Archive | December, 2009

Feeling sick – Feeling a little out of control!

Posted on December 20, 2009 by in Time Management

I am going on my second day of being sick.. It is only a cold, but it still keeps me from doing what I need to do before the upcoming Christmas Celebration!  What I am feeling is a lack of control!  Something I am not comfortable with… So much to do and no energy to do it!

Being sick really puts a damper on things.  For me-  the world stops!  (I watch reruns of Friends and Everyone Loves Raymond!) Luckily I have a great husband who will pick up the duties of the kids and dinner, granted it was pizza, but I didn’t have to go get it!

Yesterday I made the mistake of taking Nighttime Tylenol medicine in the morning!  Of course I did not realize this until it was time to go to bed and I was looking for the nighttime medicine and found what I had taken earlier!  Ooops…. No wonder I slept so much yesterday!!

OK, so today, I am feeling a bit better and I have my medicines corrected!  Although I still do not have a ton of energy, I was thinking of ways that I could feel better about all of this sickness stuff… So what I decided to do is a write a Master To Do List... Of everything I want to accomplish between now and New Years Day… I love lists! They help me organize my thoughts, my priorities, and I can visually see what has to happen!

If I am realistic in my list and write it all down, I will have more control of this situation!  I may not get it all done, but at least I have a place to check off the things I do accomplish, and feel good about that!  I think just getting it on paper rather than in my head will really clarify my goals and prioritize!

And hey… look I can check off – Write Next Blog Post!  I would say that is a good start!

Happy Organizing!

Thinking Inside the Box!

Posted on December 17, 2009 by in Holiday Organizing, Staying Organized

Just this past weekend, I had the privilege to go on a girls only retreat!  Myself and seven other women left our husbands, kids, and other daily
responsibilities behind us and went to the beach!  It was so good for the soul and exactly what each of us needed during this time of busy schedules and holiday chaos!

When we woke up on Saturday morning we did a gift exchange.  The rules of the exchange was it had to be holiday related.  It didn’t matter what holiday, and the price limit was somewhere around $30.00.

Being the Professional Organizer I am, I quickly jumped from Santa’s and Snowmen to how do you store these Santa’s and Snowmen!  So To Think Inside the Box…. my gift contained one large clear storage container filled with one medium storage container to hold tree ornaments and one small storage container to contain ribbons, bows, etc. and a wrapping paper organizer!  The gift was a hit… We were able to “steal” gifts from each other 3 times and this gift was taken, stolen and taken back from the original owner!

Sometimes instead of the traditional it is a good thing to think outside the box or in this case.. inside the box!

Happy Holidays!  Happy Organizing!

The items I purchased for the gift exchange included:  (You can find these items and other Holiday Storage at the TCO Holiday Center)

 

 


Makeover Your Kitchen for the Holidays!

Posted on December 15, 2009 by in Holiday Organizing, Home Organizing

Hosting a dinner for the holidays?  Or maybe expecting company to stay with you this season.. Does your kitchen need a makeover?  Now is the time to do it!  The kitchen is going to be a very important place during this time!  How much better will you feel if your kitchen is under control and you are not wasting your time trying to find items you know you have but can’t find!  Take Control Now... It will no doubt benefit you on your big hosting night!

Here are a few tips to get your kitchen ready for the Holiday Season…

1.  Clean out your cupboards! You will be surprised how quickly this can be done, and what a difference it makes… Start on one side of the wall and move around the kitchen until every single cupboard has been sorted and organized.  Donate any old dishes, coffee cups, glasses, etc. that you no longer use, and anything broken- get rid of.  As you are sorting through, neatly place back into the cupboard.

2. Go through your drawers! Get rid of any duplicates or gadgets you no longer use.  Keep only your best measuring spoons, vegetable peeler and so on.  Throw out items that are broken or missing pieces.  Donate the gadgets you no longer use or maybe never used in the first place!

