Showing posts with label organizing for your holiday shopping and guests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organizing for your holiday shopping and guests. Show all posts

Friday, October 02, 2009

Organizing for holiday gift giving and holiday guests.
I worked with an organizer years ago and I learned that big, easy to read labels on things it helps you and visitors to your home know where things belong.

I use big labels to help my gift purchases organized. have a line of laundry baskets in the attic each labeled with a group. My eldest sisters family has a labeled basket as does my middle sisters family and my girlfriends and guy friends and their family. As I travel or find a good sale and purchase presents throughout the year I put the present in the appropriate basket with the price tag on it and the receipt taped to it. Just before Thanksgiving I go through the baskets and find out who still needs presents and make a list. I take my list with me for the day after Thanksgiving to finish all my purchases.

I am not typically super organized but I love to have the house ready when I have guests. When company comes to my house for the holiday I label all the kitchen drawers and cabinets with their contents. Silverware, Coffee and Tea stuff, Glasses, Plates, Saran wrap, garbage bags, snacks etc. and I do the same for the fridge the pantry, the mop and vacuum closet and the shelves in the guest bath closet. I leave canned drinks stacked in the corner of the kitchen. With everything labeled or in view. That way people can help themselves and I am not answering shouts of “where are the tea bags?” all week. I also have fold out luggage racks like they have in hotels in the guest bedrooms and have over the closet door hooks for bathrobes and towels in the guest bedrooms. I also put a stack of old paper backs buy each bed according to guests tastes and have a coffee maker in the big guest bedroom with a try filled with coffee and tea goodies so guests don’t have to worry about getting dressed or disturbing others to get their first cup of coffee.