Holiday grand plan 2010

[blessedw2]

flyladies list for today: order through catalogs and online today... I still have a hard time with how ceo was treated in all this but I still get emails even if the holiday focuses are at the same time as holiday grand plan.

[blessedw2]

wrapped and put away dd15/dd21 st. nicholas day gifts
ordered civil war christmas tickets for dd15/21/myself

[Harmony]

Just received word that DD2 & family will be taking a holiday vacation over Christmas so we do not have any idea when we will get together with this end of the family. None of us have any ideas what to do with Thanksgiving, either. 2 of us say you can come here, or we will travel...there does not seem to be a clear desire for hosting or traveling this year, and DD2 needs to find out about her DH's family also...

I'm feeling so ambivolent about the holidays this year...and I've never had a year that I didn't look forward to them ... DSis is planning to be away too...

Blessed, I'm impressed how you are going on with your holiday prep with all you have going on. A pole to help with lights - that would have helped us, keep DH off the roof, but I've just got a huge case of donwanna this time.

[Nancy]

Putting this here for a laugh, I made rolls yesterday from frozen dough
for after school snacks they had been in the freezer too long
they were not very tasty and only good for adding to the
turkey day stuffing! Now there's an idea!

[blessedw2]

A lot of the I dont wanna's dharmony is probably the not knowing what your sweet dd2 is wanting to do and decisions still up in the air. it makes it hard. ((()))

hi nancy

dd15 and dd21 is still up in the air of christmas wishes. my dmom is going to miss dd15 as they became good friends while dh was sick. i feel for dd21 a bit as I found out my dmom wants to hold a sweet 16 next year for dd15 and didn't hold anything for dd21 at 16 or 21... it makes for hurt feelings for dd21.

[Nancy]

Waving hi to every one!

Got the yarn for dgd #2's project a shawl in pink camo that she requested.
Found some gloves and books mittens today for the gift closet.

[blessedw2]

Garage / Storage Week
Holiday Grand Plan Week Eleven
Holiday Grand Plan by Katie Leckey
Holiday Grand Plan Printables by Cynthia Ewer

Week Eleven, Garage/Storage Week, at the Holiday Grand Plan gets us into garage and storage areas. The waning days of Autumn are a good time to rout out household storage areas, so we're ready to access extra tables, chairs and seasonal decorations.

In holiday prep, we look ahead to the Thanksgiving meal, and see to the family's holiday clothing.

Ready? Let's get organized with Garage Week in the Holiday Grand Plan!

Deep Cleaning/Organizing Area:
Garage
•Garage / Storage
•Garage/Storage cleaning checklist form
Holiday Prep:
•Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
•Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
•Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
•Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes.
•Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
•Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
•Review and revise menus and other plans.
•Plan table setting
•Plan centerpiece, make as much as possible now (or order it from florist).
•Reserve any items needed to be borrowed or rented.
•Get everyone's holiday clothes purchased/cleaned/pressed.

[blessedw2]

Garage / Storage
Cleaning Grand Plan Week Eleven
Holiday Grand Plan by Katie Leckey
Holiday Grand Plan Printables by Cynthia Ewer

This a designated area used for storing "needed" items until it is time to use them. It is not "someplace else" for procrastinators. It can be the attic, basement, section of garage, closet, shed or even a rental unit.

An efficient storage area is the backbone to your home. Overload it & the whole house suffers. There are basically two types of items that should be stored: seasonal-occasional (Christmas, camping, Baby stuff only if anticipated need (g), suitcases, etc.) & home management (backup supplies used in managing a home), (extra paper goods, soaps, kitchen supplies, light bulbs).

Remove everything from storage area.

Sort everything into related piles, boxes, or bags.

Streamline these piles until only keepers are left. (Other items go to the place they belong, i.e. trash, Goodwill, garage sale

Designate centers in your storage area according to available space and keeper categories. Your categories of keeper piles automatically determine your centers.

Maximize your space & increase your storing efficiency by using the following techniques:

•Hang as much as possible in drawstring bags.
•Consolidate by placing related items inside each other (bag of baby bedding inside bassinet, suitcases inside each other, etc.).
•Use shelving around area & make aisles like they do in warehouses. You can use metal shelves or boards on blocks, buckets, pipe, etc.
•Always consider how any given item is used, where it is used, & how often it's used-- then put things where they belong.
•Keep things that are used together stored together. It's simple but it works!
•If no room for it, you don't need it!!
Group and store like things together, just as the grocery store does, don't scatter. Consolidate as much as possible.

Hang as much as you can.

Use grocery store arrangement by lining the perimeter of your area with shelving, then run stacks of shelves both parallel and perpendicular to this.

Assign a space for empties. No more setting empty jars, buckets, drawstring bags in front of full containers.

For home management & backup storage, you will want to keep a record of items being stored (Household Notebook or computer).

Only store supplies that your family uses & likes. Wasted storage space is too expensive to pay for unwanted items.

Don't be tempted to just shove things into the storage area until you can find another place for them. Keep the "backbone" of your household skeleton lightly and efficiently loaded, and you'll experience greater efficiency and control throughout the rest of your home.

[blessedw2]

to me this is too much for just one week for cleaning (the garage area), even for someone organized like my dmom and dsil's, its over the year for me. And when I was buried like I once was, this list would have made me cry as at the time I felt I was the only one who couldn't keep up or be organized. I had held on to too much stuff and cleaning and moving stuff takes way to much energy and decisions. Now I can see what's in my garage and when I don't need things any more. (I love that since I started on dindiana's focus and dharriets dejunking i can easily see what I don't use any more and get rid of it).

I am still in family room and I am okay with that.
I still have to clean the fireplace brick
no one has told me yet what they want which is unusual
dh I know wants new shirts

I have decided on hors doevres to bring for Christmas eve and need to decide what to bring for thanksgiving and Christmas day. I have money put aside for the day after Thanksgiving (the shopping), I just have to make sure I keep on top of laundry (lol)

things I have to remember for thanksgiving: clean cloths, hair cuts early enough, hair dye kept up on, make up (up to date and in drawer). get new mascare for dd21. make sure I take a shower the day before thanksgiving as everyone else is in the shower that day. find out what dsil wants me to bring for thanksgiving
make sure I charge our cell phones the day before and our camera and video camera. do have I have monthly stuff. make sure my purse is together for the day after thanksgiving. we go downtown shopping as a family.
send dmom and dbro thanksgiving cards a week before thanks giving

[Nancy]

Blessed I was thinking the same thing.
We have a carport and hubby cleaned it up one year while I was cooking the turkey and doing
thanksgiving meal prep. it looked great when he was done.

I have some mittens for youngest dgd I finally bought some,
and got more books for younger two grands.