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Entries Tagged 'Holiday Organizing' ↓
What do you LOVE about the holidays?
Time Management Tip for the Holidays #3: Think about what you LOVE about the holidays and focus your time, energy and efforts on that, run with it and have fun!
It can be so easy to slip into the trap of trying to be it all and do it all in an effort to create the “perfect” holiday and then running yourself right into the ground to do it! So step back a minute and think about what the holidays really mean to you.
Is it about being charitable?
Is it about sharing gifts with those that you love?
Is it about spending time at your church?
Is it about going all out with your decorations or lights?
Is it about baking, cooking and sharing your delicious delights with family and friends?
Pick what’s truly important and awesome for you at the holidays, focus on that and let some of the other stuff go. If you don’t like to decorate but feel compelled to, then keep decor simple this year. If you don’t like to cook that much, have company over for dessert instead of dinner. Pick and choose instead of trying to do it all.
For more holiday organizing tips, I’d love to have you stay here and stay sane! 
Tags: DIY organization, holiday organizing tips, holidays, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, time management, time managment tips
Today we’ll explore time management tip #2 to enjoy the holidays stress-free.
Time Management Tip for the Holidays #2: Save stress and save time in the kitchen this year.
1) Plan your menu for holiday dinner now and make your grocery shopping list.
2) Ask guests to bring items so you don’t have to cook everything yourself.
3) Take shortcuts. It’s OK to buy your pumpkin pie instead of baking it yourself if you want to this year. It’s OK to decorate pre-made cookies. It’s OK to have a potluck and let everyone pitch in. A potluck will save you both time and money since it means less groceries to buy!
4) Look for store specials and coupons before you shop.
5) Shop as far ahead as you can.
6) Go to the grocery store on off-peak hours if you can so you miss the crowds and the long lines.
7) Use a grocery delivery service and not even have to leave the house!
Plan ahead and keep it simple this year! For more holiday organizing tips when you’re the hostess, please read more here.
I’d love to hear your own time saving tips in the comment section too!
Tags: DIY organization, grocery store, holiday organizing tips, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, hostess
Thanksgiving, then BOOM, before you know it-Christmas! Most of us already have full lives, full schedules and full plates. Add on the holidays and we can have a recipe for being rushed and stressed. So let’s look at two time management tips that you can incorporate this year to help you get through the holidays with less stress.
Holiday Time Management Tip #1: Shop online. This saves you time, saves you stress, saves you mall madness and saves you gas. It may even save you money if you can take advantage of special deals, coupon codes and free shipping. Shop with the click of your mouse and then sit back and wait for the packages to arrive. If you are buying for out of state family members, have it wrapped and shipped directly to them. No trip to the post office-booya!
Keep following for more holiday time management tips each day; may the holiday cheer begin!
Tags: DIY organization, holidays, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, time management, time management tips, tip
Are you feeling a little pressure that Thanksgiving is next week? My how time flies, summer is already way behind us! The holidays can be so many things for so many people. They may be exciting, they may be happy, they may be stressful, they may be dreaded. And this can change from year-to-year simply depending on your life circumstances at the time. An illness or a tight pocketbook can make the difference between a fun holiday and a stressful one. So with that in mind, let’s look at 5 holiday organizing tips to help you get ready for Thanksgiving next week!
Organizing Tip #1: Stop and evaluate where things are at in your life this year. Is it a good year, is it a stressful year, is it an awesome financial year? Take these things into consideration as you make your plans and your shopping list. A tight year could mean hosting a potluck dinner instead of providing the whole spread or maybe going to someone else’s home for dinner and bringing one or two items to share.
Organizing Tip #2: Make your shopping list after you assign food & drink items that you would like guests to bring. Guests like to feel like they are contributing so don’t feel bad, you are actually doing them a favor as a good hostess!
Organizing Tip #3: Check out your grocery store flyers for awesome sales once your shopping list is complete.
Organizing Tip #4: Decide if you are having any activities/games and get supplies now so there’s no last minute rush.
Organizing Tip #5: Cook & set the table as far in advance as you can. This step will make you feel in control, help you relax when your guests arrive and your table will look festive up to the big day!
And don’t forget to enjoy your holiday at whatever level you are up to this year! Happy Thanksgiving!
For more of my holiday organizing tips, please read more here!
Tags: DIY organization, easy ways to get organized, holiday organizing tips, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organizing tips, Thanksgiving
Believe it or not, some people are already doing their holiday shopping and tucking away gifts for December! Some people even shop all year around. This really can actually be an awesome way to get great deals and relieve some stress during the holiday season! But how do you hide and keep these treasures organized so you can find them again? Do you end up finding gifts that you stashed away in after the holidays are over in January? I guess you could give them out for Valentine’s Day gifts instead!
Here are 4 organizing tips to make sure you find your gifts again:
Organizing Tip #1 Have a designated hiding spot to store all of your gifts. It could be bins out in the garage or baskets high at the top of a closet. You’ll always know right where to go. Just don’t give it away or everyone else in your family will too!
