Beaded bookmark update

I've sold 9 beaded bookmarks to date - woohoo.

Get your Christmas gifts now at the store.

Remember shipping and handling is included in the price of R40. I've heard from international customers that they get them within 5 - 8 working days.

Are you organised for Christmas?

There are less than 3 months to Christmas.

When you think about that, what do you feel? Do you feel overwhelmed and just a little bit stressed at everything you have to do? Or do you feel excited at the idea of spending time with friends and family?

My best Christmasses have always been when I’ve been organised, prepared and more importantly, when I didn’t leave everything right up until December :)

Here are a couple of things to consider so that you have an organised Christmas this year:

Your vision for a great Christmas
Decide, together with your family, if you want to celebrate with many spiritual activities, spend time at home with just your immediate family, do lots of baking, etc.

Christmas cards
Will you be sending cards by themselves, or with a family newsletter? Or will you be sending cards at all? Do you have a list of recipients?

Christmas gifts
Will you be giving gifts this year? Are you making any gifts or are you buying them all? Do you have a gift-giving budget? Remember to budget for gift wrap, gift tags and, if necessary, postage to your loved ones who live in a different city. Do you have a system to keep up with the thank-you notes?

Christmas Day
Where will you spend the day – with your parents or his? Or will the family gather at your house? Who will cook the food? Which recipes will you use? Do you know where to find them?

Someone asked me, "how far in advance should you plan?"
Well, that depends on how much stress you can tolerate :)

Personally, I like to have gifts done by the end of October and cards by mid-November. That’s because I really don’t enjoy the stress of having to get the perfect gift with no time to spare. Add to that the crowded malls and you can practically see my blood pressure rising!

I like to start planning at the beginning of October and I set myself mini-goals of compiling my card list first, then planning backwards so I write out a certain number of cards per week until they’re all done by my self-imposed due date.

And I do the same for gifts. I also wrap a few gender-neutral gifts just in case someone pops around with something for me. It’s relaxing for me to prepare a beautifully-wrapped gift with a gift tag because I believe that presentation is part of the gift.

Something I do that has saved me lots of money is I no longer buy Christmas gift wrap. Instead, I buy red and green coloured craft paper and matching ribbon. I can use the paper year-round with a different bow so that it doesn’t look Christmassy for birthday gifts.

This year, get organised for Christmas with the 14-page Christmas Planner so you can welcome the season instead of dreading it. This planner is for the overwhelmed!

What is your plan for getting organised for Christmas? How far in advance do you like to start?

Frugal gift ideas - bookmarks

I love books and I also love bookmarks - I have stacks and stacks and of course, I read many at one time so I always have about 3 that I use all at the same time.


I first saw a bookmark like this at a craft market in Cape Town, bought one and then decided to make my own. So I did.

I present exhibit A.

this is what they look like when they're in the book

You can give them to people on their own or together with a book. I've now made peace with the fact that I'm a book person and I love giving books as gifts. In fact, I get a kick out of being the one to give babies their first book (you can never start too early) :-)

Sometimes I give them together with a book; sometimes I don't. What's nice is you can make them in favourite colours, different sorts of beads, etc.

Annie, don't forget to send me your address.

Tackle it Tuesday - organising giftwrap & bedside table

I usually do my tackles on the weekend since I’m at work during the week. This is one of the systems that keeps me on track since I’m constantly doing something in the decluttering/ organising area to keep my house in tip-top shape. Well…mostly.

This weekend I was drugged out on Nurofen so I only did a couple of small tackles. They are what we in the coaching world call tolerations. They drain your energy a little bit every time you see them. So I felt almost compelled to tackle them this week because they call to me everytime I pass them.

Mini tackle 1

These are my rolls of wrapping paper and some other bits that also found their way to this spot.

Before

After - nice, neat wastepaper basket

Mini tackle 2
Bedside table with too many books, too many Bibles, too many bookmarks, notepads, etc.

Before

And after. I know it won’t stay this way for very long but it’s satisfying while it lasts.

