cranberry-orange muffins, and watching the parade, because everything will be clean, set-up, and ready for dinnertime.

How to Set Up the Perfect Thanksgiving Table Ahead of Time

Step 1: Decide your menu. In this post I share how to pick the ultimate Thanksgiving menu, no matter what your guests’ eating preferences are.

Step 2: Rummage through your upper cabinets to figure out if you actually have enough serving platters and/or plates to fit said food.

Step 3: Head to Walmart and pick up the new Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth so you can gently clean the dust off of your Grandma’s China (that has been handed down to you) without scratching it. And be sure to use this coupon to save $1 on any 2 Scotch-Brite Products while you’re there (Scrub Sponges, Lint Rollers and Scrubbing Dish Cloths).

You can buy them in a convenient 2-pack at Walmart for only $4.97 in Navy, Tan, or Coral. The colors Gray and Mint are also available online!

Step 4: Pat yourself on the back for not waiting until the last minute only to realize you don’t have a CLEAN serving platter for the turkey, because you know that china has been collecting dust for the last 364 days.

Step 5: Set Up The Table. The night before Thanksgiving we usually do something easy that doesn’t require a lot of dishes or cooking since Thursday will be a big day for both. After making sure that all of my platters are clean (see Step 3), I set them out on the table and label them with a little sticky note. This way, I know I have enough serving platters to fit all of the food, and I know what goes where so at 3 AM I don’t have to wake Eric saying “what am I going to put the Brussels sprouts on?!” 

Right before dinner I’ll set out the silverware and glasses. We found that the soft side of the Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth was perfect for gently cleaning our delicate glasses.

Now, some things I will serve right in their baking dish, like mashed potatoes or sweet potato casserole. And then of course there are the pies. Oh, the pies. And then there’s the cleaning up of the pie pan. Oh, the cleaning.

Let me help make this easy on you. Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloths are not only good for gently removing dust and dirt from stowed-away china with the soft side, but the scrubbing dots also provide you with non-scratch scrubbing power (with the wiping and drying functions of a dish cloth) to clean up even the most stubborn, stuck-on food.

Our favorite part? The Scotch-Brite® Scrubbing Dish Cloth is washable, reusable, and sturdy, which puts it at the top of our list for being a money-saver and eco-friendly.

Be sure to check out more fun recipes and easy cleaning tutorials here!

What are some of your tips for prepping for the holidays ahead of time? Any secrets for the perfect Thanksgiving table?

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