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Entries Tagged 'Holiday Organizing' ↓
Home Organization Christmas Tip #11
Storing Holiday Decor
You did all that work to get all the Christmas decor out and make your home pretty and festive. Now it’s time to pack it all back up again, wow-that time went by fast! Remember, this is your second opportunity to get make decisions about whether or not there is any decor that you are ready to part with. The first opportunity was when you got everything out to decorate. Just because you’ve owned something for years doesn’t mean you have to keep it. Maybe it doesn’t fit in anymore, maybe you just don’t like it anymore. That’s ok, our tastes change. Either donate it or pass it on to someone else who will enjoy it for next year.
But you do need to store what you are keeping properly:
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Purchase sturdy plastic bins with lids that fit well to keep out dust and rodents.
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Consider how much you want to be able to see into bins according to your taste and comfort level. Either purchase clear bins that you can see into or solid bins so you don’t see items inside.
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Place items of the same type together: stockings with stockings, serving dishes with serving dishes, ornaments with ornaments. etc.
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Always place a clear label on the outside of the bin so you know what you are storing inside. It makes it easier to get your hands on what you need quickly. When it’s time to put everything away, you just have to lay out the bins and load them up by the labels.
Protect all those special holiday items throughout the year this way while keeping them organized to boot!
Tags: Christmas tip, holiday decor, Home Organization, label, organized, ornaments, serving dishes, storing
Home Organization Christmas Tip #10
Creating a Gift Opening Basket
How many times have you had to jump up to run to get something to help open a present right in the middle of gift opening? “Hold on, hold on, I’ll go get some scissors.” Well this year you can avoid that by creating a little gift opening kit or basket a day or two before gift opening day and be prepared!
Here are some items that will be handy to have ready:
- Scissors
- Screwdrivers to open battery compartments
- Batteries in the correct sizes for any gifts that require batteries
- Notepad and paper if you need to write down who gifts were from for thank you cards
- Plastic bags for wrapping paper garbage
- Bag or bin to hold ribbons and bows that you would like to keep to use again
Enjoy your gift opening this year in a more organized and relaxed way this year, no running around!
Tags: basket, batteries, bows, Christmas tip, gift, Home Organization, ribbons, thank you cards, toys, wrapping paper
Home Organization Christmas Tip #9
Charitable Gift Giving
What better time of year to think about charitable gift giving! So often we end up with gifts that we really don’t need, we don’t use and we already have so much stuff! Then that stuff just sits around and it turns into clutter. And I know what clutter does, it stresses people out!
So check out this awesome program through TisBest! You can gift the gift of charitable giving to anyone and everyone on your list-sky’s the limit! You can purchase a gift card from this site for your the important people in your life. The recipient then “spends” their TisBest Charity Gift Card by selecting a charity they believe in and donating it. TisBest has 250 national nonprofit organizations and many more local organizations to choose from.
TisBest has a wide range of categories to choose from. A sample of just a few choices:
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Animals
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Children
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Education
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Homelessness
Surely everyone can find something that is dear to their heart and make a big difference. And of course you don’t have to do this just at the holidays! Any special occasion will do:
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Anniversaries
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Birthdays
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Staff Appreciation
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Client Appreciation
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Or just because you want to make the world a better place!
So try Christmas Tip #9 this year and help your loved ones stay clutter-free, organized and feeling good about helping others!
Tags: charitable gift giving, charity, Christmas tip, clutter, donating, gifts, Home Organization, TisBest
Home Organization Christmas Tip #8
Clutter-Free Gift Giving
There was a time in our family when we drew names for Christmas gift giving between the adults. We had a spending limit of $75-$100 and here’s what would happen: We would all draw names and then ask each other for a wish list. And then we basically went down the person’s list and bought enough stuff to get to the spending limit. Wow-really personal huh? Seriously, I can make my own list and buy my own stuff. So, we eventually dropped that and just started buying each other stocking stuffers-all surprises.
How often is it that we buy people ‘things’ just because it’s Christmas or their birthday? We don’t even know what to buy because they already have everything! Then that just ends up as clutter because people feel guilty giving away something that someone gave to them as a gift.
So this year, really consider what activities the special people in your life like and give them the gift of fun. Here are some examples:
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Pampering gift certificates like massages, pedicures and spa certificates are a hit!
