Prepare a list: who you are buying for, what are you getting them and how much money do you plan to spend on them.  This will help you purchase items that are usable and wanted for someone and keep you within your budget.  Gift buying should be completed 2 weeks before the Christmas and wrapped one week before.

Decorations

Avoid stashing everyday household items in closets and cabinets, by storing them in the containers that your holiday decorations were stored in.  Think safety when decorating!  Do not set items in areas that people can trip over or knock off and break.

Entertaining

If you entertain during this time, make sure your walkway and entrance is well lighted.  Turn the heat down two hours before guests arrive.

Meal Preparation

Prepare your menu for Thanksgiving and Christmas now.  Make a list of items you need to prepare both meals and compare to what you already have.  Double batch anything you can and freeze if you are going to serve it for both meals.  Ask yourself what you can do before such as setting the table or cooking items the weekend before your meal.

Following these few tips can help you enjoy your family and friends more during the holiday season while decreasing stress and saving money.

Below is an article that was submitted to me that I feel will be very useful and wanted to pass it along and I also encourage you to check out their website.

Seasonal Storage Basics: Top 5 Rules

Submitted by Ellen Bell

Ellen works for The Christmas Tree Storage Shop, a retail website offering seasonal storage solutions such as artificial tree storage bags. Visit us at www.christmastreestoragebag.net to check out other Christmas storage solutions.

Description:

Seasonal storage is a dilemma for many families. What do you do with all your holiday decorations for the other 11 months of the year? Learn how to get your seasonal storage organized right now so that holiday decorating goes faster and more smoothly next year.

Seasonal storage is something that many of us struggle with from year to year. We spend a lot of money on holiday decorations, and we want to make sure that those items are protected from damage while in storage. Yet at the same time, we all get so busy, and sometimes it’s just easier to throw everything in one box or plastic bag, stick it in a closet, and forget about it until next year! Inevitably, this always leads to more time and frustration when “next year” arrives and it’s time to decorate again. Save yourself some time in the long run by investing a little time and energy now by learning the top 5 rules of seasonal storage basics

Rule 1: Fix it first

Have you ever opened your artificial Christmas tree box or your Christmas tree stand and found that something was broken or a piece was missing when you took it down last year? As soon as you see this, you’ll probably remember your good intentions last year of fixing the problem or replacing the missing piece before storing the tree or stand away, but somehow it just didn’t happen. This leads us to Rule number 1: Fix it first! Never store a holiday decoration away until it is in good repair.

Rule 2: Preparation

This one kind of goes hand in hand with Rule 1. Before storing any holiday decorations away, you should first make sure they are prepared and ready to go for next season. For example, if you have old worn out strings of lights, throw those out. A set of candles that’s burned almost completely out? Toss them, too. If you use any battery powered lights on coffee tables or end tables, take the batteries out and dispose of them properly before storing the light sets away. You’ll want new batteries in them next year. All this might take you a little extra time at the end of the holiday season, but it will save you a lot of time at the beginning of the holiday season next year!

Rule 3: Like items together

When you’re getting ready to organize your seasonal storage, always remember to keep like items together. That is, all your holiday lights should be stored together in one box, all the nativity set figurines in another, and so on. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to dig through all your seasonal storage boxes to find the two matching candlesticks that should have been stored together in the first place.

Rule 4: Store it wisely

Now that you’re ready to store your items away, you need to decide what type of storage container you want to use. Do you want to store in corrugated boxes, plastic bins, or cloth bags? This question is answered in part by your storage budget. If you have more money to spend, you might want to invest in plastic bins or commercially available heavy-duty storage bags. Also keep in mind that some items should be stored in their original packaging. For example, if your 12 piece porcelain nativity set came in a Styrofoam box that is specially molded to hold each piece, then don’t throw that away! Breakable items will always do better if stored in their original protective packaging. If the original packaging includes a cardboard box, it might be a good idea to then place the cardboard box inside a heavy-duty storage bag or plastic bin to keep moisture out.

Rule 5: Label, label, label

Once you get all your holiday decorations into their respective storage containers, the last and most important step is to label. It is absolutely critical that each storage container be labeled clearly! This will save you an enormous amount of time next year. For example, wouldn’t it be nice to know which box contains your Christmas tree stand so you can get it out first and have it ready when your family brings home the live Christmas tree? Make it easy on yourself by creating large labels for each storage container.

The holidays are already stressful enough! Don’t make it harder on yourself with a disorganized mess of holiday decorations. With a little time and forethought in how you put away your seasonal storage, you’ll make the holiday decorating process easier on yourself for years to come.

Yes! You can have dinner parties and enjoy your guests!  You can make time to go to the mall and enjoy your shopping without rushing!  You can enjoy decorating your home without the stress or spending alot of money! How? Follow these tips and enjoy the holidays!!

1) Say "NO". Be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Each day has 24 hours.  Enjoy the Christmas season with time for yourself

2) Create a game plan.   If you are hosting a Christmas party or you’re the one fixing the main Christmas Day feast, PLAN!! 

Write down a master plan.

• Create a menu.
• Set a date and time.
• Let your guests know the time line for acceptances, regrets, or special requests.

You are less likely to keep making changes if you have to keep re-writing each new change.  Being flexible about times, food choices, and special requests is wonderful.  Letting your guests and family know the date you will be completing your menu lets everyone enjoy the holiday festivities.  Once your menu is done…stay the course.  Cooks have driven themselves crazy trying to make last minute changes.