Organizing Tip #2: If you are storing gifts unwrapped, tape a note to the gift with the recipient’s name on it so you don’t forget who it’s intended for.
Organizing Tip #3: If you are storing gifts wrapped, be sure to place a name tag on the outside.
Organizing Tip #4: Keep a word document on your computer listing what you have purchased and who the gifts are intended for. This is when an Excel spreadsheet sure comes in handy! OK, possibly overkill.
Whether you hide gifts now or you hide gifts later, these organizing tips will keep you from playing hide & seek when it’s time to put your gifts under the tree!
Happy Holidays! hee hee
Your Home Organization Expert-Monika
Tags: DIY organization, Excel, Holiday Organizing, home, Home Organization, Home Organization Blog, organizing tips
Incoming! Here it comes, more stuff finding a way into your home, your drawers, your shelves & into your cupboards in the way of shiny, new gifts. Gifts are good, gifts are fun; unwrap, enjoy and revel in your new toys and let your children revel in theirs too. Soon the holidays will wrap up and it will be time to take down the Christmas tree and find homes for your new goods. You can think of this as a super opportunity to keep a balance in your home. As you prepare to put things away, you can use the following holiday organizing tips to help you keep the balance:
- Sort your new belongings into categories to make it faster to put them away. Put kitchen items together, place bathroom items together from your stocking such as soaps, bubble baths and lotions. Place clothing for your closet together. You get the picture!
- Now grab a bag for donation items and a garbage bag for items that you are very likely come across that you can let go.
- Now, take a stack of items to put away, such as bathroom goodies, and head to the bathroom.
- Take a good look at what you already have in the drawers and under the sink before you think about putting anything away. This is a great time to get real about the products that you don’t like or have expired. Make sure to keep harmful products & medications out of the waterways with proper disposal.
- Once you have created some space, go ahead and put away your new gifts. It will be much easier to find and use them now that you have removed the excess from the space!
It may take a little bit longer to put things away this way, but when the “old” goes out, it make it much easier to enjoy the “new!”
Tags: balance, bathroom, categories, Christmas, Christmas tree, gifts, Holiday Organizing, holidays, proper disposal, space
Yesterday I had to do one of those home organization tasks that I just DO NOT like to do-put away all of the Christmas decorations and tree ornaments. After a while it all starts to look like clutter to me and I want it put away but for some reason it always seems like such a JOB. It was interesting to realize how many other tasks I found to do instead. But yesterday I couldn’t take it anymore, it was time to get everything put away. The kids are back to school tomorrow after a two week break and I needed to have all that stuff done so I could start the week fresh and concentrate on my work.
So, I looked at the clock and gave myself 1.5 hours to get the job done. I figured if I had an ending time in my head, it wouldn’t feel like the task was going to last forever. So, I had all my labeled bins and tissue paper lined up so I could start packing up the decor. Guess how long packing it up took? Maybe 10 minutes. All that fuss and procrastination and it only took a few minutes!
Now the ornaments did take longer and I did get help because we separate out the kid’s ornaments from the general ornaments. Each child has their own ornament box with a list of their special ornaments and that takes a while to hunt them down and pack them up.
My point is, sometimes we build tasks up in our heads and make them bigger and seem worse then they really are. Once you just jump in and do it, it can be surprising how easy it really is. So, jump in and go after those home organization goals!
Tags: Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas ornaments, goals, Home Organization, kids, ornaments, packing, procrastination, school
Happy Holidays!
May you enjoy a warm and wonderful day!
Monika Kristofferson, Your Professional Organizer
Tags: Merry Christmas
There are just a few days left until that big day and it will be time to open all those fun, new gifts! Then what? You have to put them away by finding homes for all those new treasures. Can you do it, do you have space available? Space in the pantry for the food gift packs, chocolates and goodies? Room in the bathroom for all those new stocking stuffer goodies-the lotions, bubble baths and scrubs? Room in the drawer for the new, warm, fuzzy socks? Room in the closet for the cute, new shirts? What about the garage-new tools anyone?
If the answer is no, then it’s time for a quick declutter session! Don’t stress, just grab a big garbage bag for donation items and a second bag for garbage, then turn on some good, loud music! Choose two areas of your home and spend 15 minutes in each area. Make quick decisions here.
Part with items that:
- You can’t remember when you used it last
- You don’t love or even like anymore
- It’s broken
- Duplicate items
- Clothing that doesn’t fit
- Clothing that doesn’t look good on you
- Clothing with rips, stains, tears
- Anything you just don’t have a use for anymore
Remember you have new items coming in and you want to have easy access to them. You don’t want to have to shove them in with a bunch of stuff you don’t even use or want anymore. Declutter in this way for the next few days and make space for the new treasures!
Tags: Christmas, closet, clothing, declutter, donation, drawer, garage, garbage, garbage bag, music, space, tools, treasures
I hope that you found my 12 Tips of Christmas series helpful and you are motivated to enjoy a more relaxed and organized holiday! Feel free to leave me a comment if you have any questions or need any other ideas!
Happy Holidays to You!
Monika
Tags: Christmas, holiday, Home Organization, organized
