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Tips For Preparing For Thanksgiving (Part 1Of 3)

A home-style Tips For Preparing For Thanksgiving (Part 1Of 3) made with This Has Parts and Shopping. Serves 1. Scale it up or down for the number of people at the table.

Ingredients

• This Has Parts
• Shopping

Method (preview)

1. 1

   Make a list, so you won't forget something and then waste time running back and forth to the store.

2. 2

   Bake all the desserts, including apple and mince pies, a week before the big day and then just freeze them.

3. 3

   This way, half the work is already done ahead of time.

4. 4

   Organize coupons ahead of time, and if your store doesn't have scanners, place them atop the matching items on the checkout counter.

5. 5

   Purchase as many ready-to-serve, pre-washed and pre-cut foods as you possibly can. (2) READYING YOUR HOUSE FOR GUESTS

6. 6

   Place heavy-duty mats inside and outside all entry doors to catch dirt from all the extra traffic the holidays bring. "Eighty percent of all dust and dirt is tracked in from the outside," says cleaning service owner Jeff

7. 7

   Campbell, author of Speed Cleaning.

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   Blast your favorite fast-paced music and you'll clean faster!

9. 9

   Let your kids pick their own music to clean by (on a Walkman, of course!). That way, they're likely to work faster.

10. 10

    Says Luci Arnaz: "My shortcut tip for Thanksgiving dinner? Reservations!"

11. 11

    Get organized.

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    Assemble everything you'll need (tools, cleansers, cloths, etc.) and place them in a rolling cart, carry-all try or apron with lots of large pockets.

13. 13

    If your house has a second floor, leave a set of cleaning supplies on each floor to avoid all those extra trips up and down the stairs.

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    Campbell.

15. 15

    Cook the turkey before Thanksgiving and just heat it up in the oven for an hour before the big meal.

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    Dust by making a single trip around each room.

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    Work left to right and top to bottom, so you won't be walking back and forth or dusting already-clean surfaces.

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    Use a feather duster and you can dust in a quarter of the time it takes with a cloth, says Guilfoyle.

19. 19

    The quickest way to clean a feather duster?

20. 20

    Tap it across your ankle.

21. 21

    Later, you can vacuum the dust off the floor.

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    Use vacuum attachments to reach ceiling corners, to dust molding, to pick up crumbs from dining room chairs, and to get dust off sofas and chairs.

23. 23

    "Chloe": fold the napkin in quarters, then in half diagonally.

24. 24

    With the folded edge facing right, fold the left point to meet the right edge."

25. 25

    Use shaving cream to instantly remove spots on your carpet. Spray it on, then sponge off with water.

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    Sprinkle a little bit of baking soda on a dry cloth to remove fingerprints, smudges and sticky residue from stainless-steel and chrome hardware in kitchens and baths.

27. 27

    There's no need to rinse.

28. 28

    Let chemicals do the work for you, advises Don Aslett, owner of Varsity

29. 29

    Spritz the walls of your bathroom shower stalls with tile cleanser, then leave it to soak and rinse off when the next family member showers.

30. 30

    There is no need to waste time scrubbing.

31. 31

    Julia Child.

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    Reduce your expectations. "All that you really have to worry about cleaning are the main gathering areas of your home and the bathrooms," says