Boy, the countdown to Christmas is really under way now. Either you are going somewhere, someone is coming to your house or you just flat-out have too much to do.

Let’s de-stress by breaking down the tasks this month, as we did last month. If you are just tuning in to these posts, you can find some to-do lists in November that you might want to scan for Christmas organizing ideas.

1. This is decorating week. If you put your tree up over Thanksgiving, then you probably still need to finish up. Before starting anything else, finish up any little decorating chores you have.

2. Take decorating boxes back to the attic or storage area.

3, Vacuum and dust. Thanksgiving celebrating followed by dragging in your decorations has sure to have made a mess.

4. Did you have guests this past week? If so, strip the guest bed(s) and gather the towels. Give them a wash and remake the beds so you are ready for December.

5. Mail out-of-town packages.

6. Create a menu for two weeks of December and a grocery list. (Covering the 6th to the 19th- this will get you up to Christmas week.) The actual shopping will be on next week’s to-do list.

7. Think about holiday baking. Don’t panic! I didn’t ask you to do holiday baking- just think about it. What would you like to make? You are more likely to make it if you have the ingredients on hand. Pull out your recipes. Add the ingredients to the above shopping list. Remember, holidays are supposed to be fun. Do what you’d enjoy but don’t overload yourself!

8. Having trouble getting in the mood? Create some holiday scents by adding some cinnamon, vanilla and citrus to a pot on the stove so that the house smells like the holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I tied this string on my finger so I wouldn’t get into a turkey and dressing stupor and forget to say thank you so much for visiting the Organize Right Now blog.

May you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thanks again,

Lea and Everyone with Organize Right Now

Photo Credit; reminder1 copyright Timothy Boomer- fotolia.com

Moving day.  Let’s just say “yuck.”

I’ve read that moving day is as stressful as a divorce. I don’t know if that is true or not but I do know that whatever we are in the middle of on any given day is the thing that is most stressful.

Here are a few tips from a recent move that I helped with.

Do begin to pack early. You can box many items that you don’t need immediately like photos, books and off-season clothing.

Do pack like-items together. That means if the items are kitchen, only put kitchen in that box. When it gets confusing is when you open a box and find things for three different rooms! Where to go with it all!

Do label everything!

Go through all your stuff. Get rid of the clutter. If you don’t need it now, think how annoyed you’ll be with it in the new home!

You can find lots of organizing hints online.  Here are some hints for how to pick a mover.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let’s keep the to-do list this week short and sweet.

1. Grocery shop for the week by using the Thanksgiving menu and grocery list you created last week. Don’t forget to add to the list the things you need for regular meals this week.

2. See what you can cook ahead from your menu. Cook and refrigerate or freeze so there are not so many last-minute things.

3. Set the table for the big day. You can do this ahead. If anyone stops by, it is sure to look pretty. They will admire you for being so organized!

4. The day before Thanksgiving, take 30-minutes to make the house ready for guests. Grab a basket and pick up clutter and put it where it belongs. Give the bathrooms a fresh wipe. Sweep or mop the kitchen floor.

Don’t forget to give Thanks!

5. If you are a Thanksgiving weekend Christmas decorating family, have someone get the decorations out of the attic or storage. Arrange to pick up a tree or assemble your artificial one.

Remember to have fun and eat the leftovers!

Getting organized is one thing.

Staying organized is another.

That’s where TWEAK Day comes in.

There isn’t anyway to get organized permenantly, I am sorry to say. Organizing is a living, breathing on-going thing. You can’t just do it once and be done with it.

Sure there is the initial effort to pitch the clutter and restore order. But, if you don’t revisit that space, then down the road, you’ll be back to the same old mess in no time.

So, have a TWEAK day. That is when you get into that space and tweak it. Today was TWEAK day in my own kitchen and laundry room. TWEAK day should be easy and short, after all you are doing it to stay organized and not start from scratch. 

To TWEAK the kitchen, I began by making some hot soapy water in the sink. You can’t work in the kitchen without it. Then I opened each cabinet and drawer, peeking in to see if:

• Everything was still in its place.
• Was everything still useful?
• Did it need a quick wipe?

I did pitch some plastic water bottles into the recycle bin that I thought I might use “some day” and they have never been used. I found a handful of recipes printed from the computer that I don’t need so out they went. I purged the junk drawer of office supplies and other odds and ends that migrated there. I was really brave and got rid of the burnt and hole-filled potholders. The plastic lids now match the bowls once again as I recycled the odd pieces.

