Hey y’all, Happy Thanksgiving week!
Around here I’m still in “simplify” mode and this week that means making the upcoming holiday as simple as humanly possible. I thought maybe some of you might want some “simple” in your life this week too.
Here’s what I’m doing to make the holiday run a little more smoothly (I hope…).
Like most of you, I make a shopping list prior to the holiday, but this year I decided to work it a little differently. I’m combining my menu and shopping list into one long list. Each item on the menu has it’s list of ingredients listed below it. I took a minute to pull together all of my Thanksgiving recipes (the ones that aren’t in my head, anyway) and list every item needed to prepare that dish even if it’s needed in another recipe as well.
Once I had my list compiled I took it and a basket with me to my pantry. I quickly went down my list and gathered items I knew I needed for the meal and threw them in the basket. This way, they are ready at hand on the big day and neither hubby or I will use them up beforehand. The only things I didn’t include were frozen items and spices. I did double check both though, just to make sure I had plenty of each. I just used a highlighter to mark off what I already had and now I can just pop the list in my bag and head to the store! Easy peasy.
A couple of other ways I’m simplifying our holiday?
I’m serving things up buffet style. Saves on dishes (hubby is the dishwasher so I’m pretty sure he’ll be happy about this too) and leads to less clutter in the dining room.
My table is going to be simply set with regular place mats and napkins. Nothing fancy here! I already have a nice set of candles in the middle that I’ll light for a little ambiance, but y’all, I’m not even going to iron the linens. Who has time for that? Besides, it’s just us. No one else to impress.
We’re skipping the big bird. This year, we’ve opted to have less. A turkey breast will serve the two of us just fine with some left overs for sandwiches the next day. Nothing to shred or cut up and worry about freezing. Just good eatin’!
Less can be more. Here’s hoping with less stress about making things perfect, I’ll have more time to be thankful!
