Holiday Help: Planning and Preparation Tips

Here are some of my favorite tips to help you have a more organized holiday.

• Holiday card list: Many families love to send an annual holiday card. Instead of going through your address book or saving envelope labels, create a list of recipients on your computer. The list can be a simple MS Excel spreadsheet of names and addresses. Alternatively, addresses can be input as a set of labels using the mail merge in MS Word. Keeping your card list electronically will save you time next year, and allows for easy edits in case someone’s address has changed.
• Gift list: Creating a list of gift recipients can help you stay organized and avoid  the last minute gift rush. Pick a date each year, such as the day after Thanksgiving or December 1st as the time to start working on your gift list. In addition to names and gift ideas, you may want to include a budget item next to each recipient. Ideally, create your list as a spreadsheet so you can easily update it. You can also keep a rolling tally of how much you have spent. With an electronic list you will have the template from year to year, and can also keep a list of what you give each year; this avoids the situation of giving Uncle Kevin the same tie or CD each year.
• Gift center: You bought the toy your child wanted when it was on sale in October, and a special gift for your mom during summer vacation, but where are they now? If you purchase gifts during the year, or can’t find gifts you know you bought, establish a dedicated “home” for gifts. Use a clear box, such as the Sterilite ClearView boxes as your gift center. Keep your gift center in a closet or attic, and each time you purchase a gift, add it to the box. When it’s time to think about holiday gifts, open the gift center and see what you have – you may discover that you already have gifts for several people on your list!
• Wrapping center: Wrapping gifts involves many different supplies such as wrapping paper, tissue paper, bows, gift tags, tape, and scissors. Searching for these items or purchasing duplicates can waste time and money. Keep all needed supplies in a wrapping center – a box, bin, or wrapping paper holder, such as the Rubbermaid Wrap N’Craft. If you like to buy wrapping paper or bows on sale after the holidays, having a dedicated wrapping center can help you avoid purchasing three rolls of the same kind of paper, but not having any gift tags.
• Holiday recipes: Many families like to make special recipes for the holidays. In my family it’s gingerbread cookies, spiced nuts, and fruitcake. To easily find your holiday recipes each year, keep them in a dedicated spot: a colored folder, special section of your recipe file, or in clear sheet protectors in a binder. Keep the recipes in a place that makes sense to you: with your regular cookbooks, or with your holiday decorations for example. If you also make special food gifts each year, keep these recipes together in a separate file. If you find a recipe for a candy or cookies in a magazine in September that you’d like to make, cut or print the recipe out and place it in your file. When you're ready to get cooking, you'll be all set.

Stop and Smell The Roses

“Take time to stop and smell the roses” is an old adage, but one that was a poignant reminder for me today. It was a busy day, full of meetings and errands, and I was rushing home to move on to the next task before picking up my daughter from school.

I was feeling stressed and annoyed at all I still had left to do, but as I pulled into my driveway I noticed that our roses were blooming. Yes, roses blooming in December. In Boston.

We’ve had some warm weather lately, and the roses were open and beautiful. I went over to get a closer look and as I took a deep breath and smelled their sweet fragrance, I started to feel better and less stress.

Hmm, was the universe trying to tell me something? Maybe I needed to slow down a bit.

Although you may not have the opportunity to literally smell the roses like I did today, don’t forget to pause, take a breath, and notice the beautiful things in your life. It’s easy to get caught up in the holiday chaos, so this year, this weekend, remember to take some time out to slow down and enjoy what’s most important to you.

Happy (Organized) Holidays

Enjoy these holiday tips by my super-organized cousin, Janna Lufkin. Check out her great holiday products at Raw Materials Design. 

By the first week in December, I like to have a stockpile of small gifts packaged up and ready to go. I use them for hostess gifts as well as give them out when unexpected guests drop by. I pick an idea, and make them all ahead of time (often Thanksgiving weekend). I’ve got a jump on the holiday gift list and I'm ready for the season to begin.

This year I’m making homemade granola, packaged up in food safe bags then slipped into cute, inexpensive burlap bags. I’ll embellish the bags with a personalized gift tag and a sprig of fresh cedar from my yard. I stack my ready-to-go gifts in a container by my back door and grab one when I need it.

If you want to make some too, here’s what you will need:

• A recipe. Here’s the Better Homes and Gardens recipe site - they have a variety of great granola recipes
• Burlap bags and clear food safe bags
• Transparent tape or decorative stickers
• Gift tags (if you have time, make your own or have your kids help)
• Ribbon and fresh greenery

Here’s how to make them:

• Gather granola ingredients and make up as many batches as you think you’ll need
• Once granola has completely cooled, place at least two cups (more if you like) into a food safe bag and seal with tape or sticker
• Insert granola into a burlap bag (you could add the recipe if you like)
• Tie with twine or embellish with a colorful ribbon
• Tie on a tag and slip in some fresh greenery

It’s that easy.

A project done early gets you in the mood for the festivities ahead. It helps to eliminate some of the stress and it’s fun too.

A Recipe for Success: Two 30-minute Kitchen Makeovers

These tips were originally published in The Neat Sheet newsletter (Nov/Dec 2008) from That’s Neat! Organizing.

1. The Fridge: November is national "Clean out your Fridge" month. This is nobody's favorite task, but it is important for several reasons: getting rid of expired foods can keep your family safe and healthy; knowing what is in your fridge can keep you from purchasing duplicate items and save money; and cleaning out your fridge and freezer will free up space for holiday cooking.

