My Tip for Stress-Free Holiday Cooking and Cleaning–Gain #Giveaway
When you think about the holidays, odds are the food is one of the first things that comes to mind.
From Thanksgiving supper to Christmas cookies, along with all the delicious taste come dirty dishes. Lots of them.
I don’t love cooking, which means when the family splits up the list of responsibilities, I often end up on cleanup duty. That’s no big deal most nights, but when just one holiday dessert can involve eight different bowls for prep, the job can get overwhelming.
So, my tip for keeping holidays stress-free is to stay on top of it! And that’s my suggestion for you, too.
If something can be hand-washed immediately after use, wash it. In fact, why not fill one sink with some water and splash in a couple drops of dishwashing liquid so that you can soak the stuff that gets caked on, like casserole dishes?
If you have a pile of plates and silverware, throw them in the dishwasher and run it through a cycle.
Just don’t let it pile up into a teetering tower of so-much-stuff-you’ll-be-standing-at-the-sink-‘til-New-Years.
And while we’re on the subject, I don’t like to let the laundry pile up, either. Not that there should be a whole lot more of it over the holidays, unless you’re hosting family and friends at your house, but still. Nobody wants to be matching socks and folding underwear when the festivities are in full swing.
Want to win something to make all this extra work over the holidays easier? We have ten fun prize packs: Each pack includes a coupon for $1.00 off any Gain laundry product, a sample of Gain Dishwashing Liquid, and a Gain “Forget Me Not” dryer bar (in case you’re like me and always forget the dryer sheet). The Flirty Fresh scent is formulated to compliment the scent of the Original dish soap. Clean dishes, clean laundry, and clean scents in the air all add up to some good, clean fun for the holidays.
All you have to do to enter to win is leave a comment below with your fun holiday tip to stay stress-free. You have until midnight EST on November 26th. We’ll pick ten winners at random on November 27th.
Good luck!
Meantime, other fabulous bloggers are sharing their Thanksgiving tips, too!
(You can enter for more Gain giveaways on their blogs, as well.)
Participating Bloggers Include:
- Ann of Mundane Magic
- Alicia of The Mommy Insider
- Alicia of Atlanta Moms
- Jai of Black Love Forum
- Karen of In the Kitchen with KP
- Karen of The Giveaway Gals
- Kia of Cinco Mom
- Renee of Cutie Booty Cakes
- Stacie of The Divine Miss Mommy
(Note to readers: I was compensated for sharing this post, although my opinions, as always, remain my own.)
Linda L
November 19, 2012 @ 5:10 pm
In order to stay stress-free during the holidays, I try to get all the xmas shopping done early. The last few years of not having presents until a few days before, was very stressful!
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Mary Heston
November 26, 2012 @ 5:44 pm
Our stress free tip is to not overschedule. We typically only schedule one event a day during the holidays – no doubling up on parties etc – if the boss schedules the holiday party the same night as the band concert then we send the boss a fruit cake and head off to the concert (and we definitely don’t stress about it)
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 6:24 pm
You’re a smart one!
Dana B.
November 26, 2012 @ 5:50 pm
2 tips:
1) I buy lots of silk scarves and ties year round so I always have a gift for a last-minute visitor at our holiday gathering (like a nephew’s new girlfriend) or a teacher I didn’t think about.
2) I reserve 1 weekend after Thanksgiving for making lots of cookies with the kids. We bag up 3/4 of them in 3 bags and freeze. Each week, I can pull out a bag of cookies and defrost to have fresh tasting cookies all month long. The best part is I get a weekend of quality time with my kids before their friends start dragging them away.
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 6:23 pm
Great tips!
L Cavalletta
November 26, 2012 @ 6:12 pm
My stress free holiday tip is to set aside time every evening to reflect on what really matters to you. Something in the moment and not a distant goal. Focusing on the present rather than presents can go a long way at least for a little while 😉 Happy Holidays!
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 6:23 pm
Love it!
Lori Vann
November 26, 2012 @ 6:40 pm
I make a point to try not to overextend myself visiting folks, especially since we live out of town from most of our relatives.
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 7:00 pm
Yeah…there’s a lot to be said for just relaxing during this crazy time of year.
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 7:00 pm
Yeah…there’s a lot to be said for just relaxing during this crazy time of year.
Scotty Reiss
November 26, 2012 @ 6:41 pm
Our stress reducer is to schedule all appointments before Thanksgiving– those last dental checkups, doctors appointments, furnace service, car maintenance, etc.; that way nothing hits at the last minute that absolutely has to be taken care of and (of course!) scuttles holiday plans.
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
So smart…I’ve been running around doing them in the last couple weeks. 🙁
Megy Karydes
November 26, 2012 @ 6:45 pm
I wish I had some great stress-free tips, I am devouring all of them here! In all honesty, I try to shop for friends and family throughout the year whenever I visit fair trade stores because I know those gifts will make a difference and they make great gifts any time of the year! Also, it is less stressful come holiday time because, really, I don’t want to be driving around all over Chicago looking for “that perfect gift”. My idea of a perfect gift is hanging out with my friends and family. Not the stuff.
Desiree
November 26, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
But that’s a great tip Megy! Time with family/friends is the best.
Kellie
November 26, 2012 @ 9:23 pm
Make lists for planning all your holiday parties, meals, and activities. Let the kids help too with it and make it fun!