Tag Archives: Holiday organizing

Clutter-Free Options for Displaying Your Holiday Cards

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One of the things I most look forward to each Christmas season is the daily arrival of holiday cards from friends and family. As the official household card maker for my own family, I understand firsthand the time, energy, and thought that goes into creating these cards each year. So I do my best to carve out a prominent place in my home to display the cards for everyone to enjoy throughout the holiday season.

Each year, I try to come up with a new and creative way to display holiday cards that doesn’t clutter up any of the flat surfaces in our home and that serves as a festive addition to the holiday decor. This year, I’m hanging them vertically on doors located in our foyer by attaching them to a long piece of ribbon that’s affixed to the door on the reverse side via duct tape (fancy, I know, but it works for me).

Clutter Free Holiday Card Display 2

If you are looking for some creative ways to display your holiday cards in “clutter-free style” this year, I pulled together this collection of great examples from around the web in order to provide you with a little inspiration.

Clutter Free Holiday Card Display

1.  Use garland and ribbon to create a hanging card display across a window or above a door, like the pom pom garland display featured on Bob Vila’s blog.

2.   Repurpose an old shutter to create a cardholder by tucking your cards in between the slats, as demonstrated by Courtney from A Diamond in the Stuff. Not only is this option fantastic for holiday cards — you can use it year-round to organize bills, coupons, invitations etc.

3.  Create a card wreath (or several!), using a wreath form covered in decorative fabric. Use clothespins to attach cards to the wreath form.  Genius!

4.  Use cards as Christmas tree ornaments! This is what I call “killing two birds with one stone”. See the simple tutorial at Better Homes and Gardens for how to pull this off.

5.  Don’t have a Christmas tree? Create a Greetings Tree, Martha Stewart-Style, using some dried winter branches, a bucket, and some ribbon.

6.  Hang cards vertically on doors and cupboards using pretty holiday ribbon like this example found on the Greener Grass blog  (great minds think alike!)

7.  Create a Card Garland on your stairway banister ala Martha Stewart.

8.  Create a Washi Tape Card Tree like the folks at the Thyme is Honey blog did. A conversation-piece indeed!

Now it’s your turn to share…got a creative way to celebrate those holiday cards? Let us in on it in the comments section below.

 Want to learn more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?  Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com or connect via: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | LinkedIn

Overcoming Holiday Overwhelm – Part 2

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In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the importance of setting realistic expectations and adopting a Zen attitude regarding the holiday season, as well as the importance of eliminating as many holiday obligations as possible. In Part 2, I outline 5 valuable tips for enhancing the joy and reducing the stress of the holiday season.
 

1. BEGIN PLANNING EARLY

 
Would it surprise you to hear that most of the holiday planning books and resources suggest that you begin the planning process in late September/early October? When you begin your planning well in advance of the official holiday season, it will enable you to spread out your massive To Do list into bite-size chunks. In addition, you will be able to identify tasks that can be completed well in advance, which frees up more time for relaxation and enjoyment as the holiday week draws near.
 

2. CREATE A MASTER HOLIDAY TO DO LIST AND CALENDAR

 
Begin the planning process by creating a Master Holiday To Do list, that outlines each task that you need to complete for the holidays and order them by the month in which the task needs to be completed. Be sure to consider the following broad categories when creating your To Do List:

Holiday Home Preparation – cleaning, decluttering, decorating;

Holiday Hosting – food shopping, menu planning, sending out invitations, cooking/baking;

Holiday Shopping/Gift Giving – budget, gift recipient list, gift ideas, shopping, gift wrapping, homemade gifts;

Holiday Traditions – family portrait, holiday cards, caroling, tree farm, religious events.

 
Once you’ve completed your To Do list, the next steps in your planning process are to 1) estimate how long each task will take to complete, 2) determine a start date and a deadline for each task, and 3) enter these dates into your holiday calendar.
 

3. CREATE A HOLIDAY PLANNING NOTEBOOK

 
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A holiday planning notebook is the most essential tool for maintaining your sanity this time of year. The planner should serve as the home for all information, resources, and planning tools you need to accomplish the tasks on your Master Holiday To Do List. In addition to your To Do List and calendar, the holiday planner should contain the following:  budget, gift list, party menus, holiday card recipient list, coupons, and receipts.
The notebook can be created using a variety of formats; I suggest using a 3-ring binder with page protector inserts to contain your papers. The good news is that there are several fabulous online resources for creating a holiday planning notebook so you don’t need to start from scratch! My favorite resources for free holiday planning printables are the Organized Christmas and Christmas Your Way websites. Both of these websites offer a holiday calendar and a master Holiday To Do list, as well as many other blank checklists, inventory sheets, and shopping lists. No need to reinvent the wheel, right?
 

