by kathilipp | Nov 25, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
Refer back to your gift giving list to identify anyone who will require their gift to be shipped. Now think of the least stressful ways to make this happen. A gift card to their favorite store or restaurant is a great gift and extremely easy to ship. You can also ship gifts directly to people from whichever website you are ordering from. You know I am a fan of Amazon and if you aren’t a prime member, order all of your gifts at one time so you have an order of $35 for free shipping.
Assignment: Plan Your Out–of-Town Friends and Family Gifts.
Think about what you are going to get for whom and by what day you need to have it in the mail. Put the dates on your calendar and plan purchases accordingly.
Consider e-gifts or something that is easy to mail.
Be sure to check out the mailable gift ideas in the book and over on Evite.
For More Details: Get Yourself Organized For Christmas – Page 65
Supplies: 1) Your gift list 2) Calendar and 3) ideas.
Share Your Thoughts:
Share ideas for gifts for out of town family and friends? Any tips on mailing gifts? How many gifts do you usually mail?
by kathilipp | Nov 24, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
Time to catch up on anything you haven’t been able to finish thus far. Check your binder. Take a breath. You’ve got this!
If you are not sure of the last time you took a breath it has been too long! Your next step is to slow down and breathe deeply. Did you know that you think much more clearly when you get a good amount of oxygen to your brain? Did you know that by filling your brain with more oxygen you are opening receptors to help you react faster, think more clearly and get more done? This is scientific fact, so if you are feeling busy or stressed it’s time for a nice walk. 20 minutes at a good pace should do all of us some good.
For extra credit, do something to bless your spouse and get him in the holiday spirit. This can be another form of getting oxygen to the brain! Go ahead – have fun with this.
Share your thoughts:
Chat with us and tell us what YOU did on your Catch up Day.
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by kathilipp | Nov 22, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
When was the last time you were searching for the perfect gift for your cousin that was coming over for the annual gift exchange – the one that was 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.
Assignment:
- 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).
- 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 would love to donate toward a cause and you could do it in their honor? Whatever the case, take a few minutes and decide your plan of attack.
- 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 list with their price. That way I don’t go nuts spending way too much. Then I go home and make up my real 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 this list on a spread sheet because I have a budget in mind for each person. All of this is then stored in one place and when I am at the store I know that 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
Need more ideas for gifts? Check out what Evite says about how to ‘Find the Perfect Gift’.
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.
by kathilipp | Nov 21, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
If you don’t plan your time, someone else will. During the holidays it is especially important to plan in advance so you have the time to do the things that are truly important to you.
I schedule downtime. Life can get 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 is 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 Holidays
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 have completed 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 have things scheduled out in advance? 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?
Bonus Idea:
Do you love having a ton of different cookies for Christmas but don’t have time to shop and prepare for a more than one type of cookie? Have a cookie exchange party and invite your favorite people (and the best bakers)! Invite them with a Kathi Lipp inspired Evite. Check it and other fun Clutter Free Christmas party ideas here.
by kathilipp | Nov 20, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
When was the last time you got to December 10th and took a deep sigh of relief that your cards were completely done and mailed?? Umm, I have to answer that one honestly and say never. But I can also honestly say that when they are done early, my stress level goes way down. I do the whole thing in stages.
Assignment:
- Go through the list of things necessary to prep your Christmas cards. Maybe you need to buy paper for your annual letter or get pictures taken. Jot down all of the steps
- Start working through the list and possibly enlist the help of others. Maybe your spouse can order the stamps and print addresses for you. Maybe your second grader can put the stamps on.
- Make an assembly line while watching a movie to make it more fun. If it is too overwhelming to get done all at once, take time today to decide on one thing to accomplish each day this week. Mark each day on your calendar. By the end of the week, you will be ready to mail off your cards!
For More Details: Get Yourself Organized For Christmas – Page 39-42
Do you need help with card ideas? Evite can help! Check them out for some great ideas.
Share Your Thoughts:
Have you broken down all of the steps before of getting cards ready? Even though it is many steps, much of it can be tackled over time and with help! Do you elicit the help of others?? What do you job out to save time, stress or a possibly a papercut on your lip? Come share with us what YOU do.
