Carving Your Christmas…Elephant?! Part 4

BITE 4: BAKING & FOOD PREPARATION…(midriff of elephant)

In your mind review last year’s baking: DID YOU DO TOO MUCH / LITTLE? If you had peanut butter literally sticking around until March, then this year don’t make as much! On the other hand, did you run out of goodies last year? DID YOU GAIN 10 LBS. BECAUSE OF TOO MANY GOODIES?! Ask your family what food items they really enjoy most at Christmas.

Evaluate and make this year’s list from there. FIND A FOOD ‘GIFT’ THAT YOU GIVE EVERY YEAR (i.e. pumpkin bread, peanut brittle, chocolates, turtles, etc.) MAKE MEALS AHEAD – FREEZE FOR BUSY TIMES (Recommended books: Easy Does It Cookbook and Cooking Among Friends.)

Have-to-syndrome – you DON’T HAVE TO! (Buffet / Rent Community Room / take turns hosting / people bring a dish) K-I-S-S METHOD……This works for decorating too…..

BITE 5: DECORATING THE HOUSE & TREE…(trunk full?)

• Time to dejunk the Christmas “stuff” (hand-made by kids)
• Time for a new look?

Main thing to remember: Home and Christmas décor should reflect the personality of your family and create the atmosphere you wish to nurture. (Casual vs. Fancy-fussy-frilly?) NOT A CONTEST W/YOUR NEIGHBORS!

Come back tomorrow to see the next tip on carving your Christmas Elephant…

Some information gleaned from “76 Ways to Get Organized for Christmas: and make it special too” by Bonnie McCullough

Contributed by Organized A to Z partner Judy Warmington. Judy is owner of Woman Time Management in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. She is also partners her business with Treva Berends of The Organizing Specialists, a Professional Organizing business that trains new organizers and then manages them in a referral network. They have trained over 300 new organizers from 25 different states. Judy is a member of NAPO and Faithful Organizers. Learn more about Judy and her services at either http://www.womantimemanagement.com or http://www.theorganizingspecialists.com.

Free Shipping Starts Today!

It’s Black Friday, and the official holiday shopping season is underway. Organized A to Z is now offering free shipping on all orders over $50!  Be sure to browse through our wide selection of organizing products to find the perfect gifts for everyone on your list. Enjoy shopping at www.organizedatoz.com!

Carving Your Christmas…Elephant?! Part 3

BITE 2: CUTTING THE HOUSEWORK IN HALF (Cleaning) this means that you keep up with the basic household routine. Keep up with clutter – PEOPLE DON’T USUALLY NOTICE DUST AND SMUDGES BUT THEY NOTICE CLUTTER.

Start with the large items first and where VISITORS ENTER keeping in mind these mottos:

Motto: An Uncluttered house looks cleaner than clean house.

Motto: Keep up is easier than catch up.

Motto: Don’t put it down – put it away.

Avoid taking on too much at this time of year – in fact, MOST ACTIVITIES COULD BE ELIMINATED IF NECESSARY! Recognize you can’t do everything, but you can do more if you get organized.

Speaking of more……

BITE 3: GIFTS & GIVING…. Again, make a LIST and keep in daily planner. To kick the spending habit and control gift giving: DRAW NAMES / AGREE UPON TOKEN GIFTS (i.e. mission or garage sales) / GIVE TO CHARITY (i.e. Preemie Project, Cure International, etc.) / GO TOGETHER ON GIFTS / DETERMINE LIMITS / WATCH OUT FOR TIME TRAPS (i.e. homemade gifts) / CONSUMABLES (i.e. theatre tickets, movie passes, restaurants, fruit, candy, piano, golf, tennis lessons / OS GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Keep in mind your BUDGET and remind yourself that PEACE / JOY / HAPPINESS don’t necessarily come from having MORE.

This is a heavy subject….let’s move to a lighter one. Lighter? Or, is this what makes us heavy? The spare tire effect!

Come back tomorrow to see the next tip on carving your Christmas Elephant…

Some information gleaned from “76 Ways to Get Organized for Christmas: and make it special too” by Bonnie McCullough

Contributed by Organized A to Z partner Judy Warmington. Judy is owner of Woman Time Management in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. She is also partners her business with Treva Berends of The Organizing Specialists, a Professional Organizing business that trains new organizers and then manages them in a referral network. They have trained over 300 new organizers from 25 different states. Judy is a member of NAPO and Faithful Organizers. Learn more about Judy and her services at either http://www.womantimemanagement.com or http://www.theorganizingspecialists.com.