4. USE HOLIDAY PLANNING APPS

 
holiday organizing app

 

If you prefer electronic over paper organizing solutions, there are a ton of holiday planning apps out there for you to explore. Some apps assist with managing your gift purchases/budget, while others assist with holiday meal/menu planning.
 

5. DELEGATE

 
A primary cause of holiday overwhelm is the belief that we have to complete all of the items on our Master Holiday To Do list ourselves. This year, I invite you to challenge that belief and explore ways to delegate the responsibility for some tasks to others. Have your kids stuff the holiday cards into the envelopes. Divvy up the gift shopping list between you and your spouse. If you are hosting a holiday dinner party, make it a “potluck” so that you are preparing only the main course instead of the entire dinner.
 
Alternatively, consider hiring professionals to outsource certain tasks (a handyman to install exterior lights, a professional cleaning service, a printing company to address and send out holiday cards). The small investment will pay you back tenfold in the form of reduced stress!
 
Do you have a favorite holiday planning tool, resource, or method? Leave a comment below. We’d love to hear about it!
 
 

Overcoming Holiday Overwhelm – Part 1

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christmas_calendar
 
So here we are…December 1st. By now, many of us have been in Holiday Mode for several weeks. For a lot of people, the Magic of the Season has slowly devolved into a never-ending list of extra tasks and obligations that leave us feeling depleted and longing for January 2nd! We play the “How Many Holiday Activities Can I Commit Myself to Before Imploding?” game. We aspire to the Martha Stewart-esque décor and party spreads, as well as the Norman Rockwell-esque family get-togethers. Are you ready to stop the madness? “Yes, but how?” you ask. Here’s how…
 

Adjust your Expectations and Attitude

 
I know that it’s easier said than done, but we need to free ourselves from the unrealistic expectations of what we think we have to do this time of year and from our mind’s picture of what the holiday should “look like”. Be realistic about what you can accomplish with the limited time and energy that you have! Adopt a zen attitude this season…it won’t be perfect, you won’t be able to do everything, and that’s o.k.
 

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Reduce Holiday Obligations

 
Begin your holiday season by making a list all of the activities that conjure up that “magical feeling” and bring you true joy. Next, make a list of all of the holiday activities that you typically do. The activities that are on list #2 and NOT list #1 are what I call Holiday Obligations. How many of these obligations might you be able to eliminate this holiday season? Focus on the ones that really deplete your energy.
 
When you realize that there really is no mandatory list of activities that we MUST do, you begin to feel very liberated! Is putting up exterior lights the bane of your existence? Nix it off the list. Despise attending the neighborhood holiday party? Say “no thank you” this year. Overwhelmed by the thought of getting Christmas cards out? Send an e-card or forego them altogether.
 
The holiday obligation I chose to remove from my list was having a live 12-foot high Christmas tree in our home. I love the experience of going to the tree farm and enjoy the fresh pine smell in my home. BUT… I have come to dread the task of hauling it in and out of the house, securing it to the wall, making sure it’s straight, putting on 1000+lights, and blinging it out to perfection (and making sure it’s watered each day).
 
Simplify Christmas1

 

Not this year!!! After surveying my family members and learning that all but one of us doesn’t mind the idea of a 7 foot artificial tree and won’t be devastated about missing our annual trip to the tree farm, we made the executive decision to nix the live tree (poor Hubby went kicking and screaming, but he’ll get over it).
 
I took it a step further and handed over the responsibility of decorating it to my 2 kiddos (adopting my Zen attitude). Does it look as fabulous as when I single-handedly spent an entire day painstakingly adorning it ? Not quite. Am I o.k. with that? Heck yea! Time is a valuable commodity in my life these days and I saved so much time by letting the kids take charge. Of course, they enjoyed the freedom of choosing the ornaments and placing them wherever they wanted without Mom rearranging them.
 
Simplify Christmas2
 
In Part 2, we will continue to explore concrete steps you can take to reduce stress and enhance your enjoyment of the holiday season.
 
Interested in learning more about how to Overcome Holiday Overwhelm? Join me on Wednesday, 12/4 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Green branch of the Summit County Library at 4046 Massillon Rd, Uniontown, OH 44685 when I will speaking on this topic.
 

Interested in learning more about Natalie Gallagher or Refined Rooms?
Visit www.RefinedRoomsLLC.com