Get Organized

Schedule Smart for Stress-Free Holidays

schedule tips for the holiday season
   September 15, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

When you think about Christmas from a few weeks away, there’s a luxurious feeling of “plenty of time”, but as December draws near, the season’s pace quickens exponentially. Where did the time go?

Time takes on a slippery quality as the holiday season approaches.

Being proactive--and early--saves time and stress as the season's pace quickens.

Take major action against the seasonal time crunch with a pre-season scheduling session. The goal: to arrange for all those little appointments that slip the mind so easily.    Read More >>

Simplify Your Holidays With A Christmas Calendar

Make a Christmas calendar
   September 8, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Ask any mother of young children: time pressure creates a unique stressor during the Christmas season. Holiday events, school functions and holiday parties crowd December days; service projects, travel and worship activities double.

To keep holiday stress at bay, a calendar is a must-have tool for an organized Christmas. Even if you never rely on a family calendar the other eleven months of the year, December's busy days call for a dedicated calendar for smooth sailing.    Read More >>

Before The Season: Focus On Holiday Values

Focus Holiday Values
   September 2, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

What do you really want for Christmas? Our ideas may differ in the details, but most of us want much the same thing: a seasonal celebration focused on faith, family and friends.

We want the excitement of the season without the disruption that too often comes with it. We want to draw closer to those around us, not to be thrust apart by hectic schedules. We want to enjoy as well as to prepare, and to keep the Christmas season in a manner that is joyous and spiritually centered.    Read More >>

Get Organized: Make a Christmas Planner

Planner for the holidays
   August 28, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

As we get ready for Christmas, we’ll be making lists (and checking them a lot more than twice!), holding discussions with spouses, children and parents, and drawing up a holiday budget. Too often, we record our plans piecemeal, consigning them to a confused clutter of scrawled envelopes, jotted notes and cryptic calendar entries—none of which make it to the shopping center with us when it’s time to buy gifts.

Organized people keep the results of their work in a central place: a Christmas planner.

Easy to make and easier to use, a Christmas planner cuts through holiday clutter and keeps planning on track. Home to lists and recipes, calendars and gift ideas, this simple tool is the architect and source of a serene celebration.

Try these ideas to create and use a Christmas planner: your personal guide to an organized Christmas.    Read More >>

Post-Holiday Debriefing: Get Organized for Next Christmas

   December 30, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

It's over for another year!

Wild and woolly or sane and sedate, we've passed through the holiday season and into a new year. Breath caught, it's time to debrief.

You know debriefing, right? The astronauts do it, spies do it, pilots do it: a measured after-the fact evaluation of the mission or flight.

Smart holiday planners should do it, too--because taking time now to note what worked, what didn't will be a road map to a more organized Christmas next year.    Read More >>

Seasonal Storage Tip: Holiday Stragglers Box

Holiday Stragglers Box
   December 29, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

Christmas has come and gone ... or has it?

Lights are stored, the tree is down, and holiday decor rests in boxes in the storage area, waiting for next year.

Then you turn the corner and spot an overlooked Santa, shining on top of the piano.

In the refrigerator, the holiday butter dish hides the last remnants of a stick of butter. Holiday linens, napkins and kitchen towels pop up in the laundry area this week, next week and the week after.    Read More >>

Organized Christmas? Easy Tips to Get Ready For Next Year

   December 23, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

Christmas is here ... but you're not ready? The e-mails in my inbox tell the story: "I wish I'd found this site earlier!"

During this time of year, I hear from scores of readers who came looking for holiday help at the height of the celebration-and faced with the reality of Christmas chaos.

Stumbling over our site, they see that it's possible to be organized--and joyous--during the holidays. They just wish they'd found us in time!

So say you're starting now, to think about next year. What's the secret to a stress-free season? Plan ahead!    Read More >>

Cut Tree Clutter with an Under-Tree Storage Box

christmas clutter
   November 24, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

Christmas is a time of cheer ... and clutter! You'll find Christmas clutter lining each box and storage bin as you pull out holiday decorations.

An ornament box spills over with hanging hooks and zip ties. The tiny red-tipped light bulbs you need to make light strands blink. Special tools and assembly sheets for your "nevergreen" artificial tree. The dandy gun-shaped light tester, complete with instructions and replacement bulbs. Left to their own devices, they scatter around the house, never to be found when you need them--but popping up to haunt you right into the new year.

How to bring order to Christmas clutter? An under-tree storage box.    Read More >>

Set Up a Wrap and Mail Center

Wrap and Mail Center
   November 6, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

Wrapping gifts for the holidays? Repeat after me: "This year, I won't be wrapping gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve!"

If there's a single most-underestimated holiday chore, it's gift wrapping.

Supplies lie scattered throughout the house, while space and privacy are hard to come by.

Translation: late-night Christmas Eve wrapping sessions, grumbling your way through the job.    Read More >>

State of the Closet: Pre-Holiday Wardrobe Check

Check holiday wardrobes
   November 2, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

We’ve all experienced this seasonal panic: it's the night of the office holiday party and a spouse’s good white shirt has gone missing!

Calm the chaos with a pre-holiday wardrobe check!

Assessing the State of the Closet for all family members before the holiday begins means never having to say, "It's in the wash!"    Read More >>

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