Carving Your Christmas…Elephant?! Part 2

BITE 1: GETTING ORGANIZED….(Use your HEAD!) Grab a pen or pencil and write down all your NEEDS / WANTS to be ready for Dec. 25. Write in a special section in your planner or holiday notebook. This planning should begin in OCT….BAKING / DECORATING / GIFT GIVING / and the MYRIAD of little things to be taken care of. WRITE IT DOWN – Confucius say, “Short pencil better than long memory!”

Christmas is a “mass” to Christ so we must remember:

The small details make all the difference between CHRIST-MASS and CHRIST-MESS!

Once you have this list organized it won’t vary much from year to year, nor will the deadlines. You’ll learn a lot about REALISTIC DEADLINES the first year you do this. You might include things like: SHOP FOR GIFTS TO BE MAILED / SHOP FOR GIFTS FOR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS / SHOP FOR GIFTS FOR FAMILY / MAKE OR BUY CRAFT ITEMS / COMPOSE & DUPLICATE FAMILY NEWSLETTER / TAKE FAMILY PHOTO / BUY CHRISTMAS CARDS? / MAIL CARDS / WRAP GIFTS (gift bags are great!) / GET THE TREE / DECORATE THE TREE/ PUT UP OUTDOOR LIGHTS AND DECORATIONS … BAKING…AND SO ON….

As things progress be sure to REASSESS often. The main thing to check is ATTITUDE. Make sure it stays positive in spite of normal tension and interruptions. If you’re feeling too pressured, EVALUATE your plans and look for possible things to: CANCEL / COMBINE / OR CAST OFF (Delegate or don’t do.) Ask yourself often: WHAT IS THE WORST THING THAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DON’T DO THIS? Not much? = CANCEL!

Remember, Christmas is about PEOPLE … and you have to decide WHO the most important ones in your life are. They’re the ones you want to spend time on and with. The most important person is JESUS CHRIST! Ask: Where is He in all your activities? Don’t cut Christ out of Christmas. Speaking of cutting…..

Come back tomorrow to see the next tip on carving your Christmas Elephant…

Some information gleaned from “76 Ways to Get Organized for Christmas: and make it special too” by Bonnie McCullough

Contributed by Organized A to Z partner Judy Warmington. Judy is owner of Woman Time Management in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. She also partners her business with Treva Berends of The Organizing Specialists, a Professional Organizing business that trains new organizers and then manages them in a referral network. They have trained over 300 new organizers from 25 different states. Judy is a member of NAPO and Faithful Organizers. Learn more about Judy and her services at either http://www.womantimemanagement.com or http://www.theorganizingspecialists.com.

Carving Your Christmas…Elephant?!

“Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was sleeping not even a mouse; the stockings weren’t hung yet, the tree was still bare we assembled and wrapped and then pulled out our hair. The children were noisy and jumping on the bed and the thought of gift giving caused nothing but dread. We had nothing for grandma; we’d forgotten the poor dear so we vowed to plan ahead for gift giving next year.”

 

Well….it’s next year! If your Christmas memories include sleepless night wrapping presents and rushing to 24 hour stores for last minute gifts, I’m here with some ideas to help. No, I can’t add more hours to your day, but I can tell you how to plan ahead and, hopefully, breeze through the weeks before Christmas.

This is the time of year we seem to need time management more than ever but, we need to begin well before Nov. or Dec. Oops!

Using concepts from the basic info from Woman Time Management I believe you can find help to get and stay organized for all holidays. Sometimes we feel like we live in a Pressure Cooker – and this is one of the most “pressured” times of the year! Oh, there are always a few who claim there’s nothing to getting ready for Christmas – just put up a tree and get a turkey! (Men?)

Much of the pleasure of a Merry Christmas & happy unharried holidays are based on using good organizational techniques and time management principles. I hope to help you create more TIME with your family and the projects you CHOOSE to undertake by making optimal use of your available time to prepare for the holidays with minimal STESS.

