How To Cut the Post-Thanksgiving Dinner Cleanup in Half

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The key to a quick kitchen cleanup after the Thanksgiving eat-a-thon is not making a big, sticky mess before it.

To complete this How-To you will need:

Plastic wrap or newspapers
Aluminum foil or cookie sheet
Cooking oil
Wax paper
Cooking spray
A dish tub
Dishwasher detergent
A paper plate

Step 1: Cover your counters

Before you begin cooking, cover your counters with a layer of plastic wrap or some old newspapers.

Step 2: Protect the stove

Place foil or a cookie sheet at the bottom of your oven to catch spills. Wrap your burners in foil. If you have a stovetop exhaust fan, turn it on to suck up grease.

Tip: Spread a thin layer of cooking oil along the inside rim of your pots to prevent boilovers.

Step 3: Keep stuff from sticking

Spritz measuring cups with cooking spray before filling them with sticky ingredients like molasses or corn syrup; it makes cleanup a breeze. This trick works on cheese graters, too.

Step 4: Use one prep bowl

Dirty fewer prep dishes. For each recipe, line a big bowl with plastic wrap or wax paper. Chop or measure ingredients in the reverse order they'll be needed, separating each with a layer of wrap. Then just lift them out as you go and rinse the bowl.

Tip: If you use a handheld mixer, cut a hole through a paper plate and stick the beaters through it to prevent splatter.

Step 5: Fill a dish tub

Fill a large plastic dish tub with hot, sudsy water just before you sit down to dinner. Soak all your dirty pots and pans while you're eating.

Tip: Add a few pots of boiling water to the suds so the water stays piping hot.

Step 6: Boil soapy water in dirty pots

As you're clearing the table, take any pots and pans that still have stuck-on food, fill them with water, add some dishwasher detergent, and bring the sudsy water to a boil. The food will slide right off.

Step 7: Rinse with hot water

Use very hot water to rinse any dishes you're hand washing; they'll dry faster. And let them air dry — it's not only easier, but more sanitary.

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Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• celebrations
• cleaning
• cutting
• dinner
• faster
• holidays
• how
• howcast
• meal
• shorter
• thanksgiving
• to
• washing

[pongman]

Step one. Eat out.

[HammandClov]

Step one and only step: Make everybody clean up. That's what my grandmother did. She cooked enough food to last a year, and when everybody was done, everybody had to help clean.

Great video though.

[zeratul575]

@HammandClov ah the holiday clusterfuck (as heard from the Nostalgia Critic)

first u have octobers halloween

then u have novembers thanksgiving

last u have chirstmas

aint having a large family a joy? LOL

how big is your family? mines about 7 that comes to thanksgiving and yes the dishes r a bitch

[WishingBabyX]

Lol poor doggie xD

[HattieLovesCattie]

Boring pointless video.

[mydeardiaries]

how to avoid the day all together. BE THANKFUL EVERDAY. Last but not less, eat out.

[Flipty11]

How to Look Like an Ass in Front of Your Family

[vRaZ1el]

Using paper plates and plastic utensils helps a lot.

[ShreddedSociety]

Primarily Thanks giving is a North American holiday.

[katandkyle]

was the shower scene disturbing to anyone else?

[ru429]

Exactly.

[chickenboy333]

Is it more work to do all this or just clean up afterward?