December 2011 Organizing Checklist by Maria Gracia http://www.getorganizednow.com ____ Dec 1 Do you need to make room for your Christmas tree? Do some decluttering while you are rearranging. Donate the items you declutter to leave your home less cluttered when you take the decorations down. ____ Dec 2 Unpack holiday decorations and start placing. Consider donating those you elect not to put out ____ Dec 3 Putting up outside lights and decorations? Make sure you take measures to be safe while hanging lights and decorations. ____ Dec 4 Make several batches of different cookie doughs and freeze for baking later in the month. Since it’s National Cookie Day, make sure you bake a batch to enjoy today. ____ Dec 5 Are you a dog owner? Take your furry friend in for a professional grooming. ____ Dec 6 Are the circuit breakers labeled in your home? If they aren’t all labeled, enlist the help of a family member or friend to discover what the unlabeled breakers control, and then label them. This also helps you to test each one to make sure they’re working correctly. ____ Dec 7 Prepare your guest room, for holiday guests, with a deep cleaning. After cleaning, set the room up to be guest-ready. Provide a basket with travel-sized toiletries. ____ Dec 8 Create a portable gift wrap center. Stock a basket with wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, scissors, tape, etc. Store in a closet for easy access when you need it. ____ Dec 9 Plan your holiday meals. Make use of the convenience of your slow cooker to have hot meals ready when you come home from shopping or work. ____ Dec 10 Pick up some inexpensive slippers at your local dollar store to have available for guests to put on when they come to visit. They can leave their shoes or boots at the door and have something on their feet while visiting. ------------------------ Want tons of great ideas for getting organized at home and in the office? Check out my new books, Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Home and Finally Organized, Finally Free for the Office. Now available in both print and digital PDF format. Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/newbook.html ------------------------ ____ Dec 11 Make sure you have plenty of cutlery, plates and serving pieces for the holidays. Consider renting what you don’t have to reduce the amount you have to store after the holidays. ____ Dec 12 Put an envelope in your purse and use it to contain all of your holiday receipts together. This will avoid a hunting expedition if one is needed. ____ Dec 13 Declutter flat surfaces in your kitchen, entry and living/family rooms. Clear surfaces reduce visual clutter and are calming in a very hectic time. ____ Dec 14 Do you have plenty of batteries on hand for cameras and toys? If not, pick up enough to get you through all of the holiday picture taking and toy playing. ____ Dec 15 Check your yard for evergreen cuttings, holly berries, etc. to make holiday decorations. ____ Dec 16 New Year’s Eve is approaching fast. Make plans now and line up your babysitter if you need one. ____ Dec 17 Give the common areas of your home a thorough cleaning to be ready for the holidays. Assign age appropriate tasks to family members. Have a pizza party with a movie as a reward afterwards. ____ Dec 18 Start thinking of some goals you would like to accomplish in the coming year. Jot them down as they come to mind. When you have your list, prioritize and start detailing steps to accomplish your top 5 goals. ____ Dec 19 Have your car serviced and winterized to make sure you’re ready for winter. Make sure your tires are weather appropriate for the area you live in. ____ Dec 20 Confirm with Christmas dinner guests who will be bringing what to dinner. Finalize your plans and begin now to do what can be done ahead of time. ------------------------ Keeping on top of everything going on in your life is easy, when you have the Get Organized Now! Easy Organizer. Now available in both print and digital PDF format. Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/ezorganizer.html ------------------------ ____ Dec 21 Use some of your frozen cookie doughs to make plates of cookies for mail carriers, paper carriers and others. Make up a plate to take to your local fire station to say thank you to the firemen and women. ____ Dec 22 Make sure you have a good supply of de-icer for walkways. Be very careful when shoveling snow to take precautions to avoid health issues from the exertion of shoveling. ____ Dec 23 Take a family trip to see holiday light displays. Neighborhoods and downtown areas are great places to see some wonderful displays. ____ Dec 24 Finish up gift wrapping and finishing touches. Put together an overnight breakfast casserole for tomorrow morning. You’ll have a ready to bake breakfast dish to be eaten at your leisure either before or after gift exchanges. ____ Dec 25 Enjoy the day with your family. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas! ------------------------ Get all your papers organized once and for all, in an organized (find-anything-you-need-in-a-second) filing system. You'll be the envy of your friends! Discover: My Oh-So-Organized Filing System. Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/filing.html ------------------------ ____ Dec 26 While holiday prep is still somewhat fresh in your mind, make a list of what worked and what didn’t. Plan to change or eliminate the things that didn’t work. ____ Dec 27 Make a trip to exchange or return gifts as needed. ____ Dec 28 Take stock of wrapping supplies, cards, etc. to see what is needed. Stock up at the after Christmas clearance sales. ____ Dec 29 Make room for gifts by donating older items to a charity. Be sure to get a receipt for your taxes. ____ Dec 30 Transfer calendar items to your 2012 calendar to make sure nothing gets missed next year. Make note of dates you need to change furnace filters and other household maintenance items. ____ Dec 31 Safely celebrate the passing year and the coming new year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now! http://www.getorganizednow.com FREE Idea-Pak and E-zine filled with tips, ideas, articles and more to help you organize your home, your office and your life at the Get Organized Now! Web site! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS ARE FREE TO REPRINT THIS ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY AS LONG AS THE BYLINE REMAINS INTACT.