At least one person is getting ready for the holidays. That is writer Tabitha Sukhai of This Old House.

This week, Tabitha and I have been trading info on getting organized for entertaining. She’s put together a neat feature at This Old House that showcases Smart Storage for Once a Year Entertaining.

My favorite of her organizing finds? The wine glass storage! This stemware storage chest could be used in so many homes I’ve organized. There simply wasn’t enough room in the kitchen cabinets. I’d often say “But how often do you serve wine to 48? You use your kitchen every day.” Sometimes the solution is to get those entertaining-only pieces put away until you entertain.

Holiday are coming. It is time to give your party goods a once-over, as my mother used to say.

Here’s a few tips.

• Add “polish silver” to your calendar for mid-November. That should take you through the holiday and entertaining season.
• Clean out that liquor cabinet! When was the last time you did that? Get rid of old mixers, cloudy wine and weird liquors you thought you’d try but never did- or did but hated. You need the room. Make a list of things that really do need re-stocking.
• Take a peak at linens. These can be stored on hangers. If your linens are wrinkled and messy, give them a wash, dry and hang them up- or send them out to the dry cleaner. Do it now while you are not in a rush.
• This is a great time to think about things like table centerpieces and place cards. Start a folder. Tear out ideas from magazines and you’ll have a bundle of ideas for your next occasion.