by kathilipp | Nov 13, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
Assignment: Find a used 3 ring binder or purchase a new one.
Getting organized for Christmas doesn’t happen overnight. But following the steps in Get Yourself Organized for Christmas will get you on your way in 25 days. One item you will need to keep all your Christmas information together is a binder. It doesn’t have to be new. It can be one your children used at school or one you used before. It should be a 3 ring binder and if you want a special cover, you will need one that has a plastic covering with a slit to insert a printed sheet. These look nice, but are not necessary. I recommend the 2 inch binders so you have lots of room for everything. If you have to purchase you can pick them up at your local Walmart, Target or Dollar Stores.
Supplies: 3 ring binder, pens, My Holiday Binder Cover
Share Your Thoughts: What kind of binder did you purchase or find around the house? Did you download the cover? Are you ready to Get Yourself Organized for Christmas?
by kathilipp | Nov 12, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
Today is the day! It’s time to get yourself that accountability partner who has been saying the same thing as you, “This year, I’m going to be ready for Christmas BEFORE Christmas Eve”. We know, she is your friend because she too struggles and is not afraid to admit that. Those are the BFFs we want to take with us on this challenge! Those are the girls that we think we have fooled into believing that we are better than we REALLY are. Those girlfriends are the best ones because they know the real us- they can’t actually be fooled… so, we give up the thought and embrace them as sisters in love… and join with them because together we will tackle this as a team.
Assignment: Grab a Friend
So here’s what you are going to do- choose one of these ideas to get you started;
- Get on your social media platform of choice and mention Christmas and how you are ready to get it planned before it plans you. See who responds…See who is READY and ask them to dive in with you!
- Call up your long lost BFF (you know the one you have been meaning to call anyway) that girl that knows you and knows what you need (whether it be a swift kick, or a loving hug) and ask her to join you on this journey. Reconnect through this challenge.
- Pray that God place someone on your heart that could use a friend. Maybe she is struggling to get organized, maybe she is not quite ready to admit she could use some help. Don’t worry about who it is, leave that up to God. Ask that He help you AND help her, and then wait.
- Try steps one or two after some prayer time. You never know how God works.
Now, the next part is crucial. Decide how you are going to check in with each other and how often. Make it a commitment. Make a plan. You know the saying “either you are failing to plan or planning to fail”. Just decide that is ok to ‘fail’ but don’t not plan because then you will fail. Since we know there is no such thing as perfect we can deal with a little failure or falling off the bandwagon, but what we don’t want to do is set ourselves up for failure by having no plan.
Share Your Thoughts: After you two have connected and decided to join us, come share with us! Who will be your accountability partner? How did you connect with them? What is your plan for accountability?
Get Yourself Organized for Christmas!
by kathilipp | Nov 11, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free |
Assignment: Get the book and read through page 20
Thinking about Christmas can be both exhilarating and exhausting. Thinking of all there is to do, buy, bake, cook, wrap, plan, organize, clean, and the list goes on. It is no wonder many think about the holiday season with dread and forget the true meaning of why we celebrate.
Whether you are filled with magical wonder or dread, one thing is for certain: ready or not, Christmas is going to happen.
Christmas is just a day. It isn’t the day that is the problem, it’s the expectations around the day that create the problems in our mind. Let’s change that! Let’s make the holidays something you look forward to and even enjoy. I want you to have the kind of Christmas where you celebrate the things that are truly important to you. Clutter isn’t just about things but about activities. Activities that steal our joy and rob us of time to do the things that matter most.
A clutter-free Christmas says that we are doing only those things that are truly important.
So let’s get started.
- Find out what activities are important to your family of friends that you celebrate Christmas with.
- Figure out what is important to you.
For More Details: Get Yourself Organized For Christmas – Page 9-20
Share Your Thoughts:
What would be different about the perfect Christmas? If you could wave a magic wand, what would you eliminate about Christmas? What activities would you be sure to keep? Were you surprised by anyone’s favorite activities in your family?
by kathilipp | Oct 20, 2015 | Blog, Christmas, Clutter Free, Gifting, Relationships |
It was the year that I decided that I was going to be absolutely intentional about keeping it a sacred Christmas. I had my Bible readings focused on the Christ story, I bought an Advent devotional, and I carefully selected a play list that was filled with songs that kept my heart focused on our Savior.
