Can't keep up with sending out your holiday cards, birthday cards or sharing photos? Check out Smilebox.com from Hallmark. I think its the best site for creating and sharing your memorable moments. It has templates for every occasion, just upload pics and send. Not finished with your card? Just save it and Hallmark reminds you about your project. So start your Christmas letter now and add throughout the year! Its fun, its easy and a great way to keep your pictures organized. Of course my favorite part about Smilebox...its free!

What do you do with the bouquet of flowers hostess gift? You can't leave them wrapped up in plastic they need water...stat!  Make sure you have a vase ready for long stems.  This way you dont have to leave your guests to scramble in the basement or dig through your cabinets to find the right vase.  If you have a moment cut the stems down so they fit the vase.  If you dont have a place to display the flowers, put them in the guest bathroom so everyone has a chance to see them.
Heres the bonus tip!  If you are going to a dinner party and would like to give flowers.  Pick up the flowers ahead of time and arrange them in a vase you no longer use.

Are you spending too much time organizing a group gift for a friend or family member then having to collect all the money for the gift? This can be very difficult! Let Edivvy to it! It is a website that helps you create and event, find gifts, then invite your friends and family to contribute to the gift. The gifts are then shipped from store to the recipient. If contributions are not enough to purchase the gift, Edivvy sends a Visa Gift card instead. Best part about this service is its free.

After helping your house guests get settled be sure to give them a tour of your home so they know where to find things like extra blankets and towels. Find their favorite T.V programs and show them how to navigate your TV remote controls. Finally give your guests a coffee maker demonstration and show them where you keep the coffee, cream, sugar and cups. This is extremely helpful if they wake before you or you are not home and it will make your guest feel more at home.

Have you ever scrambled at the last minute preparing your home for a dinner party? Make sure your table is picture perfect with these simple tips for getting your table ready.
Set your table the night before from the napkins, silver ware, place cards, dishes to the serving pieces and utensils. Add a note to each serving piece with the food going into the dish. You will know exactly what pieces your will be using and gives any helpers easy direction.
If you have a small space, clear out and organize a kitchen cabinet for after dinner items like dessert dishes, serving utensils, coffee cups, tea and sugar. This will make your transition to dessert and coffee much easier. Everything is in one place and you can counter tops will stay clear.
Finally clean out and organize the refrigerator so that at least one shelf is designated for the party. Its easier to see and access everything and if guests brings something that needs to be chilled there is open space.

Are your holiday decorations looking a little dusty and out of place? Tree and wreaths dried out with needles everywhere? Holiday serving pieces stuck in limbo on the dining room table? This is your visual cue that the festivities are coming to an end and maybe its time to start putting away the holiday decorations.
Everyone has their own preference for taking down holiday decorations. The day after Christmas, after New Years, January 6th and even longer.
Whichever date you choose be sure to prepare yourself for the 2010 holidays and decide which items will get packed away for next year and which items get donated.

This year I started organizing and putting away decorations in stages between Christmas and New Years. Dishes, serving pieces and holiday containers were put away after the cookies were eaten and the parties were over. Next I removed and washed all the linens but left the other decorations and tree up until the 1st. This made the the final packing day much easier.
At the beginning of the holiday I had 4 bins full of decorations and after the holidays I had two. I gained 1 small pre lit Christmas tree but managed to cut down 2 entire bins of decorations. 2010 decorating is going to be even easier than 2009!

How do you manage your holiday decorations?

How many half used rolls of wrapping paper, gift bags, gift boxes and tags do you have in your gift giving supply? Do you buy more every year? This year lets try and use up the remaining supply and not buy more! My tip for future wrapping is to invest in just white butcher paper or brown mailing paper. If you like to add your own personal touch use stamps to decorate, markers or ribbons. This way you can give a gift for any occasion and not be limited by the seasonal decoration.

Does your home become overloaded with toys after the holidays? After the gift exchange do the toys get put away or do they hang around in the living room for a few days? Sometimes there just isnt an inch to space in the playroom for a single new toy. This year get organized before the holidays. Make room by getting rid of some of the toys the kids have outgrown before the introduction of new toys. Its a great time to get through those toy boxes, toss the broken, mismatched parts and pieces and part with the toys they are no longer interested in. Donate toys to local hospital, Goodwill, local churches and Daycare centers.

