That's Neat! Blog

I love finding the perfect gift for someone, but often gifts end up being just more stuff…stuff we may not really need or love. Here are some tips for thinking outside the gift box:

• As I mentioned in my last Neat Sheet newsletter, I’m a big advocate of gifts that are consumables or experiences.
• For consumables, think food! Wines, olives, candies, and cookies are a good start…or how about chocolate (or beer) of the month club?
• If you can make some goodies, think of food that can be made in batches: each year my family makes a secret recipe of sweet + spicy nuts. Other friends have made granola or candies.
• Turn it into a party! Some of my book club gals have started a tradition of Book club Baking Night. We meet at one friend’s house and each make a different treat. By the end of the night, we leave with several gift bags full of goodies. 
• My other favorite gift is something that is an experience – tickets, museum membership, or going out for a special day with the gift giver. Each year my in-laws give us a family membership to a museum that we enjoy all year long.
• Overwhelmed by gifts? See if you can do a gift swap (pick name out of a hat) or get a gift for the whole family like a museum membership.
• If your family is really into gifts, why not ask others what they’d like? Or use online wish lists like amazon. 

Every time something new comes into your home, ask yourself:

• Do I really need this?
• How will I use it?
• Where can I keep it?

Be sure you can answer these questions. If you can, it will help keep clutter at bay.

It was a good spring for purging around my house. The last of the appreciated-but-still-unused wedding gifts went to a charity auction to support a local community organization.  Yes, it was hard to let the crystal bowls and vases go, but after much angst I did it! And I haven’t looked back: the gifts had been sitting in our attic for 15 years, so I hope they are on to a better home.

Last month my daughter also set aside no-longer-used toys for her school tag sale (fortunately she didn’t buy back any of her own items at the sale!).

And I’ve been “weeding” our garden AND our closets…which has resulted in several bags of clothes for Goodwill or the Vietnam Veterans of America (they pick up!). It’s amazing how much we can find that no longer fits or that we just don’t wear.

Why this urge to purge in the spring? It could be that the annual school tag sales, book sales, and charity auctions make me take a hard look at items we aren’t using, but that could benefit others. It could also be that after a long winter, I am tired of everything and need to pare down our living spaces.

Whatever the reason, spring has become my family’s time to shed some unwanted excess. It helps us to live a little lighter and enjoy the summer even more.

Now I’m off to weed the garden instead of our closet!

For more inspiration, read my article on spring weeding for children’s clothes.

‘Tis the season for tons of catalogs arriving in your mailbox. Here are a few tips for controlling catalog clutter:

• Use the 1 in/1 out rule: when a new catalog comes in, throw the old one out!
• Better yet, recycle the catalogs you know you won’t read as soon as they come in the door.
• Even better still, get yourself off the catalog lists! Call the company who sent the catalog, or check out the Direct Marketing Association to get off multiple lists.

And if you do order gifts from catalogs, think about the recipient and your budget. It’s easy to get excited about the latest cookware, electronic gadget, or new sweater on the glossy pages of a catalog. Is it really something the recipient wants, needs or would love to have?

January is National Get Organized month….but I’ll bet you have something that needs to be taken care of every month of the year. By splitting the year into quarters, you can rest assured that you will make every monthly deadline and do it with ease.

For the past 15 years I have made the bulk of my living as a photostylist and producer for catalogs, magazines and advertising campaigns. So come January I’m actually thinking April, May and June. By Valentine’s Day I’ll be gearing up for July and summer-themed shoots. Come spring, I’m working on the holidays and spend most of my summer thinking ‘Winter Wonderland’ and by fall, it’s spring colors and ideas that cover my desk. The sheer nature of the business requires not only lots of organization and coordination, it requires me to think at least 3 or 6 months or even a whole year ahead!

So, years ago I started to organize not only my work calendar this way but also my personal one. By thinking ahead to what needs to be done at least three months ahead assures me that I will be prepared.

Starting in January I’m thinking about the second quarter of the year, April, May and June. The big item for all of us is taxes! So, right after I’ve wrapped and stowed the last of the ornaments, I’m up to the office with that April 15 deadline at the top of my “to do” list.

Here’s how I begin to organize my year:  I start with the givens and put them at the top of my monthly list. Next, I add things that I want to accomplish by the end of every month, along with family obligations, vacations etc. And, like you I have my daily schedule. As a freelancer, it changes a lot so being flexible and prioritizing is key.

For example:

QUARTER 1:

January = April EASTER (4^th), TAXES (15^th)

• Organize, file and prepare for tax season
• Plus:
• Organize linen closet
• Clean out clothes closet
• Look for gifts for April birthdays (2)

February = May MOTHER’S DAY(9^th), MEMORIAL DAY (31^st)

• Find Mother’s Day gifts (3)
• Plus:
• Valentine’s Day dinner
• President’s Day Weekend
• Clean and organize kitchen pantry
• Buy May birthday cards/gifts (2)

March = June FATHER’S DAY (20^th)

• Find Father’s Day gift
• Plus:
• Spring cleaning/ kitchen
• Buy June birthday gifts and cards (3)

QUARTER 2:

April = July INDEPENDENCE DAY

• Plus:
• 3 family birthdays (buy gifts)
• Clean and reorganize garage
• Garden clean-up

May = August BEACH VACATION!

• Make reservations
• Plus:
• 1 birthday (look for gift)
• Pick up daughter from college
• Plant containers and window boxes

June = September ANNUAL LABOR DAY RODEO

• Make reservations/buy tickets
• Plus:
• 2 birthdays (buy gifts)
• Garden!

You get the picture by now I’m sure. I’ll also add these items to accomplish monthly to my third and fourth quarters;

July: Think about back to school

August: Decide on and organize holiday make ahead gifts

September: Garden clean-up, organize shed

October: Organize for the upcoming holidays

November: Finish holiday shopping, work on cards

December:

• Week 1: Assemble “quick gifts”
• Week 2: Mail gifts and cards
• Weeks 3 – 4: Sit back, relax and enjoy

 All too soon another year will be gone. If you adapt a quarterly calendar system and organize month-to-month by this time next year none of your “to-do” list will be undone.