Thanksgiving is TOMORROW. Are you ready? Because where we're going... there WILL be dishes! Here are some last minute cleaning tips to make this the easiest Thanksgiving ever (for pre-and-post cleanup, as well as some general tips)! 

1. Make it a group activity! Get the whole family involved and assign each member of the family a different cleaning task. This can be for before, during, or after Thanksgiving whether its cleanup around your home or even dish cleaning. For cleaning the dishes you can assign different members different tasks (like setting up an assembly line) so one person pre-soaks, one person cleans the dishes, another dries the dish and then finally someone else can put the clean dishes away. Making it a family affair means quicker cleanup (and less stress on one person to do everything themselves).

2. Be ready for leftovers.Before Thursday, set aside the containers you know you will be using to store all of your leftovers so they are ready to go. Better yet, give them a quick rinse and hand wash them to make sure they're clean and ready for food. Make sure you've got enough to go around for everything (and everyone)!

3. Prepare for battle!Keep packs of new sponges and new dish brushes locked and loaded because where we're going, there WILL be dishes coming at you at 88 miles per hour. All time travel jokes aside, it's good to have fresh cleaning tools handy because you don't want to be using old, smelly sponges – using new cleaning tools will allow you to clean faster which means less time cleaning, and more time with family. Oh, PS – make sure you've got dish soap, too!

4. Dessert can wait...Okay, this one could be pretty controversial, but we're going for it anyways – don't start dessert until the first round of dishes are clean! Seriously, we know somebody will get mad, but the break between dinner and dessert can be crucial for cleaning because the minute dessert is done, all you'll want to do is sit on the couch and relax. Can anyone say, tryptophan overdose?

5. Automatic Disqualification.Whoever cooked Thanksgiving dinner is automatically disqualified from having to clean a single dish the entire day. Seriously. They've been up since the crack of dawn preparing this meal, so they deserve the rest of the day off! Its the least you can do (and thats just fair).

6. Don't forget the SPLASH ZONE!No, we're not at Sea World, we're talking about the splash-zone on your stovetop. Something is bound to spill over the edge of splash out of whatever you are cooking, and it will end up in, around, and on your stovetop. Once everything else is cleaned up and put away, don't forget to clean the stovetop! Using your favorite cleaner, be sure to wipe down and scrub off anything that may have gotten stuck there in the middle of your cooking.

7. Seasons sweepings!Keep a broom and dustpan handy (or, just a small dustpan) to be sweep up any scraps that may have fallen onto the floor while you are preparing for Thanksgiving dinner, cooking, or cleaning up. Or, if you have a dog, let them do a quick lap around the kitchen and save you from crawling around on your knees cleaning everything up!

8. Eat, drink and be merryOf course the most important thing this Thanksgiving is be sure to set aside some time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the wonderful company that will be at your house (or at a house you will be going to). 

With that being said, from our family to yours, seasons greetings and happy holidays!