Take Control Organizing

Decorating For The Holidays!

The day after Thanksgiving is the time where many people decide it’s time to start decorating for Christmas.  It may even be a tradition for many of you!  Decorating your home can take a lot of time and but it can also be a lot fun!  I love remembering past Christmas’s and there are certain decorations that mean more to me than others, because of the memory they hold.

My kids love to be a part of the process and as soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over, they are asking when can we get the decorations out!  One of our traditions in our home is to let the kids decorate their rooms with the decorations that I don’t really care if they are seen in the main living areas.  I do this because these decorations will be played with and moved around constantly during the season.  So of course nothing that could break or anything of real tremendous value will be seen in their rooms.  But they don’t care, they just love the season!

To keep your decorations organized and your decorating stress free, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Before actually decorating any space, look to see what you have. Many times we will forget if we bought something at the end of the last season.  If you decorate the same way every year, it may be easy for you to start the process, but if you like to change it up, take some time to look at what you have and plan what areas you want to have to certain items.

• If decorations have broken in storage – decide if it’s worth trying to fix, or just throw them away. This is the time to purge these easy decisions, that way when you are packing up your decorations, you will only have what you want.

• Donate old Decorations – Now is the time to get these decorations into Goodwill, while people can still shop for them.   We can easily collect decorations throughout the years, and not every single one of them you are going to love or use.  Don’t feel the need to “have” to decorate with it, if you really do not like the piece.  Donate it to someone who will!

Happy Organizing!

Crowds… Sales…Christmas Music in the background!

All the joys of Christmas Shopping!  Ready or not, Thanksgiving is next week which is the start to the shopping season for many of us!

To be better prepared here are a few tips to keep you organized and on track during this Holiday Season!

1) Master List of Gifts - Write a list of all of the people you need to buy for, behind each name, write a few gift ideas.  This will allow you the visual you need to see what you need to purchase but also a good check off list to use as you go!  If shopping for your own children – set a limit of gifts!  It’s easy to get carried away, be practical and plan!  This will eliminate any impulse buying that may occur!

2) Stick to a Budget - Now that you know who need to buy for, figure out how much money you comfortably can spend on each person.  Christmas should not be about the size or expense of the gift, I am a big believer you should also not go into debt at Christmas time. Be creative and consider home made gifts or gifts of time.  For example, draw up a gift certificate to include 4 free hours of babysitting or 4 hours of yard work, etc.  Think outside of the box!

3)  Consider Drawing Names - To help eliminate economic stress, consider drawing names within your family or friend groups.  If that’s not option instead of buying 4 individual gifts for a family, buy one group gift they all can enjoy like a board game or gift certificate to their favorite restaurant.

4)  Shop Online - There are some great deals if you shop online, many stores will waive the shipping fee with a certain amount purchased.  Do this early, not only do you beat the crowds, but you know for sure the gift will arrive on time.

5) Going to the Mall – Shop during off – peak hours if you can.  It seems like stores are opening earlier every year, consider shopping before you go to work, or early in the morning on a weekend, avoid the afternoon if you can.  Make sure you comfortable too, nothing is worse than going to the mall right after work, still in heels or in uncomfortable clothing!

6) Do Your Research - Go online and comparison shop and look for coupons and deals! Don’t drive around looking for the best price when you can do it at home! There are many great websites which offer great coupons and deals.  Check out-  Retail Me Not, If you google Online Coupons, you will get a whole list of different websites to check out!

Do you have a great idea that wasn’t mentioned?  Let us know.. We would love to hear more tips and tricks!

Happy Organizing!