Tuesday 18 December 2012


I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas!


Well we're here - one week to go! I can practically hear Santa's sleigh bells ring...oh no hang on a second....that's the fire alarm - my mince pies are burning! (good job I checked the fire alarm batteries last week!)



One Week to go:



1. Food Shopping


You'll probably need to do this twice this week. You can break the back of the grocery shopping by doing most of it early this week. And then get the more perishable items when you collect the turkey and ham closer to Christmas day.



2. Check Religious Ceremony times


If you are partaking in a religious ceremony this Christmas, check the times of the services in advance so that you can organise your day and your dinner preparations more effectively.



3. Family Plans


Take five minutes out this week to check Christmas plans with all the family. If you are visiting each others homes, or sharing the cooking, make sure everyone knows what the others are doing so that you are all on the same page. 



4. Christmas Cards

Tomorrow, Wednesday 19th December is the last day for posting Christmas cards for Ireland so get your skates on!



5. Give the house a final clean


A day or two before Christmas Eve is probably the best time to give the house a once over. Vacuum and dust the rooms, display fresh flowers, change bed clothes, lay out fresh towels for visitors, place nightlights in the candle holders, and sweep the garden path to make the home feel as Christmassy as you do!



6. Dress the Table


Who says setting and dressing the dinner table should be done on Christmas day? By doing this a few days in advance, it's one less thing to do on Christmas day! And you have a few extra days of looking adoringly on your beautiful, creative dinner table!





And finally, I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas!
See you for more blogging next year!









Tuesday 11 December 2012


I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas!


With two weeks to go until Christmas, I hope your preparations are in full swing now and your to-do list is getting shorter. And I really do hope so, as I'm starting to run out of Christmas-themed puns!



Two Weeks To Go:




1. Post Christmas Cards

Get your Christmas cards posted this week. They'll arrive at a nice time in advance of Christmas - not too early and not too late!

Also, remember that this Friday, 14th December is the deadline for posting cards and parcels to Europe.


Alpe d'Huez, France (c) Sarah Reynolds

2. Finish Shopping

Make sure to get the last of your Christmas gifts for the year this week, if you have not done so already.

Remember to return to your Gift List that you wrote a few weeks ago and fill in against each receipient how much you spent and what you got them. When you refer to this list next year, you will know how much you spent which will help you budget, and you won't run the risk of repeating gifts!



3. Wrap the Gifts

Now I must confess, this is one To-Do on my list, that I don't really have to do. My boyfriend is great at this, so while I cut the sellotape and put my finger on the ribbon to make the bow, he wraps everything perfectly!

I do love getting this done early - as the earlier its done, the longer I have to look at the presents under the tree!

Alpe d'Huez, France (c) Sarah Reynolds


4. Begin the Dinner Preparations

If you have the time, you can start cooking some of the food for Christmas day and freezing it. Meals such as soups, desserts, stuffing and some sauces can all be prepared in advance and can be kept in the freezer for the two weeks that remain until Christmas day.



5. Go out and Party

You made the hair and nail appointments weeks ago, so go get yourself glammed up and party! Relax, forget to-do lists, and have fun with friends and family. At the end of the day, it's the people we love - not long work hours, spending money and clean houses -  that is most important at Christmas time.





Next week....one week to Christmas!! 




























Wednesday 5 December 2012


I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas!


Ho ho holy cow, it’s only three weeks to Christmas!!!

I visited the 'Christmas on the Square' one day pop up shop in the Irish Architectural Achive on Merrion Square over the weekend. There we found leading Irish designers and Irish artisan food producers with their beautiful products on sale. The gifts,  gorgeous surroundings of number 45 Merrion Square and singing from Choral group Tonnta really put me in the Christmas mood! 

So, I hope by now, you have at least one gift bought! Me, I’ve broken the back on my Christmas shopping, and almost all of my cards written. 

So what’s on the to-do list this week I hear you hark….? 

