Christmas Countdown: Get Organized Week

Week 1: October 25-31, 2020

Get organized for the holiday season with the Christmas Countdown. This week, we're gearing up and making plans for an organized Christmas.

Welcome to Get Organized Week!

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The first week of the Countdown is a time for planning and calendars and lists, and for setting our values and our overall course. As we break down holiday preparations into small, simple steps, we'll sketch out the outline of the holiday season to come.

This week, we begin to build a Christmas planner to organize holiday chores, assess the state of the house, and prepare for Halloween festivities.

Ready? Let's get organized for a stress-free Christmas season!

To Do This Week

Follow the daily Countdown messages on the Web, or sign up for our Countdown RSS feed, courtesy of Google's Feedburner service..
Make the promise! Spend 15 minutes each day this week to get organized for Christmas.
Get comfortable for holiday planning--create a Christmas planning center in a cozy corner, desk or table.
Begin to assemble a Christmas planner, using a notebook or three-ring binder.
Print the Countdown plan calendar, and add it to your Christmas planner.
Print and post a family holiday calendar. Keeping track of family events makes the season run more smoothly.
Values check! Review your family's holiday values privately, then a second time with family members. Print two copies of the Holiday Values Worksheet and record your findings.
Gift-buying looms! Start a master gift list. Print the master gift list and use it to record purchases and home-made gift items.
Begin a Christmas card list. Locate addresses, and consider making a computerized Christmas card address list for maximum time savings. Or, print a Christmas card list for your Christmas planner notebook.
Print a home spruce-up worksheet and complete the holiday home spruce-up exercise. Schedule any pre-holiday home improvement projects.
Will your family travel this holiday season? Make travel plans and reservations this week.
Will you host houseguests this year? Make arrangements for any overnight guests.
Make an appointment for family photo sessions for holiday giving or photo Christmas cards.
Schedule carpet cleaning now! As the holidays approach, business picks up. Call now for your choice of appointment times.
Declutter tabletops and public rooms before you decorate.
If you haven't done so already, decorate for Halloween or Harvest celebrations.