Get started following these easy steps:

• Gather supplies: gloves, sponge, cleaner, masking tape and marker for labeling items, and garbage bags
• Take everything off the shelves and out of the drawers in your fridge. Wipe clean each shelf and drawer.
• Pick up everything that you took out of the fridge; throw out any unidentifiable leftovers and expired foods.
• Group the remaining items into similar categories such as drinks, dairy, veggies, and leftovers.
• Put the items back in your fridge, keeping the groups together. Many fridges are designed to help with this by having drawers for meat, fruits, or veggies.
• Follow the same process with your fridge shelves, keeping things together like peanut butter and jelly or marinades and sauces. Adjust the fridge shelves if necessary. Also, use plastic bins or a lazy susan to keep small items from getting lost in the back of the fridge.   
• Now tackle the freezer using the same process. Take everything out, even food in the way back, and throw out anything that has been around for a year, or has a layer of permafrost. If you have food in containers, label each one before you put it back. Get into the habit of writing a description and the date on everything before it goes in the freezer. For two nights in the coming week, plan a meal using up foods in your freezer and fridge.

2. The Pantry: A well-stocked pantry is a must for cooking, but a well-organized pantry means you can actually find what you need quickly and easily (and help avoid those last-minute trips to the grocery store). Whether your pantry is a whole room or a few cabinets, try this quick fix.  

• Gather your supplies: sponge and cleaner, small plastic bins, garbage bags, paper and pen.
• Take everything out of your pantry and clean each shelf.
• Sort the items into categories such as baking, spices, canned vegetables, pasta, and cereal.
• For each category get rid of expired foods, items that are stale, and any empty containers. As you purge, make a shopping list of things you'll need to replace. 
• Put items back, keeping categories together. Place foods that you use often, such as cereal and snacks, within easy access. Place foods that you use less often (or don't want the kids to reach) on higher shelves.
• Use containers to keep small items together. Products such as Expand-a-Shelf can also help you find items in the back.
• Consider labeling sections of the pantry to make it easier to find and put away items. You may have a section for snacks, pasta, or cereals.

Enjoy your re-organized kitchen!

Who Knew? Time to Organize your Fridge & Freezer

Great tips for organizing your fridge and freezer from guest blogger, Janna Lufkin.

Whoopie! Did you know that November is National Clean out Your Fridge Month? Me either… until Elizabeth informed me that I was ahead of the game (I cleaned mine last month)! Seriously? A whole month dedicated to the discovery of the icky, the sticky, the gooey and the furry? Yep.

Stuffing the turkey takes on a whole new meaning when you’re trying to make room for it in your over-stuffed fridge, so November is the perfect time to tackle this task.

I not only cleaned out my fridge, I went ahead and did the freezer too. Might as well, right? And I did something I’ve been meaning to do for years, create a Freezer Inventory Log so I know what I have and when I bought it. Now, I go to my “log” before I make my weekly grocery list. Brilliant!

My freezer log started out as nothing fancy. A small, re-purposed three-ring binder. I added a couple of dividers (I have an old fridge/freezer in my garage too), then divided the binder into Inside and Outside categories.

Next, I made a list of the items in each freezer and divided it up alphabetically and by the types of foods and added the date it was purchased. Note: Keep a marker by your fridge/freezer and write the date purchased on the item.

The Freezer Inventory Log is as simple as this:

INSIDE
Date: October 2009

Baking:
1 pkg. Pie Crust (9/09)
1 pkg. Puff Pastry (7/09)

Bread/Crackers:
1 Baguette (10/09)
2 Wheat Sandwich Bread (10/09)

Fruit:
1 pkg. (1lb) strawberries (8/09)

Beef:
1 pkg. Flank Steak (7/09)
2 Skirt Steaks (7/09)

Pork:
1 Tenderloin (9/09)

and so on….

Oh, and another discovery…once I did my binder I quickly realized I could just keep the list on my computer desktop (remember I’m older than Elizabeth, I did not grow up with technology). It’s easily updated and right there for quick reference.

Honestly, for someone who is perceived as being “so organized”, this one task had slipped by me for years. I can’t tell you how much food we’ve managed to eat up in the past month. Diver scallops – yum!

-Janna

It’s Here!

In this guest post, my cousin Janna shares how she gets her fall decor to do double-duty. 

“Halloween, Halloween, oh what awful sights are seen. Witches hats, coal black cats, broom stick riders, mice and rats!”

This little ditty, taught to me when I was a kid by our Crazy Uncle Ed, (as we all refer to him) is a favorite. I’m not sure Elizabeth knows this song, she wasn’t born when I learned it. I taught it to Kate when she was little. Come October, it continually runs through my head.  Thanks Crazy Uncle Ed!

I love fall, especially October, because it’s Halloween! Anybody who knows me, knows it’s my favorite day of the year.

I simply can’t wait to decorate. My selections are simple. Pumpkins for sure (I’m partial to the white ones but I always have a few orange too), and of course my collection of crows. I even have a really big nest. My aunt sent it to me years ago from the farm in Idaho. I keep it in the house year round. Come October, the nest takes center stage. I perch it on an old wooden stand, right in the middle of my dining room table. Cute Jack-Be–Little pumpkins, stacked in the nest and my big plastic crow make for some great conversation. Who needs anything more?

Well, I do, just a little.

While perusing the pumpkin patch, farm stand and grocery store, I keep in mind the next holiday that comes upon us quickly: Thanksgiving.

I’ll pick up a few extra pumpkins, gourds and a variety of squashes and add them to my Halloween display. I often add leaves and acorns from our yard as well. Once Halloween is over, I pack away my crows but for the most part, the rest can stay. The house looks nice for November and I have what I need to set a pretty Thanksgiving table.

During the fall season, right into winter, we eat most of the squash. If you keep them in a cool and dry place, they will last long after the holidays are over.

Now where did I hide those little candy bars….

-Janna