Could your holiday storage use a little help? Did you unpack delicate ornaments mixed in with heavy metal household decorations? Do your holiday lights resemble a plate of spaghetti? This year make a point to repack your decorations carefully and get rid of any damaged or unused decorations. If your budget allows you to purchase plastic storage containers this year it will help in protecting them if stored in the garage or basement. Store small groups of decorations together in shoe boxes or other boxes. Store lights by wrapping around paper towel holders or cardboard and store in a separate bag or pack in a plastic light storage box. And finally use the leftover tissue paper to protect your breakables and prevent items from shifting around in the box.

Do you still have a stack of unused gift cards waiting to be used from last year? If they expire soon you might want to organize your holiday shopping around those cards. If you have set your holiday budget for gifts, travel, entertaining or wardrobe see if you can use your cards to cover any of your holiday spending. Before you head out to the stores check to see if you can use your cards for online purchases and save a trip to the store.

Summer is officially over which means the holidays are right around the corner. Its the perfect time to start making holiday plans and get organized! Start putting together a holiday budget include, gifts, entertaining, wardrobe and travel. This way you can enjoy the holidays and avoid last minute spending. Start going through rooms to see what you can get rid of and what you will need. The kitchen, closets and playroom are perfect places to start.

Tip* Borrow, rent or re-purpose what you can instead of adding appliances, dishes or furniture to your home for a "once a year" event.

Kitchen appliances and equipment can take over your kitchen! It is a challenge to keep it all organized. Some items you use everyday, once a week, once a month or even once a year. They can be big and bulky or small with a million parts and pieces.
We purchase items sometimes thinking we are going make fresh pasta everyday, dried fruit, soy milk or even yogurt. If you do this everyday...great! You are getting your moneys worth, and making these items work for you in your space. But if you don't use these items its better to store them elsewhere.
Store these items in lower cabinets, or on shelves away from your immediate cooking area. Some kitchens have a few oddly huge lower corner cabinets that are a little harder to get to. These spaces are great for storing the "not so often" used items.
Appliances, entertaining pieces, and specialty cooking items fall into this category.
It is important to keep your services clear so you can prepare a meal and clean up easily.

One of the best ways to save money in 2009 is to organize and document your gift cards. We have a lot of gift cards that go unused because we cant find when we need them.

49% of Americans have an unused gift cards worth an estimated $8 Billion!

Put all your gift cards in one place, such as manila envelope or even a Ziploc bag. Write down expiration dates or any other restrictions. Put in the glove compartment of your car or somewhere in your home where you won't forget and use them.

Go through your calendar now and make a list of birthdays, anniversaries and other special events that you know you'll be buying gifts for during the year. Use your stash of gift cards to buy other gifts is a double savings!

Did you enjoy the holiday decorations in your home this year? Make sure you repeat the placement of your favorite decorations by labeling each piece so you can easily decorate next year. For instance did you have a favorite Santa that looked great on the living room shelf? Make a label using a label maker or tape titled "Living Room Shelf". Attach label to the bottom of the item before packing away. If you cannot add a label to the item, add it to the box its stored in. It will save you time next year. Also, keep a master list of all decorations and take pictures.

Heres a quick tip on getting organized for the holidays. Its a good idea to have your kitchen organized especially if you are entertaining. This is a great time to clean out that Tupperware and food storage cabinet or drawer. Set aside all of the plastic containers that you do not use or are missing lids. Also pull all of those cool whip or butter tubs you have been saving. Now that you have all the containers you dont want out of your immidate storage, repurpose these containers as take home containers for leftovers for your guests. You dont want your best plastic containers leaving for good and there is no need to purchase more for the holidays. So get organized and save money this year.

I just got a call from my sister who had not used her oven since the holidays. She did a quick check before turning it on and was surprised to find something....a leftover from Christmas!
I was in charge of bringing the bread and desserts. Desserts were a huge hit. The bread…not so much. I mixed the bread at home and brought it to my sisters house to continue rising then bake. The bread did not rise long enough so it didn't bake correctly. So we kept putting it back in the oven to bake 10-15 minutes and another 10-15 minutes and another until we gave up. Everyone had already finished eating dinner and here we were still trying to bake 2 loaves of bread. Needless to say the bread did not turn out and never got thrown away.
So, I've added the bread fiasco to my holiday party notes and hopefully it will turn out better next year.

