The holidays can be stressful, despite being a time off from work to spend with friends or family. Planning ahead for Thanksgiving can reduce a lot of the stress that often happens during the holidays. Here are some tips to help streamline your Thanksgiving and make things go more smoothly.

Organize and stock up early

Thanksgiving can mean a variety of different types of celebrations. Maybe you are hosting guests from out of town, or just having a relaxing day at home with a family dinner. Depending on how big of a celebration you are doing, it is good to stock up early on essentials.

If you are having guests stay at your home, start preparing early, making sure that guest linens are washed, the guest room is ready, and you have plenty of essentials like toilet paper. Don’t forget that you can find a lot of necessities online, like hand soap.

For your Thanksgiving meal and beyond, start compiling a list of essentials, from wine to appetizers. The less you have to shop for as Thanksgiving nears, the better! This will also help with issues like food shortages, whether it is canned pumpkin or other essentials.

Clean and organize early

Focusing on the kitchen, you can start to deep clean your home early, so that you aren’t left scrambling at the last minute. You may want to do a thorough cleaning of each room, or touch up on things like wiping down baseboards and decluttering well ahead of the holidays, so that you don’t end up cleaning in a panic.

Make sure you clean out your pantry and fridge. Now is a great time to use up old leftovers and in general, make space for leftovers from thanksgiving. While you’re at it, check expiration dates and toss old foods, and clean the inside of the fridge as well. An overall clean kitchen is a must for entertaining!

Make sure your kitchen is in working order

Thanksgiving is not the time to stress over broken appliances or other issues in your kitchen. If you want someone to come fix a faulty stove, have those repairs done well in advance of the holidays, before you are stressed and you end up having to wait for repairs. A broken appliance can be devastating and completely ruin your cooking plans.

Plan for relaxing!

Get as many chores done as possible before Thanksgiving, so that you can give yourself time to relax. You might also want to think of some things to make your home extra relaxing, like pumpkin spice candles or some special games you can enjoy with your friends or family.