Create a Holiday Housework Plan

holiday housework plan
   November 6, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

For many families, the Christmas season causes more than usual chaos on the home front.

Do you shove stacks of mail and magazines into dark closets to hide them from drop-in visitors? Does your dinnertime schedule fall off the rails when faced with multiple evening rehearsals?

Does Mount Washmore raise itself to new heights in the laundry room, only to be scaled in panic an hour before the Nativity play?

Forewarned is forearmed! A simple housework plan--and family cooperation--will keep things humming at home, holiday or not!    Read More >>

Christmas Creep: The Selling of the Holiday Season

Organized Christmas
   November 5, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Are you suffering from "Christmas creep"? If you've been shopping lately, you know the symptoms!

Do you cower under trailing tinsel at the supermarket check-stand, trapped between two glossy ranks of Christmas magazines--in September? Do your teeth clench when you must push aside boxes of holiday gift wrap and Christmas ornaments to find school supplies and Halloween treats at your local drugstore? Does your mailbox groan under a daily dose of mail order catalogs, each admonishing you to "order early for Christmas delivery"?    Read More >>

Christmas Calm: 10 Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday Season

   November 3, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Sure, you love the holiday season--but just not so much of it! This year, you're hoping to cut the crazy out of Christmas: to trim the celebration back to one that is sustainable and calm.

Question is, just how do you do less--and enjoy it more--during the Christmas holiday season?

If you're aiming to simplify Christmas, take time to ponder ways to cut stress, save money and tame over-the-top traditions. Setting simplicity strategies in place early will keep you from being swept up in holiday madness.    Read More >>

Holiday House Fever? Cure It With A Home Spruce Up Exercise

Holiday Home Spruce Up Exercise
   November 2, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

This weekend's furniture ads are hard to avoid when you browse the Sunday paper--and they're symptoms of a serious holiday disorder: Holiday House Fever!

Look around the house. Does your temperature rise when you see stained carpets, smudged switch plates and faded window coverings? Gotcha!

With Christmas on the horizon, it's tempting to dive right in to a long list of home improvements. Stop! Wait! Biting off more than you can chew on the home front is a sure-fire recipe for holiday stress.    Read More >>

Candy Overload? Repurpose, Recycle and Reduce the Trick-or-Treat Haul!

repurpose Halloween candy
   November 1, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Halloween has come and gone ... and now its the morning of November 1st! For parents, that's the time when the excitement of Trick-or-Treat night gives way to post-Halloween reality: what to do with all that Halloween candy?

Whether they're worried about tooth decay and nutrition, or simply want to avoid the stress of a week of candy-fueled behavior from the little ones, smart parents put strategies in place to handle the Trick-or-Treat haul.

Here are some of our favorite ideas to repurpose, recycle and reduce the amount of Halloween candy in your organized home.    Read More >>

Simplify Season's Greetings: Using Computers To Send Christmas Cards

   October 31, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

As an online old-timer, I can attest to this fact: few subjects stir as much controversy as computers and Christmas cards. The questions come year after year.

Should we use the computer to address the cards? Write a Christmas letter on inkjet letterhead?

What about pre-printed signatures? Is it okay to use e-mail to send holiday greetings ... or text holiday emoji?    Read More >>

Get Organized: Create A Christmas Planning Center

get ready for Christmas
   October 27, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

When planning for the holiday season, why try to wing it, on the fly?

Making lists on the go often finds them scattered in your wake, never to be found again.

To stay centered as you plan the holidays and get into the seasonal swing in comfort, find a place in your home to create an activity center devoted to Christmas planning.

A dedicated spot to make gift lists lists and track menus keeps holiday planning on track.    Read More >>

One Right Way to Celebrate Christmas? Wrong!

Organized Christmas
   October 25, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

We don't know where we get it, we don't know where it comes from, but lots of us will stumble over this holiday illusion: "There is one right way to celebrate the holiday season!"

This one's sneaky. It comes to us through images, songs and Christmas cards. It rears up between newly married couples, as they try to blend his way and her way and make their own way in the face of competing in-laws.

You'll see it working in tear-in-eye TV commercials: a happy multi-generational family (all in attractive, color-coordinated sweaters) gathers round a flickering fire.    Read More >>

S'Mores In A Jar: Easy Holiday Gift

Smores in a Jar
   October 23, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

S'Mores In A Jar! What could be better? Combining the flavors of the familiar campfire treat with the seasonal sweetness of Peeps ® brand marshmallow candies, this recipe creates easy holiday gifts in a jar for all occasions. Choose your Peeps to match the season!

This gifts in a jar recipe is easy enough for children to make. To create this Mason jar gift, you'll layer crushed graham crackers, Marshmallow Peeps, brown sugar and chocolate pieces in a clear glass canning jar.

Spiffed up with a fabric topper, pretty ribbon and free printable gift tags, S'Mores In A Jar make a happy holiday treat for holidays throughout the year.

Ready ... or Not? Welcome to the Christmas Countdown

   October 22, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

The 2019 Christmas Countdown kicks off on Sunday, October 27. Are we ready to get organized for Christmas?

For many of us, the coming of the holiday season brings a feeling of panic in its wake--and I am not one whit different. I've seen it happen year after year: we careen into the first day of the Countdown saying to ourselves, "It can't possibly be time to prepare for the holidays!"    Read More >>

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