If you’re guilty of overstuffing your refrigerator or overworking your garbage disposal, then this guide is for you. We cover common causes of maintenance disasters during the holidays and then serve up some yummy dessert ideas to kick off your holiday planning.
Essential Holiday Guide for a No-Fuss Thanksgiving
We’ve rounded up our best resources on holiday preparation to help you get your Thanksgiving Day planning off to a good start.
#1. Keep Your Refrigerator Organized
Nothing says Thanksgiving like a refrigerator full of food. But be cautious not to OVERSTUFF your refrigerator, especially around the air vents. If you notice that the refrigerator isn’t cooling, start by rearranging the food in the refrigerator and freezer sections to ensure no air vents are blocked. Keep the door closed for an hour, and then check the temperature again. If the refrigerator starts cooling again, you know that you had a blocked air vent.
#2. Don’t Pre-rinse Your Dishes
Make dishwashing after your holiday meal a whole lot easier by skipping the pre-rinse step before loading your dishwasher.
Wait, what?! Don’t rinse the dishes?
Yes. Modern dishwasher detergent works best when there are food particles to activate the enzymes in the detergent. Get comfortable with the idea of NOT rinsing your dishes by reading our blog on how dishwasher detergent works. Then follow these steps to a rinse-free Thanksgiving:
- Scrape food chunks directly into the trash. Be sure to remove ALL food chunks. There will be sauce & light food debris on your dishes—that’s ok!
- Immediately load the dishes into the dishwasher.
- Start the load.
- Go enjoy dessert.
#3. Be Cautious of What Goes Down the Drain
Protect your garbage disposal this year by following our disposal care and maintenance guide. In this short guide, we cover what should NOT go down the drain to keep your pipes clear. Read our step by step garbage disposal guide here.
#4. Avoid the Self-Cleaning Oven Feature
Of all our holiday tips, this might be the most important one. The self-clean cycle on your oven can cause part failure, leaving you with no way to cook your turkey.
If you need to clean your oven before the holidays, use a self-clean oven safe degreaser like Simple Green instead. Read our blog about Self-Cleaning your oven here.
#5. Don’t Make the Same Old Boring Desserts
Not all Turkey Day dilemmas are appliance-related. Many people are tired of the same old pumpkin pie and cheesecake desserts. Check out our Thanksgiving Dessert List here.
With the help of these Thanksgiving tips, this year’s holiday should go off without a hitch! If you do run into appliance trouble, call the experts at Cody’s Appliance Repair.