While I was peeking in each, I wiped off the outside of the cabinets and appliances. In the laundry room, I wiped off the washer and dry and tweaked the basket that I store my supplies in. Whenever I find coins in the laundry, I pitch them in the basket. I fished them out, tossed them in the piggy bank and put the basket liner in with a load of clothes.

It’s been months- start of Florida hurricane season- since I last tweaked the kitchen. This was a great time of year, before company arrives and holiday entertaining happens, to make sure the kitchen is clean and in order.

It only took 30 minutes and I won’t need to do it again for months. TWEAK away to stay organized.

Getting Your House Ready for the Holidays

Home for the holidays! The thought evokes such warm feelings that you can quickly get a lump in your throat. It is such a special time of the year and home is such a special place.

We don’t often think first of “home” when we think of the holiday rush. We picture hurrying in crowds to get gifts or standing in the line at the post office. But, if you think about it, you’ll realize that it is the home chores that stress you out the most.
If you need a bit of help getting ready for the holidays, read the rest of this article at Organizing Tips in the Organize Right Now website.

As we head into the third week of November, the to-do list becomes more  focused on next week- Thanksgiving- than it does on Christmas.

Here’s some activities to get you organized for the holidays.

1)Make your Thanksgiving menu. Include breakfast, appetizers for nibbles for during the day, desserts and beverages. Print off any recipes or mark them with sticky notes in your cookbook. On your menu, note the recipe page number and book.

2. Create a grocery list from that menu.

3. Gather gift wish lists from family members.

4. Continue to work on Christmas shopping a bit at a time. Concentrate on completing out-of-town gifts before Thanksgiving so they can get shipped.

5. Toward the end of the week, clean house for Thanksgiving. Divide up your tasks so that you don’t have to do it all in one day. Perhaps you can take a basket around and scoop up clutter one day and put it away, do the bathrooms one day, dust another day and vacuum or mop floors the last day.

6. There’s a great Thanksgiving to-do list, so that you can remember all the little things you need to do, from borrowing folding chairs to getting a table centerpiece, at What’s Cooking America. See Thanksgiving Organizer.

Give the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season. Give the gift of organization.

You can give your friend or family member one-on-one time and advice from a professional organizer. Help them finish that project or room they have always wanted to conquer.

Organize Right Now- Organize Online gift certificates are available through Christmas.

Click.   Pick .  Organize.

With Organize Online, your gift certificate brings organization no matter where you live because you’ll be organizing via phone, email and even with digital pictures if you wish!

There are all kinds of things you can organize- kids, office, paperwork, closets, hobbies, home businesses, clutter, rooms, meals and more.

Learn more or be organized and buy one now. Visit Organize Right Now.

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/4

Photo Credit: Santa checking his list copyright Scott Hancock-fotolia.com

Do you have one warm coat you don’t really need? I promise you that there is someone out there that needs it.

What does this have to do with organizing, you ask? Make good use of the space you have by clearing out the excess!

One Warm Coat hopes that everyone who needs a coat will have one. Through their site, you can find out where to donate your extra coats. You can find out how to start a coat drive in your community.

You can visit their map to find a drive near you.  Where I live, the drop off was at Old Navy. I bet there is one near you!

While you are digging in the closet, here are a few tips for coat closets:

• Stick to keeping only things in the coat closet that go in and out with you from the house. This includes: stadium seats, umbrellas, rolling grocery carts, grocery recycle bags, coats, hats, gloves and so forth.
• Put some coat hooks at a lower level so kids can reach them.
• Use the inside of the door to hold mittens, hats and scarves. A shoe keeper works great for this.
• Add some extra hangers for your guests coats. (They really DO mind if you lay their coat on the bed with the cat hair even if they said “Oh, that’s okay.”
• Speaking of pet hair, adding a lint roller to your closet is a great idea!

Now, get those extra coats out to someone who needs one!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: 

Holiday Time!

Your Organize Right Now Holiday Newsletter is out. It’s ready to help you get organized for this busy season. The more you get organized, the less stress there will be.

Look inside Holiday Time to Find These Great Tips!

6 Ways to Organize Gift Wrap.
Holiday To-Do Checklist.
Less Mess Decorating.
Organized Shopping.
Two Ingredient Peppermint Bark.
Meal Prep Organizing.

You can organize right now with these tips!

Read it now online! Or, get a free subscription! (See bottom of the page link for subscription sign up.)