It’s week four in our Prep & Plan series and we’re slowly moving into the holidays. Last week I decided to take a detour in this course so we can begin to prepare for Thanksgiving early. Due to supply chain issues, rising prices, and all other issues hitting us this year, I’m starting my holiday prep early.

Last week we reviewed our calendars and decided what meals (if any) we needed to make in November that were out of the ordinary. Like dinner and breakfast for overnight company, kids returning from college, Thanksgiving Dinner, etc. Then we made a full menu and came up with a shopping list, divided by perishables and non-perishables. After doing that, we decided when we were going to start food shopping/budgeting for non-perishables with the goal being to get most of that shopping done as early and cheaply as possible.

So this week I just want to review our homework up to this point and offer you two free printables. The first is a Thanksgiving Countdown Planner that starts now. And the second is a Thanksgiving Portion Planner for typical Thanksgiving foods and how much you should account for each person.

Let’s recap:

In Week One, we are using our three legal pads to do our homework. First, we’re doing a whole house assessment. This includes a light clean up/decluttering so we can evaluate the details of each room: how many interior/exterior doors, how many windows, type of electronics, proximity to water/bathrooms, etc. This is an enormous project so please take all the time you need. This first step is crucial to setting up a plan.

Week One’s second assignment was to make a list of all the possible disasters that could happen in your area. Anything floods to hurricanes to blizzards to riots. On the second half of the page, keep a list of the disasters that have happened to you or your family personally. Keep this list on your refrigerator or someplace where it would be easy to add to. This will be an ongoing list we’ll use later on when we begin long-term planning.

Week One’s third assignment was to start a meal list–listing every meal you eat in a month. So this is ongoing homework until you feel you have a good idea of what meals and foods/snacks you eat and drink every day, every week, every month. (this is not a grocery list!)

Week Two’s first assignment was to make a list of all the cleaning supplies you use in every room of the house. And note those products you love and don’t love. 

Week Two’s second assignment was to schedule when you’re going to do a deep review and clean of each room. And don’t forget to set up meals and rewards ahead of time!

Week Three’s assignment: Figure out your menu for the next month or two (depending on the holidays you celebrate and all the things/visitors you have planned). Make an ingredient list and, from that, make a shopping list. Don’t forget to include any cleaning supplies that you might need (from last week’s list), especially any specialty or seasonal items like silver polish and Lysol.

Week Four’s assignment: Review the 2021 Thanksgiving Planner and Thanksgiving Portion Planner and decide what needs to be done when. Begin budgeting and food shopping for non-perishable items

That’s it for this week! There’s still a lot of work to be done in the homework assignments, but hopefully you’re coming along and getting it all done. Next week we’ll review what’s been done and get back on track with what still needs to happen. I promise it’ll feel great knowing that we won’t be rushing around in November looking for spices and cleaning supplies. We can stay home, watching holiday movies with our families, while the rest of the world fights for the last bottle of cinnamon.



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