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Tickets to the theatre, even put in a note that you will go together!
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A basket full of items they love: coffee lover’s basket with coffee gift card to a coffee shop, a bath basket full of tub goodies.
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Certificate to babysit their kids so they can go out along with a movie or restaurant gift card.
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Grandparents can offer to pay for swim lessons, piano lessons, soccer, any activities the grandkids are involved in.
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Membership to the zoo for one year.
The options are as varied as the people in your life; make it easy for your loved ones to stay organized by not adding to their clutter!
Tags: activities, Christmas tip, clutter, clutter-free, family, gift card, gift giving, gifts, grandkids, Home Organization, kids, organized, stocking stuffers
Home Organization Christmas Tip #7
Gathering Gift Wrap
A big part of Christmas to-do’s is all of the gift wrapping for all those gifts you went shopping for! How can you organize your gift wrapping duties to make it as quick & easy as possible? Well, I have a few tips as well as some organizing products to share to help you this year.
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Whenever possible, create a gift wrapping station or designated area so you don’t have to keep dragging out all your supplies every time you bring another gift home.
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If you can’t dedicate space for a full wrapping station, place supplies in a basket or even a shoebox that is portable so you can bring it over to the table or floor for wrapping. Add scissors, tape, name tags, ribbon and bows.
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Have gifts wrapped at the mall, online or by a neighborhood teen-could be well-worth the money!
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Store gift wrap supplies in convenient organizing products made just for gift wrap. See photos below. You can even purchase two, one for everyday wrapping and a separate one just for storing holiday wrap.
Check out these affordabe products for wrapping storage:
Make gift wrapping easier and more organized by following these easy tips!
Tags: bows, Christmas tip, gift, gift wrap, gift wrap supplies, Home Organization, Jokari Gift Bag Organizer, Organizing Product Reviews, ribbon, tape
Home Organization Christmas Tip #6
Errands & Shopping Solutions
Everything that needs to get done during the holiday season can quickly become overwhelming. So many to-do’s, so many places to be! How to get it all done on time? Whenever I start to have so many things that I need to do floating around in my head, I know it’s time to make a list. There is something very comforting about having it donewn on paper and out of my head, I know I’m not going to forget to do something if it’s down on paper. We are all so busy, even throughout the rest of the year, there is no reason you should have to rely on your memory for everything. We’ve got enough in our heads already!
Here are some ways that you can get organized and stay on top of your to-do list:
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Buy yourself a bright colored folder and make that your Christmas folder for your lists and recipes so they aren’t floating around in piles. No digging!
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Make several lists: Menu, grocery, gifts you need to buy, errands you need to run. Keep them in the folder ready to grab when you are heading out the door.
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Shop during the week if at all possible to avoid the really long lines and full parking lots.
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Online shopping anyone? Enjoy sitting in the comfort of your own home any time of the day or night, click, pay,ship,done! Take advantage of free shipping wherever you can.
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Cut back on how many gifts you are going to buy and how many people you are going to buy for.
Stay organized this holiday season and make your errands and shopping trips less stressful!
Tags: Christmas, Christmas tip, errands, free shipping, gifts, holiday season, Home Organization, lists, online, online shopping, organized, shopping
Home Organization Christmas Tip #5
Easy Entertaining
What will holiday parties and entertaining be all about for you this year? Will it be about going all out and working for hours in the kitchen? Well, if you love to cook that may be ideal for you. If you are like me, then not so much. Are you working hard in the kitchen because cooking is your passion or is it because you feel some sense of obligation to create the “perfect” party? It’s up to you to decide if you are going to work so hard or if this is the year to take a few shortcuts. I’m all about the shortcuts!
To organize holiday gatherings and keep it simple, try these ideas:
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Guests love to feel like they are helping-let them. When they ask if they can bring something, the answer is always yes! You’ll get to try new dishes this way and have a lot less to prepare.
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Prepare food and decor as much as you can ahead of time. That way you won’t feel as rushed or as much pressure the day of your event. I even set the table the night before.
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Buy store bought items and add something yummy to them to make them a little bit homemade. Dip cookies into chocolate, add your own raspberry sauce to a purchased cheesecake, have kids bake a boxed dessert. It all still tastes good!
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Just have company over for dessert and coffee instead of sharing a full dinner. Everyone is busy at this time of year, so they may appreciate the shorter visit as well.
