Enjoy Mess Free Counters This Thanksgiving By Making Your Own Turkey Carving Board

Thanksgiving is just two weeks away and if you are starting to feel the pressure, take a deep breath and read on. We have some tips that could help ease your worries about the big cooking day, even for the biggest stressor of all — the turkey. There are many factors that come into play in the preparation and cooking of the turkey. Choosing a recipe and ensuring you have the tools you need are big factors. And when it comes to carving the 15-pound turkey for all your guests to eat, well, that's a stress inducer all in itself.

If this is your first time hosting Thanksgiving, you may not have all the tools you need no matter how much you prepare. Usually carving a turkey means you need a carving board. You know, those large wooden cutting boards that have a little ridge in them to catch all the juices from the finished bird. They help keep your kitchen clean from whatever juices may come out of your turkey (via Cook's Info). But don't worry, if it's last minute and you don't have a proper carving board, we have just the trick to keep all the juices where they belong — not on your kitchen floor.

Two kitchen staples can make the perfect carving board

You think when it comes to cutting the turkey up, all you would need is a good cutting board. But unless you want to be mopping up bird fluids from your kitchen floor, or better yet have your dog do it for you, then you may want to do this little trick and make your own carving board.

It's quite simple really, and you may just have everything you need in your kitchen already. Just grab a cutting board and a baking sheet with edges. Place the cutting board on the baking sheet and there you have it (via America's Test Kitchen). You now have a homemade carving board for all your turkey juice-containing needs. If you want to take things a step further, to make sure your board and turkey stay in place, add a damp paper towel between the baking sheet and cutting board to keep them from sliding around.

There are many Thanksgiving dinner hacks out there to help you. But, keeping a clean kitchen is the first step in not having a chaotic cooking experience, and this will definitely help with cleanliness not just during cooking but for clean up as well. Happy cooking!