I was doing great.
Until I realized I was all out of Scotch tape.
The night before our Bible Study Christmas ornament exchange.
And that’s when I lost my Jesus.
You are going to get a lot of great advice about keeping your heart in the right place when it comes to preparing for Christmas. Which is great.
But I’ve come to find if I also keep my head in the right space, and make some smart decisions as early as possible, that goes a long way to giving my heart some protection. So here are a few practical things to think through now before Christmas hits you in the face.
- Talk to friends and family early.
The earlier you make plans, the easier it is to see potential problems and family conflicts. (This is especially important with in-laws and step-families.)
Set up and send out the dates and times of when you will be celebrating early so everyone has the information. You may even consider sending a “Save the Date” if you have a larger family (or a forgetful family.)
- Let other people help – no really – let them help.
There are no awards for people who pull off a holiday with no help (only sore feet and bitter attitudes.) If you are the one who is hosting the holiday, let others help (and if you are shy on offers, feel free to ask!) Here are a couple of ways to make it a family – and friends – affair.
Use www.signupgenius.com to create a list of all the dishes you need that others can bring. Be specific. (You don’t want to say “Salad” and have three people bring chicken salad.) Think of it this way – when people choose what they can bring, they will bring their “specialty”. Having a table of everyone’s best foods is a GREAT way have the best meal of the year.
For years, I would have people show up at my house for a holiday, and the first question they would ask is “How can I help?” The problem? All the things that could have been done with little prep were already done.
Now, I think backwards.
When I create the holiday to do list, I purposely think of tasks that guests who are just showing up can do. As I’m listing all the things that need to get accomplished, I put the word “Help” next to anything that is easy for someone else to do. Here are some examples:
- Set up cheese and cracker plate (cheese is in the fridge and crackers are on the red hutch. Feel free to slice the cheese or leave it in blocks with a cheese knife.)
- Set the table (everything is on there!)
- Set up the kids table
- Walk the dog (yes – I put this on the list. We’ve had several more introverted guests volunteer. And Jake our puggle? Loves it!)
- Fill the cooler with drinks and ice (can you tell we’re pretty informal around here)
- Be in charge of the group photo
- Mash the potatoes
- Take the trash out
- Take the recycling out
- Find Christmas music on Pandora
- Cut up veggies for the veggie tray
- Build Limits
Talk to your family early about limits. Do you want to put a limit on the number of gifts? The amount of the gifts? Do a gift exchange? Maybe not exchanging at all?
We have a lot of young adults in the family and they can’t all afford gifts for everyone, so we use www.elfster.com (a virtual way of choosing names from a hat), and keep it affordable for everyone.
- Don’t go to the Store (unless you really love to!)
My anxiety level goes up several notches whenever I need to go to the mall between October 15th and December 31st. I know that I’ll probably have to make one trip there (holding my breath until I can get away from the crowds –I don’t like crowds..) but for everything else, I’ve found ways around it.
- Amazon – Nuff’ said. I have Amazon Prime (one of the best investments I’ve made,) that I use to purchase many of our gifts, and use Prime Pantry to get non-perishables for cooking delivered right to my door.
- Google Express – this is how I order all my perishables for the big day. (Who are we kidding? We end up celebrating for three days…)
- Etsy – I have bought the best, thoughtful, gifts here. If your child (or parent) is into it, someone on Etsy is into it. A couple of years ago, I bought my mom a rock that was shaped and painted like a VW Bug. (OK – it sounds weird, but my mom had a Bug for thirty years, and the rock was super cute.) My mom loved it. Just loved it. That is not something that you could pick up on Amazon… Plus, supporting artists. Double win in my book.
