Hello Everyone, Angie from Architecturally Organized here.
Sunday October 3rd kicks off “Get Organized Week” aka GO Week!! Not to be confused with Get Organized Month -which is held in January (which is sponsored by NAPO). Go Week has been around since the early 90’s! It is a week-long event to help everyone stay organized (Sunday Oct 3-Saturday Oct 9th)!! Why am I just learning that this is a thing? That’s another “new thing” for me that I learned this week!!! (Sidebar/Sidetrack – the other new thing I learned this week – I just posted on Tiktok about it – I love the Doors (band) and now that we are getting into the halloweenie spirit I like to watch movies to put me in the mood – So I watched Death Becomes Her… and saw a clip when Bruce Willis falls in the pool – well they have Jim Morrison standing there about to get in the pool… How did I never notice that it was supposed to be Jim standing there?!?! I was dumb founded!).
Anyways – So here we are – This starts the busy time. We just had a birthday-the fellows oldest just turned 17, his youngest is about to be 14, I will be…. Hush your mouth!!! But I will be turning another year older…Christmas shopping will begin soon (I start early and buy little stuff here and there throughout the year-but now comes the times for christmas lists and the heavy hitters), Halloween and trick or treating will be here … then you go to bed and wake up and it’s time for Thanksgiving and then you blink and it’s Christmas…. So… let’s get ready for all that! Let’s get organized and prepared for all the fun that is in store for the next few months….
So – being that this coming week is GO Week I have a few small projects for you to attack… to help you be organized and on your toes for the holidays ahead and the new year to follow!! These small projects.. Well.. they are things that you don’t normally think about… they just get tossed to the side because it’s stuff that you think really isn’t too important…But…when you need something from them… you are usually scrambling trying to find the info/item. These are mostly quick projects that won’t take too long. I have 7 listed – one for each day of GO Week!!
- Organize your contact list.
Yes it is a silly thing and it may not be the most exciting… but make sure you have up to date addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, birthdays, anniversaries, etc for your friends and family. And – if you don’t already do this – give your contact list a boost by adding notes by the contacts – things they are into, possible gift ideas for future reference! This will help out when the time comes for gift giving and card sending!
- Organize Christmas wrapping and tags.
Go through all of your gift bags, wrapping paper, and tags. Take an inventory of what you have and how much. If you can – hold out till after the holidays to buy any new items (things will go on sale and be cheaper and then you’ll be ready for the next year), if you have to buy stuff-don’t go overboard – just get what you need and wait till after the holidays so you can restock while its on sale!!
- Organize your holiday decor!
Hear me out -You don’t have to get nitty gritty with this (unless you want to of course), for now – just macro organizing…. This is me assuming that you already have everything organized into separate containers for the holidays… Now is when you take the time to just pull out those containers… maybe pop the lid off and take a peek inside. Make sure that the label and content match….lastly.. Like with like…make sure all the Christmas boxes are together, all the Easter containers are stored together..etc Now – when you put them back in their storage locations – put them back in a way that makes it easy for you to grab what you need when you need it… Just think – when December comes and you have to pull out the decorations they will be all ready for you and you will be glad you did this!!
- Organize (and clean) your refrigerator.
Seriously!! The holidays are just around the corner!!!! Empty this baby out!!! You need to make room in here for all the yummy leftovers and pumpkin pies and stuffing.. And I can go on and on. Clean it out – it will make you feel better!!
- Organize your Baking Pantry.
Again – Seriously… (OK – Seriously I have been watching too much of Grey’s Anatomy-this is my first time binge watching it and they say Seriously A LOT!!) If you do a lot of cooking and baking for the Holidays you will want this purged, organized and want to have a good understanding of what baking essentials you have on hand – and what you need to buy for the upcoming festivities!!
- Organize your Food Storage containers.
Will you be hosting any Holiday Dinners this year? Well – even if you aren’t – take the time to go through your food storage containers. Make sure they all have lids and that the lids close properly. Depending on how much space – store them with the lids on or with them off. Toss away containers that are cracking. And Don’t forget to set some aside for friends and family to take leftovers home with them after your gathering!!
- Organize your planner/calendar/to do list.
Everybody needs to have a good grasp of the days, weeks, and months this time of year. Make note of what days the holidays land, When kids will be out of school, what days you have off from work, When trick or treating is, when you are celebrating with family outside your home. Plan out when you will start your holiday baking. When will you finish up your Christmas shopping? When will you start wrapping presents? All things to just jot down and ya know – kind of get a grasp on things because… well, if you thought this year went by fast… well the next few months will fly by in the blink of an eye!!
So there you go – a week’s worth of projects that:
- A) won’t take an enormous amount of time.
- B) will help you out in the long run.
- C) are small and won’t overwhelm you.
These projects are not exactly glamorous, but by tackling these projects it will allow you to make the most of your time when the holidays do arrive!!
What are some goals or “to do’s” that you set for yourself before the holidays?