3 weeks to go

1.       GET THE DECORATIONS OUT OF STORAGE

This can be a cause of stress in a lot of homes. Bringing decorations out of storage, lugging heavy boxes, removing year-round ornaments to make way for Christmas ones and surrounded in bubblewrap can be exercise in itself and can create a right mess. So make sure you're well prepared before you start to remove anything from storage.
  • Schedule plenty of time so you are not rushing.
  • Clear a good, large space in the hallway, or sitting room so that you have somewhere to place the decoration boxes when you take them out of storage.
  • Take your everyday ornaments down first and put them in one area - like an armchair for instance. Now you have space to put up your Christmas decorations. Then when you have a box or two empty, you can place your everyday ornaments in here to store until you need them again in January. And by having placed them in one area when you were removing them, you can box them up quickly instead of zig-zagging around the house.  

2.       DECORATE YOUR TREE & HOME


Ah my favourite "to-do" of the festive season! Decorate and have fun! 

Mont Blanc, France (c) Sarah Reynolds

3.       GIVE THE HOUSE A CLEAN UP

Putting the tree up, and getting decorations out of storage can cause a bit of dust - not to mention Christmas tree pines all over your carpet. Use this time of decorating the house to give the rooms a good polish and vacuuming. You will probably want to do this again closer to Christmas day but if you do it now as you decorate, there will be less to do later. 



4.       ADDRESS YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD ENVELOPES

Now that you have your cards written, spend some time addressing and stamping your envelopes this week. 

Don't forget that Friday 7th December is the deadline for posting cards and parcels to detinations outside the US and Europe.


Mont Blanc at 3560m (c) Sarah Reynolds
 


5.       CHECK SAFETY AROUND THE HOUSE 



Rushing around before Christmas, it's easy to forget to make sure your home is safe and secure for you and your family. A few checks now can help avoid any accidents in the home which could ruin the Christmas fun.


  • Test your fire alarms 
  • Ensure plug sockets are not overloaded
  • Clear up all wires and cables
  • Tie up loose cords within reach of children
  • Ensure candles aren't near anything flammable
  • Check you have all the bulbs on your tree lights. There is electricity flowing all the time when they are turned on, even if a bulb is missing. 
  • Ensure the tree is stable and not prone to toppling over. 
  • Ensure the location of the tree is in a safe place - not near electrical heating or an open fire place.  





Next week....your two week To-Do List...






Monday 26 November 2012

I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas! 



How are you going with your Christmas organising? Are you becoming as organised as Mrs Claus or is your inner Grinch rearing it’s head as you question all hopes of being ready on time! 

Here is your To-Do list for this week. Conveniently seven items on the list this time, so you can try to get one thing done per day. Just pick the activity and assign a day and time to it and off you go…

4 weeks to go: 

  1. Continue shopping
Keep going with your Christmas shopping this week. Again plan a day and time to get out to the shops and get another few gifts. 

  1. Gift wrap as you go
Once you have a few gifts bought, sit down and wrap them. It’s another job done and that way as soon as you put up the Christmas tree, they’ll be ready to be put underneath. 



St Stephen's Green, Dublin (c) Sarah Reynolds


  1. Continue writing your Christmas cards
Like last week, set another half hour or so aside with a cup of tea and finish writing your Christmas cards. If you managed to get that done last week, start addressing and stamping the envelopes. 

  1. Post gifts abroad
If you have friends or family living in America or Australia, you’ll need to send away their gifts and cards this week. December 7th is the last day that An Post can guarantee your gifts arriving to these destinations on time. 

  1. Order the Turkey
When you do your food shopping this week, remember to order your turkey and ham with your local supermarket. 
Grand Canal, Dublin (c) Sarah Reynolds


  1. Decoration Storage
Have you bought new Christmas decorations this year? Will they fit in the boxes you already have? If not, you may need to think about buying new storage for these items. Do you need a few new plastic boxes? Or more bubble wrap? Do you need more tape for your label maker? Or even simply new black markers? If you get these items now while you have the time, you will get the decorations put away with ease come January.  


  1. Stock
When the decorations come out of storage over the coming week or so, do you have everything to get them all set up? Will you need a new extension lead for the plugs that come with the lights or the musical decorations? Do you need some cable tidies to clear up all the wires that come with setting up the tree? Do you need to get some thumb tacks to hang up the baubles and garland? And have you enough nightlights and matches for the candles you have on display? Have a think about these items and make a list so that you can pick these things up this week. 