Mini tackle 3

And then for the third project, I tackled some long-overdue blogging. This is a blog we made for our friends and then I also had to update the ministry blog at church.

Mini tackle 4

And last but not least, I got all up to date on my end-of-month business tasks like balancing the account, updating client lists, responding to emails, and so on. I won’t bore you with the less-than-cool aspects.

That’s it for this week. I’m leaving the handbags for next week.

Dec 2006 - organising challenges

Here are this month's challenges

Week 1 - Baking stuff, pots and serving dishes
It's the first week of December!

Organise all your pots and baking stuff so that you're ready for all the cooking and baking you'll do later this month.You don't need two sets of measuring cups or spoons. If you have some old muffin pans, you can use them to plant seedlings or organise a drawer.

If there are serving dishes you've had for 5 years but never use, cook or bake something in it (casserole/ lasagna) and give it away as a present.

Take charge tip - Double up on some baking recipes and give the baked goods away as gifts. Arrange biscuits or muffins on some plates you don't like any more, cover with cling wrap, tie a red bow and there you have it - an inexpensive, useful gift.


Week 2 - Put up decorations and the Christmas tree & finish wrapping gifts
Decorate your house and put up the Christmas tree. Hang Christmas cards from a piece of string or attach to the side of your wall unit.

Finish wrapping your gifts and writing out gift tags. It's always a good idea to keep a few spare gifts around in case someone pops by and you don't have anything for them.


Week 3 - Finalise your menu and finish buying food
This is more important if you're hosting Christmas dinner.

Finalise your menu. If you'd like people to bring a dish, phone them now. Check your pantry and buy last-minute ingredients and drinks. Download your shopping list at http://takechargesolutions.org/downloads.html

If you're having Christmas dinner elsewhere, make sure that you know what the host wants you to cook.

Merry Christmas!


Week 4 - Sort out your planning tools

All these challenges (plus more) have been packaged into an e-book called Organise your Home. Get your free copy now.

Nov 2006 - organising challenges

Christmas is just 6 weeks away so we have 2 Christmas challenges this month.

Week 1 – Start the Christmas cards
Make a list of people who you're sending Christmas cards to this year.

Buy enough packs of cards, divide the number by 4 (to ensure that you have them all ready by the beginning of December) and start writing some out every evening.

Tip You can also do a conveyer belt - one person writes the card, one does the envelope and the next one does the stamps.


Week 2 – Organise your guest room
You are going to make sure you have fresh sheets on the bed, that you have spare towels and guest toiletries and most of all, some space for your guests to put their clothes. I'm guessing that you'll have to do some decluttering too.

Most of us use our spare rooms as extra storage space so now is a good time to get rid of all the old things you're keeping there.

If you get this out of the way now, you don't have to go running around at the last minute if you have people to stay over Christmas or New Year.

Even if you're not having any guests, use this time and still declutter and organise the space, especially if you use the room for sewing or other crafts.


Week 3 – Make a list of gifts to make or buy.
Remember the special people in your life with a gift. Decide if you're making any or just buying. If you are buying, make a budget and stick to it. Remember to add in gift wrap and ribbon!Remember it is not worth going into debt buying gifts. It truly is the thought that counts

TAKE CHARGE tip
Buy plain rolls of coloured kraft wrap and gold or silver ribbon for a cheaper alternative. Try to give gifts that can be used so that recipients aren't faced with more clutter. If you google clutter-free gifts you will get plenty of ideas. There are also some great gift ideas at http://betterbudgeting.com/

Week 4 – Declutter tablecloths and placemats

Go through all the tablecloths to see which are stained, ugly or just don't bring you joy.

Remember, anything you don't love should go. When you buy new stuff, get in the habit of throwing something out or donating to someone. The old one in-one out principle.

The same goes for placemats. Last weekend I went through my sideboard drawer and found placemats that suited my previous house but not this one (country cottage vs more modern), so I gave them to my helper.

Have fun with this one and if you're really good, you'll have the space so that if you see something you absolutely have to have, you can reward yourself!