Instructions: This has 6 parts:
1. Shopping

2. Readying the House for Guests

3. Prepping and Cooking the Meal

4. Dressing and Setting the Table

5. Serving the Meal

6. Cleanup

110 Thanksgiving Shortcuts and Last-Minute Time-Savers

1. SHOPPING
1. Make a list, so you wont forget something and then waste time running
back and forth to the store.

2. The most effective way to make a list? Hang a sheet of paper on the refrigerator door to help keep careful track of anything you need or any items you run out of, says productivity consultant Stephenie Culp, author of
You Can Find More Time for Yourself Every Day.

3. Categorize your list. Group together products from each area of the supermarket (frozen foods, canned goods, dairy, etc.) and youll zip down the aisles.

4. Bake all the desserts, including apple and mince pies, a week before the big day and then just freeze them. This way, half the work is already done ahead of time.

5. Shop at a supermarket that allows you to call in your order and pick it
up at a designated time.

6. Even better, if your supermarket has a telephone ordering and delivery
service, use it. The extra fee will pay for itself in saved time and gas.

7. Double-check all your recipes before heading for the market to be sure
youve included on your list all the ingredients youll need, advises home economist Claudia Noell of the University of Georgia in Athens.

8. If you need a lot of a particular item or an unusual item - like kiwi
fruit or a certain spice - and youre not sure if your supermarket stocks it, call ahead to check on availability.

9. Organize coupons ahead of time, and if your store doesnt have scanners, place them atop the matching items on the checkout counter.

This
way you wont be delayed as the cashier checks to verify the items you have
coupons for.

10. Avoid going shopping during peak hours. Get up early or go after 8= p.m.

11. Carry cash - it usually takes longer when you pay with a check or a credit or ATM card.

12. Bag your own groceries so you can group items together the way they are
stored in your kitchen.

13. Purchase as many ready-to-serve, pre-washed and pre-cut foods as you possibly can.

2. READYING YOUR HOUSE FOR GUESTS

14. 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 Campbell, author of Speed Cleaning.

15. Blast your favorite fast-paced music and youll clean faster!

16. Do all the jobs you hate the most first. "Peak efficiency usually occurs during the first half of the time youre cleaning," explains cleaning
expert Ann Guilfoyle, author of Home Free.

17. Delegate!! If you have kids, write down all the chores that need to be
done (dusting, vacuuming, picking up clutter) on separate pieces of paper, put them in a hat, then let your kids draw a task, advises Culp.

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

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

20. Get organized. Assemble everything youll need (tools, cleansers, cloths, etc.) and place them in a rolling cart, carry-all try or apron with
lots of large pockets. Making half a dozen trips back and forth to get the
supplies you need gobbles time, says Campbell.

21. 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.

22. Pick up clutter first. If you have to stop repeatedly to pick up newspapers or clothing from the floor, youll interrupt your flow and lose your momentum, says Campbell.

23. Finish one job before you start on the next. The satisfaction of completing one task should give you the energy to tackle the next, says Campbell.

24. Cook the turkey before Thanksgiving and just heat it up in the oven for
an hour before the big meal. Its wise to get the main part of the meal cooked early because stuffing and baking that turkey is the most strenuous part of all.

25. Dust by making a single trip around each room. Work left to right and top to bottom, so you wont be walking back and forth or dusting already-clean surfaces.

26. Dust and wipe all the furniture before vacuuming the floor. That way,
if you shake dust or dirt onto the floor, you wont have to vacuum again.

27. Use a feather duster and you can dust in a quarter of the time it takes
with a cloth, says Guilfoyle. Plus, you can get into the nooks and crannies
of little knickknacks without picking them up. The quickest way to clean a feather duster? Tap it across your ankle. Later, you can vacuum the dust off
the floor.

28. Start vacuuming at the outlet you have the vacuum plugged into, then work outward with the cord behind you so it wont get in your way.

29. Dont move chairs when vacuuming. Simply tipping them forward is much faster, says Campbell.

30. Attach an extra-long, heavy-duty extension cord to your vacuum cleaner, and youll be able to vacuum a much larger area without having to stop to plug in and unplug the vacuum.

31. 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. These attachments were designed for these very tasks, and cleanup is
likely to go much faster when you use the right tool for the job.

32. Says Loni Anderson: "I enjoy touches like folded napkins. I fold them right out of the laundry and store them in tissue paper. My favorite is

"Chloe": fold the napkin in quarters, then in half diagonally. With the folded edge facing right, fold the left point to meet the right edge."

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

34. One quick way to get glass shower doors sparkling clean is to wash them
with a half-vinegar, half-water solution. Another quick way to get that shine: use premoistened wipes, such as Glass Mates or Dow Spiffits.

36. 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. Theres no need to rinse.

37. Let chemicals do the work for you, advises Don Aslett, owner of Varsity
Contractors, a professional cleaning franchise. "In the kitchen or bathrooms, dont waste time struggling with stains. Instead, spray and then
go on to something else, allowing solutions time to sink in and do their dirty work. Then just wipe the surface dry."

38. Buy some artificial logs for your fireplace so you wont have to hassle
with trying to get a roaring fire lit - or cleaning out the fireplace afterward.

39. A good squeegee can be a real timesaver when youre cleaning your windows, glass shower doors, large mirrors and ceramic tile walls.

40. 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. There is no need to waste time scrubbing.

41. Buy easy-to-fix foods (cereal, cold cuts, etc.) for your family to eat between now and Thanksgiving. They save prep time and cleanup time, as they
require no pots and pans.

42. "For quicker cooking, legs and thighs should be removed and cooked separately and reassembled with the rest of the bird at serving time" says Julia Child.

43. Reduce your expectations. "All that you really have to worry about cleaning are the main gathering areas of your home and the bathrooms," says
Culp. "For the rest of the house, you can just close the doors."

44. And remember the most important rule of thumb: "If it isnt dirty, dont
clean it!"

45. Jane Seymour says: "I decorate the house and set the tale the night before. This way I dont have to worry about how everything looks on Thanksgiving Day. I can just concentrate on the cooking - which is easier for me and the family?

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