And with that, you’ll be a little closer to Christmas and a little more organised!

Next week, your three week countdown!



 


Tuesday 20 November 2012

 

I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas! 

With five weeks to go you may think you still have loads of time to go to Christmas. However, it’ll be upon us before we know it. Armed with your Christmas lists from last week, here are my top 9 things you can organise this week. . .
 
5 Weeks to Go:


1. Start your Christmas shopping
The sooner you start, the sooner you finish. You will also avoid long queues in shops and multi-story car parks. Look at your diary or calendar and figure out a morning, an evening of late night shopping or even a full day you can dedicate to getting a start on your shopping. 

Getting into the shops by the time they open first thing in the morning, is best as you have the shops to yourself. Bring a small bag with your bare essentials so you’re not weighed down. Wear a light jacket so you don’t get too warm and can carry easily if needs be. Try to get the children looked after or do it while they’re in school so you can fly around the shops on your own. 

Have a look at your Gift List that we discussed last week and make a plan of the shops you would like to target for the gifts you need. This will avoid zigzagging and wasting time. 

2. Buy your cards & stamps
I always tend to do this as one of my first Christmas tasks as it’s quick and easy to do and makes me feel like I’ve got Christmas planning underway! 

3. Buy suitable packaging if sending items abroad
Unfortunately with so many having to emigrate, there will be a lot of Christmas presents to be sent abroad. If they are large, bulky or oddly shaped they might need a very large padded envelope or a cardboard box suitable for transit. Pick these up while you’re in the post office getting your stamps! 

4. Santa Letters
Place du Molard, Geneva
If you haven’t done this already, time to sit the little ones down and get their Santa lists written! The sooner Santa gets them, the better – he and the elves have to get organised too you know, to make sure the toys are made on time for Christmas Eve!  

5. Start writing your Christmas Cards
This is especially important if you’re writing to loved ones abroad. By starting it early, you might have the time to write a longer card than usual or even a letter to those who can’t get home for Christmas. 

Also, by starting early you won’t be in a rush writing generic greetings just to get the job done! Make it an enjoyable activity. Sit down with a cup of tea, some nice music and take the time to wish those important in your life a happy Christmas. 

6. Shopping for Christmas outfits
Again, this is especially important if you have children and would like to get them a new outfit for Christmas day. Set a time aside to do this and only this. Don’t try to go gift shopping at the same time. Focus on one task at a time. 

7. Time to bake
If you like to make your desserts for the festive season, this is the week to think about doing so. Pick an afternoon to bake your Christmas cake or your Christmas pudding. And don’t forget to schedule in time beforehand to go shopping to get your supplies.

8. Book your beauty and hair appointments
Take out your diary or calendar and see what events you have coming up. Not only is there Christmas day to think of, but you may like to book in beauty and hair appointments for New Year’s Eve and if you have any Christmas parties to go to. Find days and times that suit you for a hair cut, a manicure etc and book the appointments in now before they fill up. 

9. Arrange Family and Friends Get-togethers
A great website www.doodle.com will help you organise your family and friends get-togethers. This website allows you to input potential dates and for others to tick their availability. Much easier than phone calls or emails back and forth! 



Hopefully by doing these tasks this week,
you will begin to feel more organised. 

Do let me know how you are getting on with your Christmas organising?

Next week, organising at four weeks! 




 

Tuesday 13 November 2012



I Gotta Organise...Christmas! 



It’s that time of year again . . . Christmas!

Six weeks to go and with time flying by faster than Santa’s reindeer, it’s best to start organising yourself now.

Each year do you find yourself up against it, doing everything at the last minute?Do you promise yourself that next year it’ll be different? 

Well don’t let those ghosts of Christmas’ past sneak up on you again. For the next six weeks, I'll be showing you how to organise yourself each week so that Christmas this year brings you more cheer than fear!

