Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 17: Ship Those Boxes Out

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 17: Ship Those Boxes Out

by | Dec 7, 2017 | Blog, Christmas, Overwhelmed | 0 comments

shipping day

It is shipping day!

Today is shipping day! Grab your packages, buy yourself a Starbucks, and brave the post office (the lines won’t be nearly as long this early in the game).

To make this day painless, take some time earlier in the week to familiarize yourself with USPS.com, print out labels, and pack everything up so it is ready to go for pick up. (You can still enjoy a Starbucks if you like!) If you have never used USPS.com before, this may just be the most magical part of your Christmas this year.

Assignment: Shipping day is time for shipping your boxes!

  1. Learn how to ship using USPS.com.
  2. Use Priority Mail boxes.

Priority mail can be picked up at your house the next day.

Check out Kathi’s Quick Tips in the book for ideas for packaging and sending.

For More Details: Get Yourself Organized For Christmas – Page 96

Supplies:

  1. Gifts
  2. Priority Mail boxes
  3. Mailing labels

Share Your Thoughts:

Did you have any gifts to send? Did you mail them or order online? Do you have any quick tips to share pertaining to packing and mailing gifts?

Avoiding Overwhelm:

Expand your capacity for joy by seeking out opportunities to be joyful, appreciating what you have, and finding joy where you are – no matter what that looks like. (Yes, even the post office or the holiday mall traffic!)

And join us over on the Clutter Free Academy Facebook group where we encourage one another and stay accountable as we become Clutter Free!

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 15: Get Those Stockings Ready

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 15: Get Those Stockings Ready

by | Dec 5, 2017 | Blog, Christmas, Overwhelmed | 1 comment

stockings

A Plan for Stockings

It is time to make a plan for stockings! Spend time today deciding how much you would like to spend for each one and/or how many gifts you would like to put in each. Next come up with a system for storing and keeping stocking gifts organized.

Once you are planned out, it is time to start shopping. You can buy a few stuffers each time you go out this month if you have not already started stockpiling. Online shopping is another easy way to shop for stockings.

Stockings are a great area to help us remember to be intentional. Be sure you are filling them with items the receiver will love and use. Getting a small amount of items you adore is much better than an overstuffed sock where the majority of the items will soon find their way to the trash or donation box.

Assignment: Get those stockings ready.

  1. Make sure you know where the stockings are and that you have one for each person who will be there on Christmas.
  2. Make a plan. (How many gifts you will need depends on the size of the stocking and gifts.)
  3. Come up with a system of storing the stocking stuffers.
  4. Shop as you see things when you are out and about. Make it your goal to pick up one or two things for stockings each time you go shopping, and you will slowly whittle away at your list.

Check out Kathi’s Quick Tips in the book for ideas for stocking stuffers.

You can always include one small gift that is a bit more expensive in the stocking.

For More Details: Get Yourself Organized For Christmas – Page 88

Supplies:

1) Stockings
2) Small gifts (You won’t need these today)
3) Hooks

Share Your Thoughts:

What are your favorite small stocking stuffers? When do you empty the stockings at your house? Do you have any family traditions surrounding the stockings? What item would you like to see in your stocking this year?

Avoiding Overwhelm:

Christmas often means spending time with family and acquaintances we don’t see the rest of the year. This can be wonderful! And draining. Especially during this season of Hallmark movies and Norman Rockwell paintings, be careful who you share your heart with.

And join us over on the Clutter Free Academy Facebook group where we encourage one another and stay accountable as we become Clutter Free!

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 14: Prep Your Kitchen

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 14: Prep Your Kitchen

by | Dec 4, 2017 | Blog, Christmas, Overwhelmed | 0 comments

prep your kitchen

Prep Your Kitchen

It’s time to give the kitchen a little TLC and prep your kitchen for the holidays. Spend some time today clearing any clutter hanging around your countertops. Put away mail, Christmas cards, leftover Christmas decoration containers, etc. Also, here are some basic tips of things you can do to spruce up quickly.

Assignment:

  • Clean your sink up so it is nice and shiny.
  • Clean out any science experiments from the fridge.
  • Wipe out your pantry, fridge or cupboards of tiny crumbs.
  • Complete your meal plan for the month and finish the shopping list.
  • Pull out any serving dishes, holiday dishes or platters you may need and wash off any dust.
  • Restock your pantry with any essentials you will need for cooking or baking.

For more details: Get Your Christmas Organized Page 83

 

Share your thoughts:

Share with us all that you accomplished! For some this may have taken a while, for others, it may have been easier than you thought. Did it go by quickly or did you take the time to gut your kitchen? Do you have any tips to share with someone else? What did YOU do?