Did you host a holiday party this year? Then you already know the getting your home ready for guests, preparing food and trying to time it all just right so you can enjoy the evening with your guests can be hard work. This year we hosted dinner for eight and my goal was to have everything ready before my guests arrived. Everything went well except for a few things I would have had done differently. I’m making my list for next years party.
Here are a few tips:

1. Keep your shopping receipts from the grocery store and indicate which items you purchased for the dinner or party.
2. Make notes on quantities used in recipes, appetizer treys etc. My shopping receipt shows the size so it’s easy for me to note “used 4 oz” from the 16oz package of mushrooms. Now I have the notes for next year and I will buy a smaller amount. I hate wasting food and with leftovers and during the holidays your refrigerator gets packed.
3. Make notes if you didn’t purchase enough of one item so you don’t have to run out to the store in the middle of your food preparations.
4. Indicate items that were a big hit so you are sure to purchase again next year.
5. Indicate items that nobody ate, drank or you overbought. This year I bought egg nog and forgot to put out so it sat in the fridge. One guest likes a particular cola so I made sure I had this on hand. This year he chose a different drink so I had an extra 2 liter. Next year I will buy 1 can of cola. We had too many crackers and they didn’t fit on the cheese trey. They were never opened so they too will not make the list next year.
6. I store my lists, and receipts in an envelope and pack with my holiday decorations. If you have the time scan and copy to your computer.



I hope these tips help you in your next holiday party.

Oh, the holidays! It is always in fun time at my house especially with all the decorations, food and activities. If you especially liked your decorations this year, make your 2008 holiday decorating a breeze by taking photos of each room with each decoration in place. For instance did you enjoy the look of the bathroom? Take a photo. How about the kitchen or dinning room buffet? Take pictures of these areas so you remember what items went where. If you don’t get a chance to take the photos right the location of the item on a piece of tape or post it note and attach to the bottom of the item. If there are a few items left over in you holiday supply that didn’t get used this year, write that down on the post in note – “Did not use 2007”. If you don’t use them again in 2008 you might want to rethink storing for 2009.

Bonus tip – Store each room of decorations together. Be sure to pack delicate items carefully in smaller boxes with compartments or wrap in bubble wrap and tissue.
Happy Packing!

I have 10 nieces and nephews ranging from 7 – 22 years old. I can remember only 1 year that I gave them Christmas presents they actually enjoyed. I usually fall into the trap of getting the wrong gifts and I can tell they are really not interested. I don’t buy the coolest or the latest for them because I just don’t know what to buy. So this year they are all getting gift cards to Starbucks and Mcdonalds. I figure its just like money and they will actually use them. It took me all of about 30 minutes to buy for ten people. That was easy for me and I’m sure they will all be happy.
I will keep you posted on the Christmas gift reactions!

A couple weeks ago I began decorating for the holidays and stumbled upon 8 gigantic pasta bowls. We stopped using these supersized bowls and now they were taking up way too much prime real estate in the cabinet. So, I stuck them in a bag and lined them up by the door for the next donation run.
As it turned out my husband’s holiday work party was the next day and they were having a gift exchange called the “white elephant”. This is where you give a gift that is gently used. He was trying to figure out what to give and I said bring those pasta bowls! He was a little hesitant because he thought nobody would want these bowls. He also had to carry them on the bus and walk 3 blocks to work. I convinced him to take them for the exchange and it turned out the recipient absolutely LOVED them! It’s a great feeling to give away something that does not work with your lifestyle any longer. We enjoyed them for a time but things change and were no longer needed them. We said goodbye to large pasta bowls. It doesn’t mean we’ve given up pasta, it just means we’ve of an opted for smaller bowls that also double as soup bowls.

I love baking cookies during the holidays. But all the prep and clean up can be a litttle discouraging. This year make it easy on yourself by pre measuring each of the ingredients before you start mixing, baking and eating.

Here are my tips for easy baking


1 - Set out all of your mixing bowls, measuring cups, spoons and ingredients.
2 –Separate each recipe card by about a 12”. You will need plenty of room on your baking surface for the bowls of ingredients you are about to measure.
3- Measure dry ingredients such as flour, salt and baking soda for each recipe into a small bowl. As you measure each ingredient cross it off your recipe card. Use another small bowl for the sugars, a large bowl for the butter and a smaller bowl for the eggs and vanilla. Keep the recipe and bowls together so they do not get mixed up with the other recipes
4-Put away all your supplies like bags of flour sugars and boxes of baking soda, salt and toss those eggs shells. Now your space is clear of extra ingredients and now you can get ready for the mixing!
5 -Work on one recipe at a time, bake a few test cookies then conitinue baking the rest of the batch.

We made 3 different types of cookies but did not want to have cookie baking overload. So we rolled up the rest of the cookie dough, separated into batches of 8 and put in the freezer. So the next time my sister has a holiday get together she can have a few different varieties of freshly baked holiday cookies.






