CLUTTER CULPRIT
HOLIDAY HASSLES
Decorating, Holiday Treats,
Wrapping Gifts
Help!
It's December. The days are getting shorter, the TO DO lists are getting longer. Can we do something about it? Sure can! We just need a plan.
The first part of the plan is SCHEDULE IT.
Is this the week for baking? Check your calendar:
- On Thursday, plan on buying all the baking ingredients on your way home from work.
- On Friday, mix up a few bowls of cookie batter that can be refrigerated overnight.
- On Saturday and Sunday, bake up a storm while you listen to the afternoon opera or watch a movie or football game on your kitchen or family room TV.
The next part of the plan is ORGANIZE IT.
Follow three steps to help you get organized:
- Share the Fun:
- Ask the kids to help bring up the boxes and unwind the strings of lights.
- Trimming the tree and putting up the decorations can be a family tradition. When you're finished turn on the tree lights and sing a Christmas carol.
- Be sure to put out the newest macaroni or construction paper decoration made by your child or the ceramic angel crafted by your teen.
- My cat personally inspects all decorative items and my brother's dog helps the kids open their presents by tearing off the wrapping paper.
- Half-and-Half:
- Set up the tree and add the lights and garland one day then finish with the rest of the ornaments the following day.
- After work bring out the boxes of decorations and put up the interior lights, the next evening arrange your special table and shelf displays.
- Haul out the ladder and hang the lights on the roof. Later in the week string the lights around the bushes and trees.
- Just Do It:
- Of course you might just like to get it over with. Schedule all your decorating for one day or one weekend. Now you’re done and it'll feel great!
- Outsource:
- If the idea of struggling with the ladder and decorating the outside of your house leaves you feeling like a grumpy old Scrooge, consider hiring someone to do it for you.
- You can hire people to put up both your interior and exterior decorations. They also can help you create some new displays.
- Set up a HOLIDAYS folder at your work desk. Keep all holiday information, including your gift list, receipts, shopping list of baking ingredients, festive cookie recipes you've ripped out of a magazine, and instructions for operating new toys or decorative items.
- Get some large cardboard or plastic boxes for storing holiday decorations.
- Set up separate boxes for specific categories and add a label with the box contents. For instance:
- Tree ornaments
- Tree and window lights
- Garlands and small wreathes
- Decorative items such as Santas, bears, reindeer,and a snowman
- Bags with items for special table and shelf displays
- Outdoor lights
- Holiday puzzles, games, toys, and storybooks
- Use plastic bags to store larger items including tabletop trees, door wreathes, and artificial poinsettia plants.
- Place a large plastic bag or tarp over lawn decorations and stack them in the corner of the basement or garage.
- Store holiday music and songbooks together on a shelf.
- Set up a special shelf for all your holiday tape cassettes, CDs, DVDs, and videocassettes.
1ST STEP: DECORATING
Lovely To Look At
It’s time to make your home twinkle and glitter. You can enjoy decorating more if you don’t have to hunt around for the star that goes on the tree every year, for the special garland that's draped along the stairway, or for the outdoor lights if they aren’t in their usual spot.
Deck the Hall
It’s a busy time of the year but a few simple options can help you find time to decorate. For instance:
Christmas Corner
Try out a few organizational tips to help you keep track of all holiday paperwork and information. Also, let's try to avoid rummaging through messy shelves and mysterious boxes to locate items that you use every year:
- Save old wrapping paper tubes or make your own by rolling newspapers into a long roll and then taping them. Next tape the light plug to the end of the tube, wind the string of lights around the tube, and tape the other end. Voila! The next time you’re getting out the holiday lights there'll be no more bad language.
- Be sure that breakable bulbs, figurines, and other decorative items are carefully wrapped in newspaper or bubble wrap.
- If you have a special display for a fireplace mantel, on a bookshelf, or on a hall table, take a photograph of each area. Place the decorative items from each display in separate bags. Store the photos in the DECORATING PHOTOS folder with your wrapping supplies. Next year, grab the bags and the photos and you can recreate the displays in minutes.
- Stringing lights and garlands on a tree is not my idea of fun. If you have an artificial tree, think about storing it in the basement with the lights and garlands still on. Cover it with an old sheet then next year bring it upstairs, add the ornaments and tree skirt, and plug it in.
Holiday Hints
Organize all your holiday items so you can easily find them next year. More importantly, let’s make this the last year that you have to sit around and detangle a horribly knotted string of lights.
- Decide on the food that you’ll be preparing and make a shopping list of all the ingredients you’ll need.
- Get a head start and buy ingredients that will keep such as flour, sugar, and baking soda. Buy fresh items just before you plan to start baking.
- Purchase holiday paper plates and napkins. Consider some fun plastic holiday plates that you can load up with goodies and give away.
- Prepare batter ahead for items that need to be refrigerated for several hours.
- First bake cookies that need to cool before decorating.
- While they’re cooling, pop in a batch of chocolate chip or sugar cookies.
- Either turn on some music or watch a movie on your kitchen or family room TV while you decorate.
- Get the kids together and have a little baking and decorating party.
- Set up another day for the nut bread, pies, cakes, cheesecake, fudge, pastries, and other treats.
- Use plastic plates or trays shaped like Santa, a tree, or a snowman.
- Arrange a plate of cookies and candy for your colleagues at work or for your neighbors.
- Prepare a tray of fudge or cupcakes for your child’s school party.
