Crafty Thanksgiving Organization: Leftovers {part two}

Don't forget: SHARPIE, tags, tape for labeling containers



Hot drink cups and LIDS :} are useful for take-home Wassail


This is not a must, but if you enjoy crafting labels are fun to make for each family. I have had this "gobble gobble placecard" in my stash for a long time...maybe Martha Stewart???



As we all begin with our individual preparations for the holidays which may include out-of-town guests, travel plans, pet care, housecleaning, coupon clipping, stocking up on paper towels, tin foil and groceries, it is easy to forget about LEFTOVERS.

I could care less about any of the leftovers. Having said that, I can get myself into a major tizzy if we don't come home with Auntie Debie's broccoli salad and Oma's pie. Mean-spirited might be a better adjective, actually. You would be too!

How many times have you been cleaning up after your THANKSGIVING DINNER in anticipation for dessert {at least that is the order in which we do it!} and you discover you are short on containers for leftovers? Seriously, it used to happen EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

You can only save sooo many Cool Whip, sour cream and cottage cheese containers! Then, if you are lucky enough to find the actual containers, you start breaking out into a sweat looking for the lids. We have had our share of Saran Wrap and rubber bands wrapped around a container with greasy gravy or cranberry sauce one TOO many times...and spilled red wassail...all over the back of the car. I wonder how many of you have had a food disater heading to or returning from a Thanksgiving dinner? Anyway, misery loves company. {PLEASE DO TELL!}

I hope you aren't checking for Grammar here. ANYhoo, enough is enough.

Several years ago, I started planning for the leftovers. I decided to add to my Cash and Carry stash to ensure that we all had DISPOSABLE containers to pack leftovers in. Can I tell you how nice it is for everyone to be able to take containers home without needing to return them? 'Cause I can't even remember how many times I have ended up with my Momma's orange Tupperware from the 70's, knowing, it had better not end up in the bags for GOODWILL. It is also nice for your fridge to NOT be cluttered with three sour cream containers only to have to take the lids off of all three before finding the leftover green bean casserole! I know it could be labeled with a SHARPIE, but it still stressed me out.:)

AHHHHH, it is so nice. It is not a huge investment, either. You can purchase 5o take-out boxes for less than $5.00. I usually have other containers in different sizes only because I use them for alot of different projects, but you could easily decide on a basic size and go with one kind, or you might want to go halvsies with a friend. I have two other friends that I have split things with and it works out great!

Before my parents moved from Colorado to Oregon, we called them on Thanksgiving morning to wish them a happy Thanksgiving. We were talking about the children, decorations and all the little details for our day. When I mentioned that my Mother-in-Law was making the turkey, my Momma jokingly asked me to save the carcass for her so that she could make turkey soup {YUCK!!!} for my Dad. Well that was NOT going to happen!

As we were cleaning up after dinner and my MIL was getting ready to toss the carcass,{Can you guess where this is headed?} I did the ONE thing I told myself I would NOT do. Reluctantly, I asked her if I could save it for my Momma. I think she thought I was crazy and I KNEW I was crazy for really wanting to save it since it would be several months before they were planning on moving. We bagged it up and my sweet hubby didn't even say a.word. Needless to say, I called my Momma as soon as I could to let her know I had the carcass in my freezer. She was so excited! I think more than being excited about the turkey soup, she knew how much I loved her, because the thought of having animal bones in my freezer was beyond creepy and really quite disgusting to me! I would have starved living on a working farm, without a doubt!

Aside from having to look at the bag-o-bones every time we got into the freezer. It was good to know that my Momma was so happy about it and it was a little {okay, BIG!} reminder that this would be the last time I would have to house a bird in my freezer and a sweet reminder that we would all be together for the next Thanksgiving.

So wheather it floats your boat to save containers {make sure you have the lids!} or carcasses, or to stock up on disposables...be sure to plan for leftovers...your hubby will be happy for the turkey sandwiches, you will be happy with the pie, your children wont need to be rushed in for counseling due to the trauma of spilled food... and your car will thank you, too. I am guessing there is a reason why car fresheners smell like pine, vanilla or strawberries and NOT mashed potatoes and gravy, wassail or turkey carcass!

HAPPY PLANNING!






Shared with: crafty scrappy happy, Organizing Made Fun