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The holidays are among us, starting with Halloween in just a couple of weeks.  Getting out your decorations can be a scary experience, especially if you didn’t organize them well last year!

Stop the decoration chaos and make getting out your decorations a breeze.  All it takes is a little planning and preparation so that next year it will be nice and easy.

 

Sort – Sort through your decorations and decide what are keepers and what can be given away.  If you didn’t display an item last year and you really have no interest in doing so this year, let it go.  If something is sentimental, but you no longer want to display it, consider taking a picture!  This way you can preserve the memory without having to save the actual item.

Once you have sorted everything, pack up the items that you are willing to donate and drop them off that day (if possible).   Don’t waste time getting your donations out as now is the time your favorite charity can use them.

 

Packing – After you have enjoyed a wonderful holiday, it’s time to pack everything back up.  If you really enjoyed how you decorated a particular area, take a picture of it!  You can pack everything together in the same container and place the picture on top.  You may even want to include any notes you may have about the space.  It will be so much easier to decorate next year!

Another option for packing decorations is to pack by categories.  Different bins for lights, table decorations, wall hangings, outside decorations, etc.  You can still take a picture of your favorite areas in case you forget next year exactly what your space looked like.

When packing, be sure to wrap decorations in tissue, paper, or newspaper to keep in perfect condition.  For very fragile decorations, consider wrapping in bubble wrap and placing in smaller boxes.  Mark them fragile, so you don’t forget next year.

 

Storage Containers – There are so many choices in holiday decoration’s storage containers.  My recommendation is to start with clear stackable bins with colored lids.  Color-code your containers for the holiday.  For example: orange for Halloween, green for Christmas, pink for Easter, etc.

I recommend you label your bins with the contents inside, even if they are color-coded.  This will save you time to know what is in each bin without having to open the lid to look.  Most of these containers are seasonal, so be sure to buy them around the holiday.

Please note, however, I highly recommend that you do not buy any kind of storage container until after you have done the sorting and know exactly what is going into the bin.  This will help save you time and money by not buying too many bins.

 

Location – Keep all of your decorations in the same place.  Nothing is more frustrating than having to look around the house for all of your decorations.  Save time by keeping everything together.

 

Putting in a little extra time now will help to ensure your holiday transitions run smooth next year.

Happy Organizing!

 

Post written by Nikki Kinzer

For over a decade, Nikki Kinzer has been helping individuals and businesses reach success through better organization. As a Professional Organizer and ADD/ADHD Coach, Nikki’s passion is to partner and coach individuals and families on how to build positive life habits, reduce stress, and take back control in their lives.  Through Take Control Organizing, Nikki brings to her clients and readers a view of organized living that offers control rather than cleanliness, enrichment rather than austerity, and time to focus on the things that matter in life rather than the stress that comes from disorganization. For more info visit Nikki at Take Control Organizing. For more organizing tips and strategies, please visit TCO’s blog, Twitter, or Facebook page.

 

 

The nights are coming sooner and the days are becoming a little crisper – fall is in the air.  I think fall is one of the best seasons for families – there are so many fun and interesting activities that your whole family can enjoy.

 

It can be easy to create family traditions around a few activities that you continue to do year after year.  Do you already have a few or do you remember doing something every fall with your family when you were younger?

 

With everyone watching their family budgets, I wanted to share with you some fun and frugal activities that your family can enjoy together.  Remember, it doesn’t take a lot of money to create family fun!

 

Play in the Leaves

Playing in piles of raked leaves is always a favorite with the kids.  Getting the kids involved in raking and piling the leaves is great exercise, then running and jumping will certainly wear everyone out!   Throw the leaves in the air and make it “rain leaves”.  Bury yourself up to your neck in leaves.

 

Enjoy the Leaves

One of the best things about fall is the gorgeous colored leaves. You can entice yourself and your family to go on walks by collecting what you deem to be the most beautiful leaves you can find.  Make some permanent decorations by dipping your leaves in wax shown here.  You could also take a Sunday drive and view fall foliage.  Here is information for fall viewing from coast to coast from the Families with Purpose website!

 

Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Make sure you take the time to separate the seeds out of the pumpkin when you do your carving to roast some pumpkin seeds.  I can remember doing this when I was much younger and I have continued this tradition with my own children.  Here is a recipe using olive oil instead of the butter, but I prefer the old version!

 

Attend a Harvest Festival

Look to schools, churches, local organizations, orchards, and vineyards for fall festivals to enjoy. You can look forward to apple cider, apple cider doughnuts, face painting, fall crafts, and more. Find locations near you with this great listing of pumpkin patches, fall festivals, corn mazes and more located in your neck of the woods.

 

Host a Backyard Campfire

Invite some friends over and build a fire in your backyard.  Bring some marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers to make s’mores. Make sure you have a lot of blankets nearby and some warm cocoa to make everyone feel warm and cozy.

 

Take a Flashlight Walk

With sunset coming earlier it can be a perfect time to grab some flashlights after dinner and take a walk around the neighborhood or even some nearby woods with flashlights.  Let your children each take their own flashlight and discover what they can see.  You could also create a simple scavenger hunt to keep everyone engaged and interested in finding specific items.

 

Fall is Apple Time

Find an orchard and go apple picking!  Something about the crisp air and the crunchy, fresh apples makes everyone happy. Even though this one costs money I still think it’s frugal. It isn’t often you can purchase fruit so inexpensively. Apples are great because as long as you keep them cool they last a long time.  Find an orchard near you and even pick other fall veggies while you are out.

 

Fun Fall Craft Activities

If you are not a crafty person you will appreciate this collection of simple and creative ideas to do with your kids with a pumpkin theme from Happy Home Fairy. 

 

Enjoy Some Snuggle Time

If you have smaller children go for an outing to the library and pick up a collection of fall books.  From pumpkin stories, to books on leaves, crafts with fall items like pinecones and more, you can have a fun afternoon snuggled up on the sofa looking at books together. Pick up a fun DVD too, like “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.”

 

 

Post written by Susan Heid…

Susan Heid is the mom behind The Confident Mom where she loves inspiring  moms to make small changes managing their home and family life giving them more time, less stress and stronger family relationships! She enthusiastically wears the hat of mom, step-mom and foster mom to 4 awesome kids – ages 18, 14, 10 and 17 months; is married to her very own prince charming, loves coffee, cloudy days, and does think the bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle.  Her FREE 5 part mini series: “The Opening Act” is helping moms worldwide become the calm mom they want to be!  Join the community of moms on Facebook or find her @ConfidentMom on Twitter.