Get Organized for the holidays! week 1 "Declutter"

Getting Ready & Organized for the Holiday Season

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Only about 15 weeks before Christmas! And its going faster than you think! Starting now... get the house ready, party plans done, gift & card lists ready to send. Start thinking about your Holiday menus & watch the paper for sales.

So for the next few days..... we will be listing a "1 week project" & as you go through each week, everything will be ready when "the big day" comes. Come Back each afternoon & see the next week's tips.

"week 1 project".... Organize everything & declutter the house.

Get yourself a calendar or special notebook & write each week's projects. Assign duties to the rest of the family.

DECLUTTERING: WHERE TO START

Start slow, small and steady
Schedule 1 room each day & use the 4 box system

The 4 Box method forces a decision, item by item. Get three boxes and a large trash can. Label the boxes, "Put Away", "Give Away/Sell" and "Storage." Items to be thrown away belong in the trash can.

Take the four boxes to the declutter area. One at a time, pick up each piece of clutter. Ask yourself, "Do I want to put this away in another place, donate it (or sell it at a yard sale), store it, or throw it away?" You may not let go of it until you have made a decision.

Each day, take the boxes to the next room & repeat. As the boxes become full, put them away. Storage or garage. If you have several boxes of "donate" items, dump them in a large bag & call your local Thrift store & scedule a pickup. OR if you have time... take them to the thrift store so that you are not tempted to take things out.

Great Baby shower Ideas & gifts

The first thing to think about when throwing a Baby shower are invitations. You can find some adorable ones at http://www.candybarwrappers.ecrater.com/

Remember to send in plenty of time AND include a phone number to RSVP.

In a previous blog... I have many decoration ideas.

Now some great centerpiece & gift Ideas...




"momma blanket bunny & baby booboo bunnies"


Adorable Center piece on the table AND a great gift for the mother to be. Add some personalized Hershey Kisses or Hershey miniatures around the table too.


Other centerpieces ... diaper cakes, Diaper bears etc. can be found here too! www.babycakesnbeyond.ecrater.com

Now Buffet Recipes.

Crock pot dishes are the easiest to start with.

Excellent meatball appitizers:
For time issues... use frozen cocktail size meatballs from the grocery store. Put in the slo cooker while getting the sauce ready. In a pot... empty a can of Jellied cranberries OR a jar of grape jelly. Add a jar of CHILI Sauce (NOT cocktail sauce). Heat till jelly is disolved in with the chili sauce. Pour over meatballs & cook on low.

Little Sausage Wraps.
Get a package or 2 of the "Lil Smokies" sausages. Take a lb of bacon ... Cut in 3rds. Open a can of sliced Water Chestnuts. Cut water chestnuts in half. Place one water chestnut on a sausage, wrap in a piece of bacon & secure with a toothpick. Place in a baking pan. Sprinkle Brown sugar on the top. Cover with foil & bake at 350 for about 30 min.

Crab-cream cheese Puffs.
soften cream cheese & whip with mixer... add a bit of garlic & whip. Stir in finely chopped canned crab. Roll out Pillsbury type Cresent dough. I use a glass to cut small rounds... or you can cut smalll squares. Put a tsp or so of cream cheese mixture in the middle... fold over & seal.
brush with an egg/water wash & sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake as directed on the dough package... or till lightly brown. Taste great hot or cooled down.

Shrimp & Cream cheese cracker spread. This is SOOOO easy! Unwrap a block of cream cheese, pour a 1/2 a jar of Cocktail Sauce over the cream cheese block... Drain & dump a can of small salad size shrimp over the cocktail sauce. Add a "fancy" little spread knife & put any crackers you like around the plate.

Chocolate dipped strawberries... or fruits & a veggie tray with ranch dip are always a beautiful addition to the table.

Celebrate the 4th of July

If the Fourth of July has become just another day off work, maybe this is the year to put a little oomph back into your celebration of our country's birth.

1: Throw an old-time neighborhood barbecue. Grill hot dogs, toast marshmallows, wave flags, twirl sparklers and sing patriotic songs. If you are having a Family reunion... get personalized Lip Balm Wrappers. Personalized Wine bottle labels too!

2: Visit one of the places where the urge for freedom simmered up and finally boiled over into the revolution of the 1770s. Hike Boston's Freedom Trail, follow Ben Franklin's footsteps through the winding streets of Philadelphia, take a boat up the Potomac to Mount Vernon, or tromp through the fields at Valley Forge.

3: Read the Declaration of Independence and try to put yourself in Thomas Jefferson's shoes as he wrote it.

4: Find a small town that still stages an old-fashioned Glorious Fourth and revel in it. Watch the parade, cheer at the speeches on the green, sing at the top of your lungs when the band strikes up "America the Beautiful," ooh and aah at the fireworks. If you can't find one, organize your own.

5: Have a costume party with guests dressing as their favorite characters from the Revolutionary period. Play music and serve food and drink popular at the time. You'll find recipes and inspiration in biographies and Colonial-era cookbooks.