Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 26. From the date on this article, that is twenty-two days. Count the people who will eat and sleep here. Circle a thaw date. Read the labels on the daily medicines. Name a second cook, in case the first one is sick.
A holiday is a short surge: more plates, more washing, and a fuller refrigerator than on a normal Wednesday.
"Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." — Romans 12:13
Ready.gov's water page says to store at least one gallon of water per person per day for several days, for drinking and sanitation. A normally active person needs about three quarters of a gallon of fluid daily, from water and other beverages. Needs vary with age, health, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate. Children, nursing mothers, and sick people may need more. A medical emergency might require additional water. In very hot temperatures, water needs can double. A November kitchen is rarely that hot.
Count every person who will drink, cook, and wash here, including overnight guests. The gallon is stored water in case the tap stops while the rooms are full. Write the head count down and multiply by one gallon for each of several days. Four people at home and two overnight guests make six: six gallons a day. Buy commercially bottled water and keep it in the sealed container, in a cool, dark place. Jugs filled at the sink follow the replacement steps in the water article.
The supply tracker logs food, water, gear, and other supplies, including prescription medicine measured in months of supply. It compares stored calories and water with the people you entered and the number of days you set. You can add a person if a guest belongs in that longer plan. Its water estimate uses body weight and activity, so count Ready.gov's gallons, which also cover sanitation, on paper. The tracker does not record expiration dates. On the website, a free account can log 10 items. A 7-day trial unlocks the full tracker.
USDA's turkey thawing page, updated October 24, 2023, is the schedule. Frozen, a turkey is safe indefinitely. Once thawing starts, bacteria that were present before freezing can grow again. Take it home and freeze it. Do not leave it on a porch, in a car trunk, or anywhere the temperature is not watched.
A package left thawing on the counter for more than 2 hours is not at a safe temperature. The center can still be frozen while the outside sits in the Danger Zone, between 40 and 140 °F. The safe methods are the refrigerator, cold water, and the microwave.
Refrigerator thawing fits a Thursday you already know. Allow about 24 hours for each 4 to 5 pounds, in a refrigerator at 40 °F or below. Set the bird in a container so juices do not drip on other food. USDA's whole-turkey chart is:
A turkey thawed in the refrigerator can stay there 1 or 2 days before cooking. Count back from November 26. Five days before Thursday is Saturday, November 21. Six days before is Friday, November 20. A 20-to-24-pound bird goes in on one of those two days. Use the row that matches the weight you bought.
Cold water is the faster method: about 30 minutes per pound, in a leak-proof bag, submerged in cold tap water, with the water changed every 30 minutes. Cook it as soon as it is thawed. The cold-water times are:
Microwave thawing follows the oven maker's instructions. Cook that bird immediately too, because some areas can warm and begin to cook during defrosting.
USDA's leftovers page starts with a thermometer. Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165 °F. A raw beef, pork, lamb, or veal roast, steak, or chop is 145 °F, then a rest of at least three minutes before carving. Ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal are 160 °F. The page names two main causes of foodborne illness: food not cooked to a safe temperature, and food left at an unsafe temperature.
Bacteria grow rapidly between 40 °F and 140 °F. Keep hot food at 140 °F or warmer. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking, or of taking food off a warming appliance. Throw away perishable food left at room temperature longer than that, and use 1 hour if the air is above 90 °F. Keep cold food such as sliced meat at 40 °F or below. On a buffet, hold hot food in a chafing dish, slow cooker, or warming tray, and nest cold dishes in ice or replace small trays often.
Cool large amounts in shallow containers. Cut the turkey into smaller pieces and slice the breast. Legs and wings may stay whole. Hot food can go straight into the refrigerator, covered or sealed. Refrigerated leftovers keep 3 to 4 days. Frozen leftovers keep 3 to 4 months. Reheat leftovers to 165 °F, and bring sauces, soups, and gravies to a rolling boil.
CDC's norovirus prevention page is the one to use when a shared kitchen and a sick relative meet. Norovirus is very contagious. It can be present in vomit or feces before someone feels sick, and it can remain in feces for 2 weeks or more after they feel better. They can still spread it then.
Do not prepare food, handle food, or care for others while sick. Wait at least 2 days, 48 hours, after symptoms stop. The person who was going to carve, plate, or pack leftovers hands that job to someone who is well.
Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after the toilet or a diaper change, before eating or handling food, and before giving medicine. Hand sanitizer does not work well against norovirus and does not replace handwashing, though you can use it in addition. Wash fruits and vegetables before they are served.
If someone vomits or has diarrhea, wear gloves, wipe the area, and disinfect it. The bleach mixture on that page is for hard surfaces. Leave it in place for at least 5 minutes. Drinking water uses a different, much smaller dose, described in the water article. Wash your hands again when the cleaning is done.
If someone is getting worse, call a doctor. The medical guide in the app is a reference stored on the device. A clinician decides care.
Prep Roadmap is a fixed checklist. Phase 1, 72-Hour Basics, includes water at one gallon per person per day for three days, and 72 hours of ready-to-eat food per person. Phase 2 includes extended medications: a 30-day supply of prescriptions and over-the-counter essentials.
Read the cabinet this week. Refill a daily medicine that would run out over a long weekend, and check the dates on the bottles. The supply tracker does not mark those dates.
On the website, the roadmap is free. A 7-day trial unlocks the full medical guide and the full supply tracker. The iPhone app currently includes every tool.
Twenty-two days is enough time to circle a thaw date and to decide who cooks if someone is ill.
StorehousePrep includes a step-by-step roadmap, a supply tracker, a medical guide, family drills, a rally map, and PrepAI. On the website, the roadmap, news, Bible, gear list, and offline guides are free. A 7-day trial unlocks the full supply tracker, medical guide, drills, rally map, and PrepAI. The iPhone app currently includes every tool.
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