Tips for a happy, organized holiday season
- Purchase gifts all year long – store in a gift box or closet with a list of contents
- October – inventory supplies of wrapping items, party ware, cards, etc.
- October: Update Christmas card list. Update addresses, check inventory of cards, letters, stamps, and pictures
- October/November: Book babysitters for December events
- November: Plan and send party invitations. Use holiday cards, postcards or online invites like Evite.com
- November: Address 5-10 cards every week until completed. Keep cards, letters, pen, address list in one bin.
- November: Write holiday letter. Choose a photo for holiday cards or make appointment for photos to be taken.
- November: Inventory holiday clothing. Make hair and salon appointments and purchase any needed clothing.
- Order gifts online or call stores to have gifts pulled from the shelf and held at customer service
- Draw names for gifts. Choose a theme or a price limit for the gifts.
- Purchase a few extra items such as chocolates, holiday plates and cocoa for hostess gifts.
- Rent or buy special occasion tableware, decorations, etc
- Order your holiday stamps online using the USPS website and save another trip. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver them in 3-5 days. Check out www.usps.com.
- Take advantage of shortcuts like store-bought treats! The time you save in the kitchen will give you more time to create your own family traditions.
- Don’t hesitate to say NO to some invitations and obligations. After all, spending time with family is what the holidays are about. There’s no need to attend every event, especially those on your “B” list.
·
- Know the deadline for mailing packages to arrive before Christmas. Take advantage of the mailing and shipping options on the USPS website.
- Have a gift-wrapping party with friends. You have to do the job anyway – you might as well have fun!
- If you have little ones who would be underfoot during decorating, decorate one night after they go to sleep and tell them “Santa and Rudolph decorated our house last night!” Save a few unbreakable items for them to “help” decorating.
- Make and freeze cookies, appetizers and meals for hectic holiday evenings
- Shop after season sales for gift wrap, bows, tissue paper, tags, cards, napkins and decorations
- Keep all holiday decorations together in containers
- Wrap light strings into a ball. Keep all light string “balls” plus replacement bulbs and fuses in one container.
- Keep a running list of items to be replaced during post-season sales such as bulbs, ornaments and hangers
SOME POINTERS ON PURGING
You’ve all read the articles – purging your home of clutter is the first step to getting organized. That ‘s certainly true but how to get started? Here are some tips to help you take those first few steps towards organization!
You don’t need a day.
Can’t get organized because it will take too long? Not true! 15 minutes is enough to get started. In that time you can clean out a junk drawer by tossing out pens that don’t work, trash and scraps of paper and removing items that live in another part of the house and putting them away like tools, hair accessories and office supplies. Or you can go through your medicine chest and toss all expired items, consolidate where possible and write down what needs to be replaced. Set a timer if necessary but the baby steps will get you there!
Do one area (closet, drawer, shelf) at a time.
Concentrating on one small area will keep you focused.
- Take all items out of the area you’re organizing,
- Decide what items will live in that area (linens, towels, bills, books, etc),
- Sort out only the items that will go back in the space,
- Put all other items in the donation bin, garbage, recycling, another room or storage.
- Pick up each remaining item individually and ask yourself – “Do I really need this?” “Do I use it?” “Is it in good condition?” “Does it deserve a spot in my home?”
- If the answer is yes, put that item back in the area.
- If the answer is no, it goes in the donation bin, garbage, recycling, or another room
Your three purging buddies
Before beginning a purging session, round up three friends. They are:
- a bag for trash
- a box for donations
- a box for items that live in another part of the house
Have these three friends with you at all times when organizing. After each session, toss the trash, put the donation box in your vehicle for immediate drop off and empty the box of items that live somewhere else in the house. Be discriminating about this box of items. Do they really need to stay or have they been missing long enough that they could be donated?
Your fourth – somewhat unwelcome – friend
WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS TOOL AS AN EXCUSE FOR MAKING DECISIONS! If the thought of donating Great-Aunt Matilda’s hideous china gives you overwhelming guilt, you can use your fourth friend – the storage container. Put all items like this in a cardboard box. Write “To be donated” on the outside of the box and a date on it that is 6 months or so from now. DO NOT LABEL THE CONTENTS OF THE BOX. Now put the box in your storage area. By the time that date rolls around you will have forgotten what’s in there and your guilt will be gone. Now you can happily move that box to your vehicle and drop it off at the donation center. DO NOT LOOK IN THE BOX! IGNORE ANY RATTLING YOU HEAR!
Common clutter areas to start with:
Magazines = tear out articles to read. Make a “To Read” file for when you’re waiting for the doctor
Paper = sort it all and either toss it, file it, or take action on it
Toys = donate baby toys, swap with friends or rotate them for your children.
Kids’ artwork =Take pictures of kids’ projects and then recycle or mail to grandparents or senior centers
Clothes = only keep what looks great on you today – pregnant people excepted!