Tips For the Week of Thanksgiving

We are coming down to the home stretch and I’m excited! Here are some of my tips to keep you organized on the final days to Thanksgiving.

Two days before:

- Defrost your turkey and get all the fresh and perishable ingredients you need at your local market. If you are organized, this should be your last trip to the store
- Prepare a cooking and baking chart of what needs to go in the oven and at what time. This really keeps me stress-free on Thanksgiving day
-  Organize all your cooking material, including roasting pans, twine, gravy separator, baster, turkey lifters and thermometers

If you are having out of town guests, be sure the guest room and bathroom is in order. I include a luggage rack, extra hangers, a blow dryer, iron and ironing board and for a final touch, I always place a bottled water on the nightstands

One Day Before:

-Bake pies and desserts
-Peel potatoes
-Clean Turkey- prepare to roast and refrigerate
-Prepare stuffing, vegetables, casserole dishes and cranberry sauce
-Set your table, arrange your flowers, arrange place cards, put candles in holders and also place them around the house or in bathrooms. Don’t forget the guest towels!
-Prepare hors d’oeuvres and cold appetizer platters
-Make salad dressing, wash lettuce and store
Organize your serving bowls & platters, forks, spoons, gravy boat and any other ‘special’ items you use for the holidays. I mark my serving pieces with post-it notes with what I am serving on each dish

This is also a good time to set out butter, salt and pepper and the water pitcher. Be sure that champagne, white wine, bottled water and soda is in the refrigerator or on ice

The Morning of Thanksgiving:

-If you are serving breakfast, make it an easy one in preparation and cleaning
-Stuff the turkey and put in the oven, while you prepare any last minute recipes
-Have all your cooking utensils in order and in reach of the stove and oven
-Keep your list posted to the oven or near the stove top and refer to it often
-Delegate tasks or ask your family to pitch in! Everyone should be able to get their own rooms in order and beds made for your final ‘walk-through’
-Set out cocktail napkins, appetizer forks, spreaders, small plates, cocktail, champagne & wine glasses and any fruits or mixers you might need. The ice bucket should be filled about 15 minutes before your guests arrive
-Forty-five minutes prior to your guests arriving is a good time to set out cold or room temperature hors d’oeuvres
-Twenty to thirty minutes prior put appetizers and hot hors d’oeuvres in the oven. Have serving plates, spreaders and garnishes ready

The final touches:

-Turn on the music
-Light the candles
-Take a few minutes for yourself and family to relax
-Greet your guests, serve dinner and give thanks!

I hope these tips help make for one of your easiest Thanksgiving Day’s.

Happy Organizing!

- Mrs. O

No Comments November 14, 2008 on 1:00 am | In All

Thanksgiving Decor

Once you get the invitations out and the menu confirmed, the next step to a stress free holiday is getting your decor in order. Whether you stick to tradition and rescue the same decorations from storage every year, or change things up a bit and go with the latest fall trends, it is always a good idea to start early and get organized. Think about every room, table and doorstep that you want to adorn with Thanksgiving cheer. After you take note of what you would like to go where, you can decide if there is anything missing.

Don’t forget the heartfelt feeling that comes with hand-made decorations. As one of my much loved hobbies, I would like to share some great do-it-yourself crafts that will put you in the giving spirit. Two of my favorite websites, iVillage.com and Parents.com, have put together some easy and simple projects that will bring a seasonal feel to your home this year.

If you plan to indulge in one of the great craft ideas provided by iVillage or Parents.com, make sure to have the necessary organization and storage items for before and after the project. You are bound to need craft organizers to keep your paper, pens, scissors, wire, glue, etc. in one convenient place. If you feel inspired to give one of the homemade wreaths a shot, a wreath holder and storage bag will come in handy. Or if you plan on personalizing your dinner table by making your own centerpiece using a vase or glass hurricane, be sure to try and find matching accents for the napkins and place cards.

Happy Organizing!

- Mrs. O

No Comments November 12, 2008 on 1:07 am | In All

Thanksgiving Check List Tips

Ok…as I mentioned, Thanksgiving is almost here and it is time to get busy. Start making your lists and check them twice. Thanksgiving dinner is one feast that can’t wait until the last minute. We’ve put together some simple steps for you to enjoy this holiday and to spend quality time with your guests. Here is your master check list to get you started.

Two Weeks Before:

• Confirm your guest list.
• Order your turkey if it will be fresh or purchase a frozen turkey at your local market.
• Complete your plans for the remainder of your menu
• Prepare your final shopping list
• Take inventory of dinner table and other supplies that you might need to take out of the storage area and clean, borrow or rent. These include:tables, chairs, dinnerware, glassware, flatware, linens (tablecloths and napkins-if you don’t have already rent or buy new), home decor (decide on flowers, candles, placecards and holders), kitchen supplies (be sure to have a turkey roaster, thermometer, turkey lifters, twine or poultry lancers, baster, gravy separator, serving platters, mixing bowls, measuring cups and spoons, and ladles)

If you are having a large number of guests, think about a garment rack for coats and a boot tray to keep those wet shoes and boots where they belong.