6 WEEKS TO GO – MAKE LISTS!

So you’re sitting at home or in the office, thinking about the thousand and one things you have to do over the coming weeks. You need to get those to-do’s out of your head and onto a piece of paper. First things first, time to write a few lists.

You’ll need to get a notebook and this can become you’re Christmas notebook which will perhaps last you for a few years. 





In this notebook you will note everything you need to do over the next few weeks. It will live in your handbag or on your kitchen counter top or in your hallway – somewhere you can refer to it on a daily basis. Personally, I would recommend keeping it in your handbag as I can almost guarantee you will need to refer to it when you are out one day. 

The first thing for the notebook is your lists.

The Overall To-Do List 
In your notebook, you will have one overall list where you write absolutely everything you need to do between now and Christmas. For example, it may read something
like this . . . 


      1. Buy Presents
      2. Write Cards
      3. Send Cards
      4. Book beauty & hair treatments
      5. Get Christmas decorations out of the attic
      6. Go grocery shopping



After your overall list, you’ll have a few other secondary lists. Below are a few suggestions of lists you may need. When you refer to your overall list and see you need to buy gifts, you can then flick through your notebook to your ‘Gift List’ and know exactly who you have to buy for. Similarly, when you need to go grocery shopping, flick through your notebook again to your ‘shopping list’ and you’ll be sure to pick up everything you need. 

  1. Gift List
Whether you have a ton of presents to get or just a few, make a list of everyone you need to get presents for. Next to their name create a table with the following headings: 

 
Budget
 

Ideas
 

Shops to target

 





By assigning a cost to each persons present and adding a little extra on for gift wrapping and cards, you will be able to budget better for gifts. 

Similarly, if you write down where you think you may get the presents, you will be able to make a shop map which will not only cut down on impulse buying but it will help you get your shopping done faster. 

You might like to add another column “present bought” and when you get their gift this year write it down. Next Christmas when you take out this Christmas notebook again, you will see what you bought everyone last year and you won’t repeat the gift! 

  1. Christmas Card List
Like gifts, write down everyone you need to send a card to. This is your second list. 

 










Make sure to count how many you have on the list when you are done and mark it down so that when you find yourself ready to buy your cards & stamps you will know exactly how many to buy. That way you will only have to go buying them once! 

This is a good time to create your family & friends addresses database. As you gather their addresses make sure you put them all together in one place (that might be an address book, a notebook or on your computer). Make sure there is a clear label such as “friends & family addresses” on the book or computer folder. 

Each contact should have their full name and each line of their address next to them. You could even add in their mobile or email addresses to create a very organised database. 

If your contacts move house or country throughout the year, update your notebook or document so that come next Christmas you will have the most up to date addresses.

  1. Christmas Budget
Whether we’re in the middle of a recession or not, it is good practice to write down how much you estimate Christmas will cost. There is a good budget available on www.nca.ie which will help you plan your Christmas spending. 

Or you can create your own one. Make a list of everything you think you will need over the festive period and an approximate cost. Tallying up each category and the total overall spend will help you figure out how you will distribute your funds. 

It will also show you which weeks you may have more money and which weeks you will have less which will allow you to plan ahead.  

Categories could be as follows: 

      1. Children - Santa's gifts/ clothing
      2. Family & Friends - gifts/ cards
      3. Socialising - Dinners/ beauty & hair appointments/ babysitters/ taxi fare
      4. Christmas dinner - Food/ Beverages/ Table dressing
      5. Decorations - Tree/ Lights
      6. Holidays - Flights/ Hotels/ Spending money


  1. Grocery Shopping List
It’s never too early to write out your grocery & beverage shopping list for over the Christmas period. This will allow you to start stocking up early. Tins of biscuits, boxes of chocolates, bottles of wine, soft drinks, napkins, and Christmas crackers are all things that can be bought early & ticked off your list! 


Et voila, some lists to start getting you organised for Christmas. Don't put it off, take ten minutes out of your day and sit down and write your lists. Even Santa Claus writes out his naughty & nice list!  


Next week, your '5 weeks To Go' schedule!  


Happy Organising! 















Tuesday 23 October 2012





I Gotta Organise...Halloween!