Happy Baking!

Do you have a few absolute favorite holiday decorations in your collection? Maybe a few pieces of tinsel, strands of beads or figurines handed down from Auntie Liz? This is the year to decide which holiday decorations are going to make the cut into your official holiday decoration supply. Yes! This is the year to purge out the so-so decorations that your just not that into anymore. If your decorations don’t match the theme of your other decorations, don't fit anywhere or you haven't displayed them in years its time for them to go. Crushed, cracked and broken items are a no brainer for the trash can.

As you start decorating this year really think about each and every piece and ask yourself if you LOVE it. You want to surround yourself with items that make you happy. Donate the decorations that you don’t want to someone who would enjoy them a little more than you.

Have fun decorating.

Are you a movie buff? Do you like to see all the new releases? Sometimes we get so busy we forget to see those movies in the theater. But in this day and age you almost never have to even step foot in a theater because of online DVD rentals like Netflix and Blockbuster. Online DVD rentals provide a convenient way to see movies in the comfort of your own home. There is nothing better than winding down on a Friday night by having dinner and a movie.

A quick tip is to put new releases on your list now while they are fresh in your mind. That way you will be the first to receive them when they are released to DVD.

Bonus tip – Need a Christmas gift? Give your friends and family an online DVD subscription for 1 month to a year. It's the gift that keeps on giving and movies that get returned will not create clutter.

Do you want to see your friends and family over the holidays but for whatever reason you can’t all be together? Share your Thanksgiving toast or light the menorah during Hanukkah by celebrating virtually! Set up your webcam or ichat and share your holiday live over the Internet. Celebrate this year in Virtual Style.

One of the hardest parts of getting organized is getting started.

When starting to organize a home office, a closet or any space in your home use this following tips that professional organizers use to ensure a successful home organizing project.

• Give yourself more time than you think you will need.
  Projects can go astray when you start to run out of time or interest. Many projects start off on the right foot, meticulously going through items, labeling and designating specific areas for items. But when time starts to run out that is when decisions start being made on entire piles of paper, things get thrown into boxes and boxes get stuffed into corners. Most professional organizers recommend tripling the time you think a project will take. For example if you think it will take you 2 hours...then give yourself 8. If you finish in less time then treat it as a gift and use the time to give yourself a hard earned rest.
• Don't buy bins and storage boxes until you've started the project.
  It's very hard for mechanics to know what it will take to fix a car until they open up the hood and investigate. The same goes with organizing. A look around a room only reveals what is on the surface. So before purchasing organizing supplies, dig into the project so you can better assess what will be useful in organizing the clutter.
• Take frequent breaks.
  If you work too long without a break you will quickly tire leaving the room more of mess than when you started. Take breaks to assess your progress, make mental goals and try to visualize the finish product.

Getting Organized With Style for the Holidays

The holidays are a joyous time, but they can also be stressful. This year try these organizing tips to cut down on the stress and focus your energy on having fun.
1. Rotate
The holidays bring a change of season, which means a change in our activities and wardrobes. Set aside a day in your calendar to rotate your wardrobe and activity equipment. Put away the golf clubs and beach gear and replace them with the skis and winter coats. It’s good to do this ahead of the time when you will need them. This gives you a chance to inspect the items and have them repaired or replaced before they become a necessity. This helps to reduce frantic last minute trips that are compounded by busy holiday traffic.
2. Start blogging.
That’s right, start your own family blog. There are many web sites like Google’s, Blogger that provide blog capabilities for free. The blog helps you get your family on the same page, literally for the holidays. All family members can contribute to the blog giving their schedules, menu desires and even their gift wish lists. The best part about the blog is that getting on the same page only takes a few moments of each family members time. Instead of calling everybody, you simply post once and the information is available for the family to view and make comments of their own. To see a sample of a family holiday blog, go to www.organizedwithstyle.com
3. Make room
The holidays have a funny way of making our homes feel smaller. Maybe it is the out of town guests sleeping in the den, the decorations strung about, the extra china set, or the cold that keeps us cooped up inside. Whatever it is, don’t let the holidays shrink your home. Do a pre-holiday inventory and make an effort purgde items you havn’t used in over a year. Not only will it make more room during the holidays, you can also start the holidays off on a giving note by dropping off unwanted clothes and other items to charities such as the Salvation Army.
These are a few ideas to help you cut down on stress and make the holidays a little more enjoyable.