Seriously, who doesn’t love Thanksgiving? You can hang out with your family, consume more carbs than may be considered medically advisable and then relax on the sofa for anywhere from one to five hours. Sounds like a fantastic day.

The thing is, even though you don’t do much more than eat, chat and sit around, Thanksgiving can get pretty expensive. Not only do you have to purchase a feast, but the pressure that half a dozen (or more) houseguests put on your house can add up to more than a few pricey repairs and cleanup efforts.

So, as turkey day approaches, give one of these cost-effective strategies a try and save the extra dough for those Black Friday deals.

Be Kind to Your Pipes

For residential plumbers, Black Friday is the single busiest day of the year (plumbing problems increase by about 50 percent). A typical visit from a plumber costs anywhere from $125-300, so this is definitely something to avoid! How do you manage that? Easy, don’t treat your garbage disposal like a trash can. That means things like turkey bones, poultry skin, potato peels, grease, oil and fat should all wind up in the garbage, not down your sink. If you do wind up with a clog, don’t panic. You can probably fix it yourself.

Buy a Frozen Turkey 

To some this suggestion may be borderline blasphemy, but hear us out. If you opt for a fresh turkey from an expensive grocery store, you might pay as much as $64 for a 16 lb. turkey. On the other side of the spectrum, discounted frozen turkeys of the same size are going for as little as $8 in some places. That’s a pretty big difference. So, if you want to trim some dollars off of Thanksgiving, there’s nothing wrong with going frozen. Just make sure you allow enough time for it to defrost! 

Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies 

Between a massive feast and an influx of houseguests, Thanksgiving can really make a mess of your house. Instead of springing for a bunch of store-bought products to clean up that turkey shrapnel, why not try some homemade supplies this year? With little more than a lemon, vinegar and some baking soda, you can make anything from eco-friendly drain cleaner to a nice fall air freshener.

Information provided by BrightNest.com.

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