Halloween – personally my favourite time of year, but that’s probably because it’s my birthday! I love the spooky feeling in the air – which to be honest, is getting spookier the older I get! 

But as with most seasonal events, Halloween can dredge up a scary amount of clutter. While the kids are having a wicked time dressing up, you’re shaking in your boots trying to figure out how you’re going to store all this gruesome paraphernalia before the Christmas decorations need to come out! If only there was a large cauldron to throw it all into. 

Well never fear, you don’t need a magic spell, instead follow my tricks to a more organised Halloween! 


Devilish Decorations: 

Halloween decorations aren’t the same as Christmas decorations for two reasons, firstly I don’t think they need to be up for as long as Christmas decorations, and secondly Halloween decorations can be a lot more ‘bitty’ than Christmas ones. 
So that you’re ready on time, remember to place ‘putting up the decorations’ on your to-do list. And every to-do needs a ‘when’, so take note of what day and time you would like to spookify the house and stick to this plan. 

What goes up, must come down again and when they do, you’ll need somewhere to home the decorations until next year. Have you picked out a spot in the house for them? If not, have a think and make some room for them. If you’ve bought new decorations this year, do you have enough room in your current storage or do you need to get a new storage box? 

Cackling Costumes: 

If you’re little ghosts and goblins are getting dressed up this year, to buy or not to buy is the question. Buying a costume will save you time but may be positively ghastly on your pocket. Whereas making the costumes with the kids can be a fun activity together. Either way, as with the decorations, you’ll need to schedule in the time and you’ll need a list of what you need. 

If you decide to buy, pick a day and time for shopping and make a list of not only what you are looking for but where you are going to look. If you think it’ll take visiting more than one shop to complete the costume, plan your route ahead of time. This will keep you on track, will stop you getting distracted browsing for other things and will avoid impulse buying. That way you will get out and get home with all your costume shopping done.

Now, unless you’re a wizard at costume making, this activity is going to take more time. So with ten days to go it’s time to get started! As with buying the costume, if you don’t have the supplies at home, make a list of what you may need and set time aside to get out and stock up.  Pick a day or time a few times over the next few days to sit down with the kids and create the masterpiece. 

After Halloween, like the decorations, you will need a home for these costumes. While you might be able to let the costumes go in a few months time, the kids are more than likely not going to want to part with the costume initially. You may indeed have quite a few costumes that have accumulated over the years and they will all need a good home. Here are a few of my solutions: 

1. A simple storage box could be used. Make sure the box is big enough to hold all your costumes. You may like to get two storage boxes – one for girls costumes, the other for boy costumes. I particularly like the Ikea “Samla” boxes. The lids aren’t the best in the world, but the see through nature and the various sizes of the boxes always work for me. This one pictured below is my favourite, it always holds more than I think it will, and yet it’s narrow form fits my shelves well. 

www.ikea.com



2. If you have enough hanging space in your cloakroom or wardrobe, you can hang up your costumes. Costumes by their nature can be bulky, covered in threads and feathers, and with trinkets hanging from them. So if they are hanging up alongside your other coats or clothes, this will make the entire space very cluttered in appearance. 

To neaten it up, get coloured plastic bags, and place a plastic bag over the costume – like a garment bag or suit cover would do for your suits. The coloured bags are to avoid the dull dirty look of a black plastic bag hanging in your wardrobe. Place a photo of the costume on the outside of the bag. 


It may be an idea to get the kids involved in organising their costumes. Get them to dress up in a costume & take their photo. As you’re arranging the costume on the hanger with its cover & the photo of them in it, they can be changing into the next outfit.

 









You might find that by trying on the costumes, they may be too small for them, are missing a piece or are just not liked anymore. If so, let them go and create some space!

Having the costumes all hung up neatly together and well labelled, will make it much easier to keep them organised over the coming years.  













www.hsw.ie
3. Alternatively, you could use this handbag organiser. 

















Place the costume into a plastic bag and fold it neatly. Place the costume into a pocket and place the photo of the costume on the outside. 












                       

And there you go, organising for Halloween is not so frightening after all! 




Happy Halloween! 

Sarah