How Self Storage Helps Make Room for Guests in the Fall

The autumn season brings with it a noticeable chill in the air, the satisfying crunch of fallen leaves underfoot, and the opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones during the upcoming holidays. If you’re hosting Thanksgiving this November, there’s no need to worry about limited space or a cluttered home—you’’ have plenty of time to address these concerns with the right resources.

Get ready for Thanksgiving with helpful advice from Advantage Storage! Learn how to declutter your home while getting ready for Thanksgiving, explore the advantages of using self storage in the fall, and find helpful Thanksgiving Day tips for creating a memorable holiday with your friends and family.

Thanksgiving Prep: How To Prepare for Guests

If you’re taking on the role of hosting this Thanksgiving, it’s natural to feel a bit overwhelmed with all the planning, cooking, and cleaning involved. Whether you’re expecting overnight guests or simply hosting the gathering, ensuring your home is tidy and welcoming is vital for a successful and enjoyable event.

Start by cleaning up rooms that aren’t used very often, like guest rooms, bonus rooms, or the basement. Dust and vacuum surfaces as needed, wiping down the mirrors, windows, doors, and counters. If your entryway doesn’t have room for shoes or coats, move them to your bedroom or another closet. This will make it easier for guests to remove their outerwear without holding onto it throughout the evening or cluttering the entryway.

How To Declutter Your Home When Preparing for Thanksgiving

When you’re about to declutter for Thanksgiving preparation, start by moving your summer gear, clothes, equipment, and decorations out of your space. You have to set the Thanksgiving scene, so box up these items to make room for fall decorations. You can also temporarily move extra furniture out of the way to create enough space for additional folding chairs.

Now that you have moved these extra furniture pieces and boxes of summer belongings in front of you, consider temporarily relocating these items to a self storage unit. Self storage units offer a secure space with abundant amenities, like tenant insurance, convenient month-to-month lease terms, and climate control.

With affordable monthly leases, you can pay for your unit as long or as short as you need. This makes a self storage unit an ideal choice for those searching for a long-term space to stow away items like seasonal clothing.

A father carves a Thanksgiving turkey as his family watches. — Close up of African American man carving turkey meat during family meal on Thanksgiving at home.

Thanksgiving Host Checklist and Turkey Day Tips

Preparations To Make One Month Before Thanksgiving

Plan the Turkey Day menu. Gather family recipes and seasonal favorites to create the perfect Thanksgiving menu for you and your guests.
Check cooking equipment. For the biggest meal of the year, you’ll want plenty of platters, thermometers, tin foil, cutting boards, proper serving tools, a basting brush, roasting pans, and other essential Thanksgiving tools.
Send out the invitations. Whether this is a physical invitation in the mail or a simple and sweet text message, invite and delegate dishes to your guests.
Begin preparing freezer-friendly dishes. Turkey stock, pie crusts, cranberry sauces, and even turkey gravy freeze and hold onto their flavor well, allowing you to make these dishes early and save them for the big day!
Plan for leftovers. There are always leftovers on Thanksgiving, so stock up on reusable and inexpensive BPA-free containers that stack nicely in the fridge or compostable plates with plenty of tin foil for cover.

One to Two Weeks Before the Countdown to Turkey Time

Finalize and confirm guests. Confirming the house guests is incredibly important to ensure there’s enough seating, food options, and rooms to sleep in if anyone stays longer.
Make a food shopping list. List all the ingredients and ingredient quantities you need for each dish. Buy and freeze your turkey at this time.
Organize a cooking schedule. A Turkey Day cooking schedule can be a game-changer! By researching each dish’s cooking times and temperatures, coordinate and prepare multiple dishes simultaneously, saving time and allowing for dishes to be hot, ready, and served together.
Contemplate your seating options. This is a great time to prepare a set seating chart if you want one. You’ll also want to make sure there’s plenty of seating before and after mealtimes.
Begin primary home decluttering before guests arrive. Pick up any items around the house that are not in their usual place, vacuum or sweep the floors, and clear off, dust, and wipe down surfaces so they sparkle.

Four to Five Days Until the Big Turkey Day

Deep clean the kitchen. Remove expired food from the fridge, wipe down and sanitize the countertops, and give the oven door and stove top a good scrub.
Acquire the ingredients. Purchase fresh produce, ingredients, and other necessary items from the grocery store.
Make freezer-friendly desserts. Sweet treats like layered pumpkin cheesecake, Grandma’s classic apple pie, spiced carrot cake with brown butter frosting, sweet potato pie, pecan pie bars, and more can all be prepared ahead of time and frozen.
Thaw the turkey. The safest way to thaw your turkey is in the fridge, planning for 24 hours per every four to five pounds of turkey. If you have a 16-pound turkey, it’ll take four days to thaw; a 12-pound turkey takes about three days, and so on. You can also thaw the turkey in the microwave or by submerging it in cold water, but these methods mean the turkey must be cooked immediately after thawing.

The Weekend Before Thanksgiving

Tidying and prepping guest rooms. Vacuum the floors, dust off surfaces, and remove unnecessary furniture pieces and items to make extra room for your guests. Change the linens, set out extra towels and small toiletries, and decorate the bed with seasonal throw pillows and plush blankets.
Clean bathrooms and common areas. Before your house guests arrive, clean the bathrooms, living room, and entryway so there is plenty of room for everyone to move about.
Start preparing side dishes. If you’re making any freezer-friendly side dishes, go ahead and make your cheesy broccoli and rice casserole, rolls, twice-baked potatoes, stuffing, and green bean casserole. Otherwise, begin preparing your recipes for the big day of cooking.

Two people toasting their wine glasses before a Thanksgiving dinner spread — Close up of two people toasting with wine glasses at festive dinner table celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family, copy space

Thanksgiving Day

Take the turkey out of the fridge. Now is the time to stick to your cooking schedule so you have ample time to prepare the turkey while still leaving enough remaining time to cook your other dishes without feeling rushed.
Set the table. Guests should have plenty of silverware, plates, cups, and napkins—you don’t want them to eat pie with their fingers!
Serve dinner buffet-style. Arrange the dishes in a buffet-style layout, allowing guests to serve themselves and choose from various options before proceeding to the next dish.
Activities to entertain. Before and after eating, guests will want something to occupy their time. Planning activities is an excellent idea to keep guests entertained, whether it’s a football game watch party, board games of Monopoly or Clue, Thanksgiving coloring pages for the kids, or a game of cards in the dining room.

The Benefits of Self Storage in the Fall From Advantage Storage

As the holiday season approaches, self storage becomes an essential resource for families and individuals aiming to declutter their homes or apartments. With festivities right around the corner, having adequate storage space for seasonal decorations is crucial to creating a warm and welcoming environment for guests. Advantage Storage offers a variety of storage units perfect for accommodating excess decorations, extra furniture, out-of-season clothing, and more.
Discover the closest Advantage Storage facility near you, or fill out an online contact form to learn more about us. For helpful details about the storage process, visit our storage blog and comprehensive FAQ page!