3) Make a list.  Make a list of who you are buying presents for and what you want to get them.  Stick to that list when you go shopping, it will save you time and money.  Look at your menu for your party/dinner, then make a list of the items you will need to buy at the grocery store.  Compare that list to the items in your cabinets before you go shopping.  It will save you time, money and space.

4) Prepare ahead of time. Take a look at the area you will be holding your party/dinner and ask yourself two simple questions.

1. Is there any decorating I can do the day before? 
2. Is there anything I can cook or prepare the day/night before? 

For example: If you are cooking Christmas Dinner and everyone will be at your house at 1 p.m. Here are possible advance preparations you can make:

• Cook your ham 24 hours early.
• Roll dressing balls which can be refrigerated prior to cooking.
• Prep potatoes and refrigerate them in a pan of salt water
• Make desserts in advance.  Many can be frozen up to a week. 
• Check for items you can cook the evening before, refrigerate, and then warm up in the oven about an hour before you are ready to serve.
• You may be able to set the table the night before or early in the morning.

5) Everything in Moderation:  Gifts, food, time and money.  Too often I hear people complain about spending too much money during the holidays or eating too much. Please remember that whatever you put on the credit card you will have to pay back, most likely with interest.  When buying a gift for someone, ask yourself, does the person really need this, is it something they will really use and can "I" afford it?  When buying gifts for your children, ask yourself, "Is there room in their space for that item?"  If the answer is no, are they going to be willing to give up something to make room?  "Does my child need another set of skates or another C.D. or another 5 shirts and 4 pairs of jeans?"  Only you can answer these questions but be prepared to make storage room for everything you are buying them.

6) Wrap up your presents wisely.  Do not buy too much – only buy 2 kinds of wrapping paper so that you can mix and match ribbon and bows with them. As much as some of us do not like to admit it, it is only paper and is going to be torn into shreds and thrown away anyway.  There will be less to have to store away for next year and you will not spend as much money buying different color ribbons and bows to match.

7) Keep things in order. At this time of the year it is easy to let things slide.  You can still be de-cluttering about 15 minutes every evening.  The children can continue putting their things where they belong.  Everyone can continue keeping their schedules.

Ask for help.  This is the Season of Giving…let others give to you as well.  Are you baking?  Ask for a helping hand rather than struggling to multi-task drying clothes, cooking, cleaning, and a thousand other chores.

9) Remember kindness starts with YOU! Be kind to yourself.  Schedule time during the Holiday Season for you! Write it down on the calendar then you will most likely make it happen.  Make the time to do whatever it is that you enjoy.  Go shopping for yourself.  Have coffee with a friend.  Enjoy a bubble bath.  Read a good book.  Treat yourself to a pedicure.

Well, you are not alone!  It is a extremely common problem facing most
of us on a daily basis due to the fact the most people do not have a
clear reality of how long it actually takes to do a task.

For
example: I had a client who had a full time job from 8 a.m.-4 p.m .  She was
the stress-out mother of two elementary school aged children, a boy and a girl. When we met for her organization planning session, she described her weekday morning routine.

I get up at 6 a.m., go downstairs and turn the
coffee on. I turn around and go back upstairs so I can wake up my husband.  I go back downstairs again. Then I start making the kids lunches, straighten up the den, and grab my
coffee. Now I trudge back upstairs  and pick out clothes for my husband.  Did I mention that I am usually ironing his clothes at this point?  Now I can finally get ready for work from about 6:30-6:50 a.m.  Between
6:50 to 7:30 a.m. I focus on getting the kids up and dressed for school. After getting them downstairs, they get a bowl of cereal while I load their backpacks.  We head out the door at 7:30 a.m.  I’m exhausted every morning.  I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up without going bonkers.

“How would you like your mornings to run?” I ask.

She said that she would relish having 10 minutes of quiet time.  Enjoying a cup of coffee would be a luxury.  It would be a miracle not having to rush getting herself, husband, and children ready for the day.   Eating breakfast?  Now she eats a breakfast bar on the run.  Would it be possible to eat at the breakfast table every morning?

Your “In A Snap” Solution: Knowing how many tasks are in a project and how long each task takes.

Step One: I had her write down every single task that she did in the morning.  Beside each task, she had to write how long she thought it took to do it.  Next she added up the total time for all her morning tasks. Her first list did not include every single task because
she still kept lumping things together.  She combined her shower time with dressing, hair drying, and make-up time.  I had her break out her list in detail.  She added each individual task.

Step Two: I then asked her to write down a new list.  For the next 4 days she was to write down how long it actually
took her to do each task.  She quickly realized that she was trying to
do way too much in the time she allotted herself.

Step Three: I sat down with her.  It was time for making a few tough decisions. With gentle coaching, we walked through the
process of deciding
what she could do the night before : Straightening the den, packing the
kids lunches, preparing their backpacks and sitting them beside the
door, having the kids help her pick out their own clothes, and setting
the timer on the coffee maker.  Then I asked her what could she delegate to someone else (her husband).  He could wake himself up, pick out his own clothes, and make sure they were pressed.  This allowed her husband to lend a hand with the morning routine.

Step Four: After giving her new routine a test run for just one week, she was de-stressed! She was thrilled, her kids were less moody, and her husband was able to lend a helping hand.

The morale to our organization story: Are you setting the stage each morning for a positive day or a rushed, stressed out day?  Let Clutter Conversions in control..Organized Living in a Snap!