Welcome back, old friends! Welcome, new friends! Who's ready to get started for Holiday Prep?! I know I am. It's been a busy few months and I have not kept up with the house like I usually do. I really need to get things decluttered and organized. For those who are new, do what you can. If you can't get to it all in one week, it's ok. Check in throughout the week to share what's been done and cheer one another.
This year will look different since the Organized Home site is being shut down. Typically, the assignments were linked each week. Since I saved a copy of the HHP, I'll post it here each week.
House and Holidays Plan by Cynthia Ewer
Week 1 - Planning and Paperwork
Week 2 - Calendar and Creativity
Week 3 - Me & Mine
Week 4 - Close to Home
Week 5 - House Room
Week 6 - Wardrobe
Week 7 - Bed & Bath
Week 8 - Family Space
Week 9 -Public Space
Week 10 - Cooking Space
Week 11 - Food Storage
Week 12 - Dining Space
Week 13 - Entryway
Week 14 - Storage
Week 15 - Final Clean
Week 16 - Nearly There
Week 17 - Celebration
Week 18 - New Year’s
Week 1 - Planning Week
This Week's Focus: Planning and Paperwork
To make a good beginning takes planning. Where do you go to dream, to budget, to plan? This week in the House & Holidays Plan, we turn to our home's planning center. How is it working for you?
This week, we'll clean, organize and declutter the home office or planning area, and begin the basics of holiday planning: our values, our budget and our gift list. To take aim on your household's planning center and kick off Christmas planning, get this inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Household Checklist
This year will look different since the Organized Home site is being shut down. Typically, the assignments were linked each week. Since I saved a copy of the HHP, I'll post it here each week.
House and Holidays Plan by Cynthia Ewer
Week 1 - Planning and Paperwork
Week 2 - Calendar and Creativity
Week 3 - Me & Mine
Week 4 - Close to Home
Week 5 - House Room
Week 6 - Wardrobe
Week 7 - Bed & Bath
Week 8 - Family Space
Week 9 -Public Space
Week 10 - Cooking Space
Week 11 - Food Storage
Week 12 - Dining Space
Week 13 - Entryway
Week 14 - Storage
Week 15 - Final Clean
Week 16 - Nearly There
Week 17 - Celebration
Week 18 - New Year’s
Week 1 - Planning Week
This Week's Focus: Planning and Paperwork
To make a good beginning takes planning. Where do you go to dream, to budget, to plan? This week in the House & Holidays Plan, we turn to our home's planning center. How is it working for you?
This week, we'll clean, organize and declutter the home office or planning area, and begin the basics of holiday planning: our values, our budget and our gift list. To take aim on your household's planning center and kick off Christmas planning, get this inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Household Checklist
- Declutter and clean the home office or paper handling area. Declutter home office or household paper-handling areas this week. Think STOP--Sort, Toss, Organized and Put away--as you clear clutter from your space. Once free from clutter, clean the workspace for a fresh start to the Plan.
- Set up a basic household filing system. A clean and clutter-free workspace is half the battle; next up in the war on paper clutter? An efficient household filing system. Get up to speed on the ABCs of household paper management in your organized home.
- Make the promise! Plan time this week to begin preparing for the holiday season. Even 15 minutes three times a week will make a good start on holiday prep.
- Set up a Christmas notebook. Whether it's a simple three-ring binder, a section in a paper planner, or a database on computer or PDA, make a Christmas planner to hold holiday calendars, checklists and planner pages.
- Focus family values. Using the Family Values Worksheet, identify and focus the values your celebration will serve. [Below are questions from the sheet. They were not originally part of this bullet point.]
- What went well last year? What activities made the season special? Did you make changes that made the
holiday more organized, more calm, more centered? - What stresses did you face last year? Were there too many activities on the calendar? Did household
systems fall apart? Were you wrapping gifts at midnight on Christmas Eve? - Were you spiritually invigorated by the holiday celebration? Did your family participate in meaningful
worship, giving, or service activities? - Did inappropriate influences enter your home last year? Were décor, clothing or gift-buying decisions
influenced by competitiveness or insecurity? Did the pace of the season affect family closeness or values? - What would you have done differently last year?
- What went well last year? What activities made the season special? Did you make changes that made the
- Create a Christmas activity center. Whether it's a simple basket or a dedicated space with a comfortable chair, set aside an area for holiday planning.
- Establish a holiday budget. Credit card debt is nobody's idea of a great Christmas gift! This year, set financial limits before you plan the celebration. Tool of choice: a holiday budget form. Keeping tabs on expenditures as you prepare prevents overspending on the holidays.
- Consider a Christmas savings plan. Start now to save money for Christmas. Whether you open a dedicated bank Christmas Club account, set aside cash each week or add to a gift card balance, begin to accumulate funds for holiday spending now. Your wallet will thank you, come January!
- Begin a Master Gift List. Make a master gift list now. In the weeks to come, you'll check it a lot more than twice to organize holiday gift-giving.
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