- Use a covered plate to take your signature cake to a friend’s party.
- When you’re finished with baking, store your holiday cookie press and cutters, bowls, trays, and tins together on a shelf in the kitchen or in a labeled box in the basement.
- Place a selection of goodies on decorative plates. Cover them with plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil and then freeze until it's time to take them to a party.
- Refrigerate a few batches in plastic covered containers so they’ll be ready when friends drop by.
- Put out some more treats in a cookie jar for the family to dip in and enjoy.
- I saw this on a Martha Stewart program. She put a selection of homemade cookies into small holiday bags and kept them in a decorative basket by the front door. When her guests left, they took with them a bag of wonderful cookies. Terrific idea! I’d be ripping into that bag before I was out of Martha’s driveway.
2ND STEP: HOLIDAY TREATS
The Candyman Can
Pull out all your favorite holiday recipes for cookies, cakes, pastries, and candy. I’ve gained a pound just thinking about all that good stuff.
Sugar High
Don’t wing it and just buy what you think you’ll need – take your list:
The Bakery
Check your calendar and figure out several convenient baking days. Set up a strategy:
Delivery Time
Wrap up food that you’ll be delivering soon. For example:
The Cookie Jar
The baking is over, now it’s time to enjoy. Yummm!
- Check your supplies and make your list. Are you running low on wrapping paper, bows, or transparent tape? Can you use a few more gift bags and filler paper?
- Did you buy a bunch of paper and bows on sale last January? Let's think for a minute. Where do you suppose they might be?
- There are lots of terrific storage boxes for gift-wrapping supplies. Be careful about buying large plastic boxes. They’re great for long rolls of wrapping paper, but they take up a lot of space on basement shelves and are kind of heavy to carry upstairs.
- Set up a box or plastic container with drawers. Use dividers to separate wrapping paper sheets into categories, including All-purpose, Anniversary, Birthday, Children, Christmas, Graduation, New Baby, Retirement, Sympathy, and Weddings.
- File stacks of filler paper and bubble wrap.
- Store bows and ribbons in plastic bags.
- Keep labels, tags, and gift cards in a bag or drawer.
- Stand up wrapping paper rolls in plastic containers or lay them flat in plastic boxes.
- Store photos of your special table and shelf displays in a DECORATING PHOTOS folder. Leave the folder with your wrapping supplies.
- Set up for your own personal wrapping party:
- Stack all the gifts in a separate pile for each person.
- Grab the wrapping supplies, scissors, and tape.
- Get in the mood with some music or a movie. Go ahead. Watch The Miracle on 34th Street for the tenth time! Get comfy and you're ready to start.
- When you're finished, set aside gifts that need to be mailed or delivered within the next week. For a fee you can arrange for packages to be picked up right at your front door.
- I like to sort gifts into a pile for each person and store them in separate bags.
- Place all the separate bags into large plastic bags and set them in your special gift spot. If necessary, lock up all your children’s gifts so the little snoopers won’t have an early Christmas.
- One more thought. You don't have to do it all yourself. While shopping, take advantage of the store gift-wrapping services.
- The house is decorated and looking great. Let's keep it that way. Don't leave the bag of new decorative items or wrapping supplies on the sofa for two or three days. Put everything where it belongs.
- After decorating, return all the storage boxes and bags to the basement or closet.
- Clean up the kitchen as soon as you've finished baking.
- Be sure to toss receipts and information into the HOLIDAYS folder.
- Every evening take a few minutes to swing through the house and straighten up. Don't forget to turn off all the holiday lights.
- Give yourself a break each day. Just sit for a few minutes and breathe deeply as you watch the tree lights twinkle. If you have time, stroll through the new-fallen snow, leaf through a magazine, watch a little TV, or enjoy a quick nap.
- Set up your game plan for the whole month. Decide on the deadlines for completing your gift shopping, mailing cards, decorating the house, preparing holiday food, and wrapping presents.
- Add your deadlines to the calendar. Make it official.
3RD STEP: WRAPPING GIFTS
Pretty Packaging
How about making this the year to organize your wrapping supplies? It’s a little time-saver project that’s worth doing.
Checklist
Avoid last-minute trips to pick up bows and gift bags. Stock up ahead of time:
Wrapping Station
Park your wrapping supplies together so you can quickly find them:
Wrap It Up
Ready to wrap some gifts? Have fun:
WHAT'S THE FINAL STEP?
The house looks festive, there's the lingering aroma of holiday goodies, and the presents are wrapped and ready to go. Now it’s time to SET UP A ROUTINE TO CONTROL CLUTTER AND CHAOS.
DAILY: Take 15 to 30 Minutes
WEEKLY OR MONTHLY: Take Several Hours for Each Project
CLUTTER WRAP-UP
You may be thinking, “Oh, come on. Will organizing wrapping paper and bows really make a difference?” Sure it will. Take one step at a time. First the bows and then who knows, someday the basement!
Each time you clean up and organize one little area you make life easier for yourself. You save time when you know right where to find your shopping list,the new recipe your friend gave you, your favorite holiday CDs, the outdoor lights, and, of course, wrapping paper and bows.
Without organization, you’re wasting time looking for the holiday cookie cutters and snow globe, and after making a special trip to buy new bows, you run across the huge bag of bows you got on sale last year.
Invest a little time to get organized and it will pay off with more time for you to enjoy your home and the festive season.
Stop by again in January.
HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY!
Joyce