It’s really all about enjoying the company of the people that you have cared enough about to invite into your home. The event doesn’t have to be perfect, adjust your focus on quality time instead. Organize easy holiday visits this year with tip #5!
Tags: Christmas tip, company, entertaining, guests, holiday gatherings, holiday parties, home, Home Organization, kitchen, organize, parties, visit
Home Organization Christmas Tip #4
Simple Decorating
Decorating for the holidays, both inside and out, is a huge part of feeling in the holiday spirit. It can also be a very big time committment depending on how “all out” you go each season. How important are the decorations to you? When you looked at your goals for the holiday season, was decorating at the top of the list?
Personally, I like to put some decorations out, but I really don’t like to see it for very long. The decor I have isn’t fancy, it’s all the little cutsie ceramic Santas and reindeer, nothing matches. And I’m fine with that and my kids have seen these items year after year, but if it’s out too long it starts to feel like clutter to me. And you can only guess how I feel about clutter!
So, if going BIG on decor at the holidays is your ‘thing’ than great-you go for it! But don’t feel pressure to do so if it’s not your thing. You can still get a holiday feel in your home by going smaller scale with items like:
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Poinsettias throughout the house
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Candles in holiday colors on tables
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Candy dishes with holiday candies
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Wreath on the front door
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A holiday tablecloth on the dining table
Just little splashes of red and green from these items will help create a holiday feel without having to do too much work. And remember, when you get out your decor it’s a great time to decide what you still want to keep and what you want to pass on. You have one more opportunity before you put it away again after Christmas. You don’t have to keep anything you don’t like anymore-even if someone gave it to you. One more way to be organized at the holidays!
Tags: Christmas tip, decorations, holiday decor, holiday spirit, Home Organization, organized
Home Organization Christmas Tip # 3
Completing Holiday Letters
Holiday letters can be a lot of fun to receive. So often we are really busy and we lose track of what is going in the lives of people who are important to us. These holiday letters can help us get a look into what was happening with their families throughout the year and get us caught up. We can do the same for others by sending out our own updates & photos. Here are a few ideas to help make that happen:
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Create a Word document on your computer listing every month of the year. Each month go in and jot down a few notes of highlights from the month. That way when it is time to sit down and write your letter, you don’t have to rack your brain trying to remember what you did all year. The highlights are right in front of you.
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Don’t make holiday letters too long. People want to check in but they don’t want to read a book, the front of one page will do.
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Make sure your news is relevant, upbeat and informative. Don’t get caught up going on and on with too many details or negative news.
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If you don’t want to write a whole letter, just have photo postcards made or create a postcard on your computer with a brief message or update from your family.
Let people know you are thinking of them and keep them up-to-date with your family happenings in a simple and organized way!
Tags: Christmas tip, computer, families, highlights, holiday letters, Home Organization, organized, postcards
Home Organization Christmas Tip # 2
Preparing Holiday Cards
Have you noticed (how could you not?) that Christmas decor starts coming out in some stores by September? I personally think that is waaay too early and it even kind of bugs me for some reason. BUT, it often means that Christmas cards are also for sale and you really can put that to your best advantage. You can purchase Christmas cards ahead of the actual holiday season and choose a time to start working on them. Breaking down any task into smaller tasks makes things much more manageable. Here are some tips to help you with Christmas cards:
- Create a document on your computer to keep track of the names of everyone you want to send a card to. Each year you can just go in and add and delete names as needed. I print off a copy to keep next to me as I address and write in cards so I can check them off as I go.
- Create a document for your Christmas card mailing labels. Years ago I worried that labels may be too impersonal, but then I noticed more and more people were using them. I then realized I would rather have someone print a label and actually get a card, then have people give up on sending cards because of the work of handwriting addresses. Again, you can add, delete and make corrections when someone has a new address throughout the year.
- Make cards as simple or as creative as you have time and energy for. A store bought card-great! A handcrafted card-great! Whatever you want as long as it doesn’t cause stress and pressure.
- Choose a date that you would like to have all your cards done by and do the math to figure out how many you need to do each day to get them out on time.
Setting up documents in the computer will take you time, but it’s a great investment to make future holiday seasons less stressful and more organized!
Tags: cards, Christmas, computer, documents, energy, handcrafted, holiday cards, Home Organization, sale, time
