Preparations Are Under Way! Getting ready for the Holidays.

My previous attempts at creating memorable holidays have been haphazard at best. I get all sorts of wonderful ideas, but the 3 little monkeys I tend daily don't give me much time or energy by the end of the day so I would flip through magazines and peruse web pages and make lists of the things I wanted to make and do, but little would actually get done. A couple of years ago I joined the "Thrifty Under 50 Challenge" and I did manage to get a number of crafts made despite being pregnant and working full-time, but I left much more unfinished than finished and the timing of the challenge left me stressed and sleep deprived right through the holidays which was NOT a great plan. Last year - well, not sure what happened last year - it is a blur. Not much got done at all. I feel like I was lucky the tree made it up.

I am determined that this year will be different. I actually started to think about Christmas just before Labor Day and started my list of handmade gifts. I was online looking for ideas when I found this site to help me get my house clean and organized for the upcoming holidays. (the main site gets your whole house clean and organized, but for now I am mostly sticking to the holiday site) So far it has been working pretty well. The plan is to deep clean the house and organize yourself for the holidays starting now, so when the time comes you can stress less and enjoy the holidays more. I may not follow the plan exactly - most days I run out of time before everything gets accomplished - but it keeps me working toward a goal on a daily basis. I have printed out and started a binder and it also follows a book which has more detailed cleaning and organizing instructions, but I have yet to get out and purchase the book (though I plan too!). The site does a great job of just moving me from room to room and focusing on getting some of the crazy tasks, like making a holiday card list on the computer now, getting our Christmas budget set now and starting my handmade gifts. Hopefully it will help us all enjoy the holidays a little more! If only I can stick with it and don't get distracted... Ooh - look, a new craft blog...