Avoiding Overwhelm:

Does the kitchen clutter seem too overwhelming? If you’re waiting for the kitchen fairies to clean up, you could be waiting a while. Instead, break down your kitchen chores into micro-steps (the very smallest bits possible) and then take a moment to do the first micro-step.

And join us over on the Clutter Free Academy Facebook group where we encourage one another and stay accountable as we become Clutter Free!

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 6: Get Your Gift List Together

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 6: Get Your Gift List Together

by | Nov 26, 2017 | Blog, Christmas, Overwhelmed | 0 comments

christmas-day-6
When was the last time you searched for the perfect gift for your cousin who was coming over for the annual gift exchange – the one happening tomorrow? It’s happened to all of us at least once (or four times). This is one way to ENSURE your holidays will be stressful. We want to avoid stress this year so here is the plan: Create a gift list in advance!

Assignment:   

  1. Make a list of everyone you will be making or buying gifts for (jot down a date of when you need to exchange or mail them).
  2. Keep notes next to each name of things you think they might like, need or really appreciate. Think about whether they would most appreciate.  A gift that you bought for them, or maybe they’d love a donation toward a cause and you could do it in their honor? Whatever the case, take a few minutes and decide your plan of attack.
  3. Another thing I do ahead of time is window shop. I write down or take pictures of things so I can later add them to my gift list with their price. That way I don’t go nuts spending way too much. Then I go home and make up my real gift list including what I am buying and how much it costs.

Supplies:

The Get Your Christmas Organized Gift List

I actually take this one step further and create my gift list on a spreadsheet because I have a budget in mind for each person. All of this is then stored in one place. When I am at the store I know I can get what I intended and make sure I don’t spend too much doing so! This has helped not only keep me organized, but also keeps me from spending way more than I should have out of guilt, loss of time or impulse purchases.

The idea here is for you to be giving gifts from a place of joy, not last-minute stress. Be smart, shop in stages so the hit on the budget isn’t so severe!

For more details: Get Your Christmas Organized page 48

 

Share Your Thoughts:

How do you tend to get your gift list going? Do you plan it out or just shop and then worry about it later? Do you buy for everyone or just a select few? Share with us what gift giving traditions you have developed or adapted over the years.

Avoiding Overwhelm:

Do you cringe remembering how much you overspent last year (or ten years ago)? Responsibly accept the consequences of poor past decisions by making better choices this year. And by not persecuting yourself for the past. You will feel far less overwhelmed when you stay in the middle ground of accepting responsibility.

 

Join Us

Join us in the CF Academy FB Group and keep the Christmas and clutter free discussion going.
Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 5: Schedule Your Time for the Holidays

Get Yourself Organized for Christmas Project 5: Schedule Your Time for the Holidays

by | Nov 25, 2017 | Blog, Christmas, Overwhelmed | 0 comments

schedule your time

If you don’t plan your time, someone else will. During the holidays it is especially important to schedule your time in advance so you have the time to do the things that are truly important to you.

Schedule Your Time 

For example, I schedule downtime. Life gets very stressful over the holidays, and I schedule time just to relax and wrap gifts with music playing or to kick back and read a book. The time leading up to Christmas shouldn’t be so rushed and stressful that you are totally exhausted and can’t enjoy the holiday. I schedule mini-breaks or downtime throughout the season. This is especially important if you have small children and their schedules are being disrupted.

The downtime is every bit as important as the parties and other social activities during the holiday season. I review calendars and make sure we find time to attend church, candlelight services, and other events that matter to us, I schedule downtime, and then everything else is worked into the time that left or we choose not to do it.

Go back to your Christmas mission statement and make sure everything you schedule fits into your mission. If it doesn’t, you can skip it this year. There’s always next year!

Do what gives you joy and don’t feel guilty for saying NO to everything else.

Assignment:  Schedule Your Time for the Holidaysschedule your time

Gather all your calendars and spend fifteen minutes scheduling your commitments (personal, family, church, school, etc.). Now it is time to schedule in some fun! You may want to ask your family what they would like to do this year. Consider dropping things that no longer bring you or your family joy. You may also want to set aside some special time for just you and your spouse.

Once you complete your calendar, be sure to hang it where everyone has access to it.

For More Details:  Get Yourself Organized For Christmas – Page 44

 

Supplies:

1) A blank calendar for November and December (or download printable blank calendars for November and December here.)

2) School, church, work and personal calendars.

Share Your Thoughts: 

How does it feel to schedule your time out in advance during the holidays? Did you eliminate some activities? What activities will you keep no matter what? When you think about the holiday season do you feel overwhelmed, relaxed, confident or frustrated?

Avoiding Overwhelm:

Putting items on a to-do list tells you what’s important. Putting them on the calendar tells you what’s possible. Add your activities straight to your calendar so you see where you need to cut back.

 

Join Us

Keep the Christmas discussion going and join us in the CF Academy FB Group.