First – put away the old Christ- mess… being DEPRESSED, FRANTIC / UNDER PRESSURE / AND OVER BUDGET! The goal is to have a Christmas in which you enjoy the ultimate spirit of GOODWILL, where there is PEACE, a RELAXED ATMOSPHERE, and where you can enjoy FRIENDSHIPS AND KINSHIPS….without being left with a MOUNTAIN OF UNPAID BILLS and a PILE OF UNFINISHED PROJECTS.

You really CAN organize Christmas and make it the special time of year it was meant to be! Obviously, most of us don’t have the luxury of devoting all of our spare time during Nov. and Dec. to holiday activities. All the things you WANT to do can bring PRESSURE if you don’t bring your WANTS & NEEDS into a manageable schedule. But…..Let’s all admit it – CHRISTMAS ISN’T SPRUNG ON US AT THE LAST MINUTE! It’s always the same date. There are always 365 days between Christmases and yet we still find ourselves saying, “I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS TIME AGAIN!

You may as well face it – when HALLOWEEN is over, there are only 7 WEEKS left and the RACE IS ON! And then, you can’t really count the week of THANKSGIVING or the week of CHRISTMAS…so we’re left with 5 WEEKS to “Get our Holiday Act Together!” HO! HO! HO!

There’s a saying in time management that applies well to this time of year: HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT….? Before we begin to CARVE this little fella – you first need to decide your GOALS or PURPOSE in celebrating Christmas: IS IT TO DRAW THE FAMILY TOGETHER? / TO IMPRESS OTHERS? / TO HAVE FUN? / TO INCREASE YOUR SPIRITUALITY? / OR PERHAPS, JUST TO SURVIVE THE SEASON?!

LET’S GET STARTED CARVING….

Come back tomorrow to see the first tip on carving your Christmas Elephant…

Some information gleaned from “76 Ways to Get Organized for Christmas:  and make it special too” by Bonnie McCullough

Contributed by Organized A to Z partner Judy Warmington. Judy is owner of Woman Time Management in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. She also partners her business with Treva Berends of The Organizing Specialists, a Professional Organizing business that trains new organizers and then manages them in a referral network. They have trained over 300 new organizers from 25 different states. Judy is a member of NAPO and Faithful Organizers. Learn more about Judy and her services at either http://www.womantimemanagement.com or http://www.theorganizingspecialists.com.

Some information gleaned from “76 Ways to Get Organized for Christmas:  and make it special too” by Bonnie McCullough

Announcing Free Shipping on Orders Over $50!

Organized  A to Z knows we’re well into the planning season for the holidays. Thanksgiving is just a week away, and Christmas follows soon after. To help you organize and plan for an enjoyable time with your family and friends, we’d like to extend a “free shipping” offer.

It’s Our Gift To You!

Beginning Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), we are offering free Shipping on all orders over $50! This special will last through December 24, so now is the perfect time to shop for everybody on your Christmas list. Need gift ideas? Click here!

Organizing Guests, Work, and the Holidays

It becomes daunting knowing you have guests coming, you have to work a few days during their visit, and you are still getting ready for the holidays. How do you entertain, work and get all the shopping, baking and decorating done?

To save yourself the stress, start a few items early. If you are traveling somewhere for Thanksgiving think about taking your Christmas cards with you. Even if you only have time to address them, it is one less item you have to do later. Before Thanksgiving is the best time to have your children go through all their toys be and get rid of broken toys, donate or sell those toys they feel they are too old for. Encourage them to really think about donating at this time of the year. Teaching them early to go through their toys once or twice a year keeps them organized and eliminates the clutter from your home.

If you bake cookies, bake those you can freeze first. This allows you to keep them fresh, but do many in advance. Wrap presents as you purchase them rather than waiting until the day before Christmas to do all the wrapping.

Decorating can also be broken down into steps. Try decorating outside first, and the inside your home. For outside steps put the lights up first, then add the wreaths, bows, and other accessories. Make sure you test all lights prior to putting them up outside and inside.

Break the inside down into floors, decorations and fresh greenery. Even the tree can be done in steps such as lights and ornaments. Start now to make those plans and have a stress free holiday season.

Shopping can be broken down and make sure you take a list as this is easier than looking in hundreds of stores or trying to remember what they would like. Sometimes the older the children are the best gift is a gift card. Not as personal, but you really cannot pick out clothing or music, so save yourself some stress.

