Christmas Organizing Center

Organizing to be Organized

Do you often find that when you want to work on your Christmas Organizing planning your time is taken up by finding all the things you need to work on?

As time has gone by, I have realized that the things I need to help me get and stay organized extend beyond my Christmas Organizing Handbook.

Often I would find myself surrounded by a file box, catalogs, idea books, current projects, plus other miscellaneous items I was working on for the holiday season. Due to this, I have created a Christmas Organizing Center.

There are several ways to create your center and numerous items to put into your center. Everyone must customize their center to how they work. The supplies to keep in your center should be unique to you and your planning goals but might include the following items:

Christmas Organizing Handbook (in a 3 ring binder) this is to keep all your lists in and to put printouts that you find in magazines and on the Internet. If you use your computer to store your lists, consider keeping a CD or floppy with your information in your center.

Writing supplies it is important to keep a pen, pencil, highlighter, sticky notes, page markers, etc. in order to not have to go and hunt them down when you need them.

File box use your file box to keep your Christmas Contact Cards, Menu Planning Cards, and Gift Box Inventory Cards in and organized.

Catalogs and magazines keep the catalogs and magazines that come in which contain ideas for gifts, crafts, recipes, etc.

Books if you have a few books that you want to go through to see if there are any projects or recipes you can use for your holiday planning this year.

Current projects whether you are working on addressing Christmas Cards or crocheting a dishrag, by keeping it in your center it is at your fingertips when you have a few minutes to work on it.

Envelopes keep these in your center to put receipts in as you purchase decorating items, gifts, etc., that pertain to your holiday planning. This will help you to see where your money went. When you begin using an envelope for a particular reason you should put it into your Christmas notebook.

The first step in creating your center is to go and gather up all the items you normally use when working on your Christmas planning plus anything you wish you had when you are working (like a Christmas CD) and place them in a chair or on the couch.

The next step in creating your center is to decide whether your center needs to be portable or not. If you want it to be portable (like mine see below) find a basket, crate, tote bag, etc. that will hold all your items in and place your items in it. You now have a portable Christmas Organizing Center - you can take your center with your from room to room or even when you go out to places that you will have time to spare. If you like to work on your organizing plan in one place you will want to find a self or a table where you can neatly arrange your items so they are easily accessible. If your shelf is out in the open dress it up let it show it is your Christmas Organizing Center this will also serve as a reminder to work on your holiday plan all throughout the year.

Now add those extra touches to your center, a Christmas candle, some candy canes, Christmas CD, pictures of your family at Christmas, a Bible, etc. personalize your center and let it remind you why you plan for a less stressful holiday season.