Hold on to your sleigh bells because time is going to get away from you. Especially if you don’t plan it right. Careful planning and execution is the key to anything. Every household has their specific traditions and time line by which to do them. While it is may seem overwhelming, they get done none the less. I wanted to share some ides that might help get a jump on the holidays. Feel free to write in with your tips as well. Each week I will feature a new link full of helps and ideas.

This week I want to feature www.brightideas.com

To get things order in you must take inventory of stock on hand. I would suggest getting a small spiral notebook. Section it off into the following categories:

Food        House        Gifts        Travel        Ideas        Coupons

Keep this notebook with you for the next 24 days. That way nothing is missing, overlooked or under bought.

Food:

Take inventory of your baking supplies, canned goods, refrigerator and freezer. This even means paper products.

Note where you have extra room to accommodate sale items, ex: if butter is $2.00 on sale and you will be doing a lot of baking. Buy it up because that is a good deal and it can be stored in the freezer. But then write it in your notebook.

Gather together your recipes and get a basic list of needed ingredients. This way you can have them with you and take advantage of sales. It also saves with trying to find that recipe later.

House:

Some people like to leave their house guests a small basket of treats in their room. Go ahead and make them up. The World Market has great little treats under $2.00, perfect for this sort of thing. Baskets can be bought at the dollar store. Bottled water is also nice to leave in their room.
 
www.worldmarket.com

Instead of waiting until the night before to change the sheets, try washing them now. Place a couple of nice smelling dryer sheets in between the mattress and fitted sheet. This will keep that fresh laundry smell. Also place one in the pillow case.

Plan your sleeping arrangements as far in advance as possible.  If air mattresses are needed be sure the pump works.

Stay on top of cleaning. It might be worth a gift to yourself to hire a cleaning service. You have enough on your plate at this time of year. Think about it, most services are under 100.00 for a one time cleaning. Try asking around for private ladies who do it as a part time business. This way you can focus on the other details.

Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of our planning for Christmas blog.