One Week Before:

• Wash and iron or dry clean linens (make sure to give yourself time to pick up from cleaners)
• Polish the silver
• Shop for anything non-perishable (a good time to shop for Costco items)
• Schedule a day for cleaning
• If you are having out of town guests, get the guest room room ready- don’t forget luggage racks, bathroom accessories and extra hangers
• Prepare bathrooms with hand towels and fresh flowers

I hope this checklist is helpful for you. Please check back often for the next set of tips and pointers for a stress free Thanksgiving.

Happy Organizing!

- Mrs. O

No Comments November 7, 2008 on 12:54 am | In All

Tips and Pointers for An Organized Thanksgiving

It’s just 3 weeks away from one of the most delicious and treasured holidays and to help get you prepared, we have put together some very helpful pointers and tricks to get you organized for Thanksgiving. I will be giving several tips to get you through this holiday stress free. I’ll start with two weeks out and as Turkey Day draws closer, I’ll give tips for two and three days before. So whether the flour is flying or the wine is flowing, I hope everyone can get a few great ideas that will ease them into the giving spirit.

Tip of the Day

The first thing you should do to get ready is make a checklist. Begin with two weeks before and narrow down to two days before. Getting the turkey, the side dishes and all the guests to the dinner table at the same time will take some planning. Make a “to-do” list of what needs to be done and what you want to be done in order to get organized. Make sure your duties are prioritized. Everything from getting extra stuffing to cleaning the bathroom to putting out the smelly candles should be written down. A good rule of thumb is to start broad and revise your “to-do” list as you are able to check things off. Your duties will get more specific as the days go by.

My Favorite Thing:

One of the best “to do” pads for a multi-task project like preparing for Thanksgiving is the 3 Way Notepad from Knock Knock. It gives you 3 different notepads for tasks to complete, errands to run and people or places to contact. And the best part… they are all connected and lay right next to each other so you don’t have little pieces of paper flying around everywhere.

Happy Organizing!

- Mrs. O

No Comments November 5, 2008 on 1:03 am | In All

Less Is More…

It is not necessary for me to go on and on about how up and down (or just down) the American economy is right now. Between the government bail-out, home foreclosures, gas prices, drops in the stock market and mass lay offs, it’s enough to make someone’s head spin. Well one of my (and Oprah’s) favorite organizers and previous special guest, Peter Walsh, has written about his take on this predicament the country has gotten itself into. He says “We need to change the way we think about our finances, and clear out the financial clutter that is ruining our lives.” In his October newsletter he talks about how people just don’t need help with clutter in their home, they also need help wading through the financial clutter. Read on to see what Peter has to say about tackling financial clutter and reframe how we view what we own, what we buy and what we can afford.

LESS IS MORE – MY TAKE ON THE CURRENT FINANCIAL CRISIS
by Peter Walsh

In my work with people whose lives are spinning out of control, it’s obvious to them that the opposite of clutter is order. Order is absolutely necessary to create the vision you want for your life. Read on for eight clear, practical and achievable steps to help create the lives we want for ourselves and our families.

Step 1:  Start with the vision you have for the life you want.
Start with the basic question that I ask in all my work in decluttering: what is the vision you have for your life?  Is your vision realistic? Feasible? Sensible? Achievable? What is the reality vs. the vision: where is there dissonance between the life you have and the life you want? Does the stuff you consume, or rather, the stuff you want or ”have to have” take you closer to or farther away from the life you want?

Step 2:  Look at the cost of your debt.
The quantity of our stuff can no longer be considered the measure of our success.  It is the quality of our relationships that leads to deeper personal happiness. Debt doesn’t just ruin your credit rating; it ruins your relationships. How much time do you spend paying bills and talking to creditors? How much time is devoted to shopping? What about maintenance of your lifestyle? All of this comes at a cost. That cost is emotional and spiritual, and affects all of your relationships. Have you had to take on a second job to support your shopping habit? I guarantee that with debt your family life and friendships will suffer. Debt creates selfishness, an inward focus and a preoccupation that robs you of what really matters—your true self and your relationships.

Step 3:  Explore your limits – you only have what you have.
You only have so much space in your home. And you only have so much money. The same goes for time and emotional energy. We don’t have unlimited resources in this world, whether it’s fossil fuel, or whether it’s time to spend with our families. Credit card companies love to send out offers for no-limit or high-dollar limit cards, giving us the illusion that we can buy on credit forever. I’m sure some of you have hit the credit card wall, and have maxed out your cards. But you can also max out the time and energy you need to spend generating money to pay your bills. Each of us needs to recognize and pinpoint our limits. We can continue to ignore them, or we can start to set healthy limits for ourselves.

Step 4:  Stop and consider - where is “more” taking over your life?
It’s time to get real. Where is your pursuit of “more” taking over your life, robbing you of true happiness? It’s time to take a cold, hard look at your spending habits (and remember that habits are habitual, something that you repeat). Where exactly is your money going? Is it on dinners out? Clothes? Collectibles? Home renovation? Vacations? Presents for your spouse and kids? How do they tie into your habits? For example, do you get up every