3. Clean out your Refrigerator! OK many of you may do this already on a consistent basis, but some may not, and now is the time to do it!  Go through and get rid of any leftovers to old to eat. Check expiration dates on salad dressing and other condiments.  Clean the refrigerator, it’s always amazing to me how much better a refrigerator looks right after you clean it!

4.  Go through your spices! When was the last time you did this?  Well maybe it’s time!  Toss out old herbs and spices.  If they no longer smell and you have had them for some time, replace them.  Keep the jars and buy new spices in bulk, you will save a lot of money.  Any spices you do not use very often, buy in small amounts.

5.  Review my posts on organizing your junk drawer and organizing your pantry!  This is a great time to get these projects done!

6.  Get out the serving dishes, food storage containers, extra pots and pans, anything you may need during the meal you are hosting.  Make sure you have enough of what you need, clean and set aside out of the way somewhere.  Just having them out ahead of time, will save you time the day of the meal.

Having a clean and organized kitchen will make any meal easier to prepare… You will know where your items are when you need them!  I suggest you organize your kitchen as soon as possible!  As the Holidays approach us the more stress comes… Make this a priority!  You won’t regret it!

Happy Organizing!

It’s time to Wrap the Gifts!

Posted on December 8, 2009 by in Holiday Organizing

 

That’s a Wrap!

I have created a few tips to help organize a perfect gift wrap center just for you!  There are several different ideas depending on your preference, time, and space available!  Take an idea and make it your own… If you have any other creative ideas, please share!  There is never just one right way to get a project done!

1.  Set up a station – Maybe this is in a craft room if you are lucky to have one, maybe it’s a desk, or a closet, whatever space  you have available in your home where you can keep all of your supplies in one central place.  This may be a mobile station where you roll it away into a closet and bring it out when it’s time to wrap! There are many fantastic ways to hold your supplies, I have samples in my holiday store.  Pick what works best for you, but the most important thing is to have everything all in one place.

2.  Take inventory of the supplies you have and make sure to buy plenty extra so you do not run out of tape in the middle of wrapping your gifts! Examples of your inventory should include:  Wrapping paper, bags, paper for bags, gift tags, pens, scissors, ribbons, and bows.

3.  If you have a lot of gifts to wrap, you may want to consider setting up a schedule and breaking it down into sessions.  Rather than trying to do it all at once, or waiting until the very last minute.

4.  When you are ready to wrap, make sure you have a flat surface, and plenty of room to spread everything out.  When you are in the middle of wrapping, make sure you lay your scissors down in the same place all the time.  I learned this the hard way… I have spent many minutes just looking for the scissors I just had!

5.  Get your children involved and have them help wrap the presents that are from them.  Create a new tradition.  Put on your favorite Christmas music, make hot chocolate and cookies, and make it fun!

6.  Another idea is getting together with friends, same concept as above, however instead of hot chocolate maybe it’s your favorite glass of wine! :)

7.  One tradition my family has adopted, or I should say my husband and I, is we use a different gift wrap for the presents from Santa.  Not only is it easier for us to know which ones need to be hidden until Christmas morning, but the kids get a kick thinking it is really from Santa!

8.  Have Fun!

Happy Organizing!

Quick Holiday Shopping Tip!

Posted on December 7, 2009 by in Holiday Organizing, Staying Organized

This weekend I spent most of Sunday, shopping with a friend of mine.  We both had our lists ready to go and planned out our adventure as we went along.  It was so much fun, and together we conquered most of the gifts!

One really useful tool I wanted to share was having an envelope in my purse labeled -Christmas Receipts. It was very handy to stick the receipts in the envelope throughout the day.

And then when I got home, I wrote down the gifts that were bought and the amount using the receipts.  It was easy to see where I was within my budget and having everything in one place, took a lot less time than trying to find the receipts in the individual shopping bags, plus there were no receipts which mysteriously disappeared!

Happy Organizing!