Looking for encouragement to help you recover from that pesky problem of perfectionism? Today’s featured book is Get Yourself Organized for Christmas. You can enter to win a signed copy by leaving a comment directly on Kathi’s blog. PLUS, you’ll also be entered into the grand prize drawing for the Wrapped In Grace gift package: signed copies of all five of our books, a $100 Visa gift card, and a bunch of other fun goodies. All winners will be announced Saturday, October 24th at http://www.WrappedInGrace.info.
Kathi Lipp is a national speaker and the author of fifteen books including Clutter Free, Hot Mama:12 Secrets to a Sizzling Hot Marriage, The Get Yourself Organized Project, The Husband Project and The Cure for the Perfect Life. She is a frequent guest on radio and TV and has been named Focus on the Family radio’s “Best of Broadcast”. She is the host of the popular podcast You’ve Got This with Kathi Lipp.
She and her husband Roger are the parents of young adults in San Jose, CA. Kathi speaks at conference across the country.
by kathilipp | Sep 23, 2015 | Blog, Clutter Free |
A Series by Paula Tobey
When was the last time you had a conversation (I say that word with a chuckle because it may feel more like a daily lecture) with your child about them remembering to pick up after themselves? I bet it was not that long ago. I bet just this morning you had to remind your fourth grader to put her homework folder in her back pack instead of leaving it on the counter. Well I can tell you, there is really only one way to fix that problem and as simple as it is, it is probably the number one thing that ALL people struggle with. It is establishing good habits and routines.
Routines rock, really they are so awesome! Ha, I know you are thinking I’m nutty, but hear me out- routines are the brain’s way of feeling safe, at the same time functioning on auto-pilot. Routines mean the brain does not need to worry (the fight or flight response) because predictability is peaceful. Children especially need routines and the more fine-tuned we have our routines, the better the outcome for the child!
Here are some ways you can build in routines with your kids, that makes getting ready for school much easier.
[Tweet “Parents Guide to Decluttering: Stage Three – School Age #clutterfree”]
Declutter the entryway.
I make this a routine every afternoon when the kids come home from school. You know, when they come in, throw their backpacks and shoes by the door, sprint for the pantry for an afterschool snack, and you are there going through the sea of papers that just came in. That is a perfect time to start your afternoon routine of decluttering. Go through the mail, go through all papers, fliers, reminders, etc. that come home in the folders right then. Next, have the kids put the supplies out they will need for homework, and have them get busy. Then, when they are finished, their job is to return all homework to the backpacks and get that part ready for tomorrow.
Declutter the pantry.
Declutter the pantry so the kids can help make their own lunches. I started my girls making their own lunches right away. I wanted them to eat what I was preparing and knew if they helped prepare it, they were far more likely to eat it. I then needed to declutter the pantry of the enticing junk that I did not want them packing in their lunches like the chocolate, candy, packaged cakes and cookies. This is good in that you too will snack less often if it is just not there! Put the items they need to make their own lunches at their level so getting the good food is right within reach. Place the items like chips that you want to limit, at the top of the pantry.
Declutter their closets.
Declutter the closets with school approved clothes. Most schools these days have guidelines of what can and can’t be worn (if not it’s a uniform). My girls’ school has rules about straps on tops and dresses, lengths of shorts, no holes, etc. When you do it with your kids, it goes faster and you can show them ways to group their clothes that make it easier for getting ready in the morning. When the closet contains only (or almost only) the clothes that can be worn at school, it prevents any problems that could arise.
By involving your kids in the decluttering process, it will help make them more responsible with their things and have an easier time transitioning into adulthood if they have these routines down pat.
RELATED RESOURCES
Want even more ways to get rid of the clutter and start living the life you were designed to live? Get Kathi’s book Clutter Free Quick and Easy Steps to Simplify Your Space!
What are your best decluttering tips for before baby? Tell us in the comments below and we will randomly pick one commenter to receive “21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids” by Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory.
Do you want more great information to make your family the best it can be? Subscribe to Paula’s blog and get weekly posts and encouragement to help you on your parenting journey. http://phemomenallife.com/
Paula Tobey is founder of PheMOMenal Life Ministries a community for women to go get encouraged and equipped to be the best mom’s they can be to their children by living a healthy balanced life and by becoming all that God created them to be.