When you have your family coming to town while you still have a few days to work, what do you do? If they have transportation available, look up events going on in your area that might interest them. Most cities have an internet site that will give you a calendar of events for all ages. If tickets are needed, ask them early so the tickets are obtained before they arrive. Ask them to do some last minute errands. Think of relief you will feel when those small errands are completed. If they are at your mercy for transportation, ask them to help bake or cook. Most guests love to help because it makes them feel useful and not as a burden. Offer to pay older children to wrap gifts. Have a card table set up near a television or music and give them all the needed supplies. Have a sticky note on each gift designating the receiver and giver. Buy a smaller tree for the younger children and have them decorate it for some entertainment. During the evening and the times you are off work, involve them in your errands or baking. Make sure to thank them and plan on an evening out for dinner.

Contributed by Organized A to Z partner Julie Riber. Julie is a Golden Circle member of NAPO and a certified Senior Move Manager. Julie helps individuals to organize their space, time and life. She helps businesses to increase productivity, streamline processes and organize their spaces. You can visit her Web site at http://www.transformare.net. [category
holiday/specialevents][end]

Simplicity At Christmas

Contributed by Organized A to Z partner Robin Willis of Creating Simplicity, LLC. You can visit her Web site at http://www.creating-simplicity.com.

Does the idea of holiday shopping place you in “panic” mode each November? Why not try one or more of the ideas below to simplify your holiday this year? Remember, the Christmas season is a time for warmth, fellowship, shared experiences and hospitality. Don’t give into stress. Instead, savor each moment with friends and family. After all, five years from now, no one will remember what present you gave them but they will remember baking cookies and singing around the fire.

· Draw names with close friends and family. Make or buy a gift for the one name you draw.

· Trim a few names from your gift list by talking with people you think might welcome an invitation not to exchange gifts.

· Buy one family gift per household instead of a gift for each separate individual. Make the gift something that will foster family time such as a puzzle.

· Discontinue buying gifts for adults and give to the young children only.

· Give simple homemade gifts or gifts of service such as, “I’ll watch your kids for one night while you go on a date with you husband.”

· Give inexpensive gifts and let your presentation turn them into elegant ones. For example, homemade cookies in an open weave basket threaded with a red ribbon.

· Make your gift a tradition and give the same thing every year. For example, a yearly renewal of a favorite magazine.

· Shop by catalog or internet. You really can do all your shopping in a matter of hours in the comfort of your own home.

· Give the gift of time – coupon for a monthly backrub, a trip to the zoo or a house cleaning.

· Think unique. For example, make a batch of bran muffins. Give the recipe and six fresh muffins baked in a tin. “Wrap” the package with clear cellophane and top it off with a pretty bow.

· Cover a shoe box with wrapping paper to use as a gift box. Fill with stationery items such as paper clips, marking pens, memo pads, note cards and stamps. Any mom or grandparent would love that.

· Give a dated ornament that reflects someone’s special interests or personality.

· Give a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant.

· Roll up a dollar bill and insert it into a balloon. Mail it along with your Christmas cards to a family with small children. Include instructions to blow it up and then pop it.

· Invite someone who is alone to celebrate decorating the tree or a meal. Send them home with the leftovers.

Today’s Birthday Special – Vision Holiday Ornament Organizer

It’s Christmas in July! To celebrate our July birthday, today we are featuring Whitney Design’s Vision Holiday Ornament Organizer in  red and green and blue snowflake.  Organize all of your Christmas tree ornaments and other small decorations with these festive storage chests. The best part is the window that let’s you see what’s inside without having to dig!

Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!

Today’s Birthday Special – Vision China Storage!

Today we are featuring a new product at Organized A to Z – Vision China Storage. I chose these items because of the ingenious design and dependable quality! The handy built-in windows allow you to see inside without opening up the case. You can be sure your treasured china will be protected and preserved in these wonderful chests!

Available sizes include:

• Saucer Chest
• Dessert Plate / Bowl Chest
• Salad Plate / Bowl Chest
• Dinner Plate Chest
• Tea Cups Chest

Organized A to Z is celebrating our birthday in July, but we’re giving you the presents! Each day, we are offering our favorite products at 25% off. The discount is good today only, so get it now!