 It's almost here: holiday giving season! Be organized and prepared with my fillable or printable Gift Tracker. Keep your filled-out list to reference for next year so you don’t accidentally duplicate gifts or so you can purposely duplicate (E.g. Aunt Edith gets a fruit basket every year.).
And don't just use the Gift Tracker for holidays, but keep your list going all year round to track birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and other gift-giving occasions.
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 Last Friday, I had to be rescued from Costco. “What happened?” you ask. “Were you injured? Was there a fire?”
Nope. It was shopping overload. Trying to choose between tenderloins and t-bones, my attention was distracted by the nearby croissants. My inner optimist was cooing, “Ooh, if I got those for the kids we could have a Parisian breakfast tomorrow and pretend we’re in a little café!” “But there’s no way we can -- or should -- eat two dozen croissants,” fired back my inner pessimist. I stood rooted to the spot, unable to make a decision.  Did you know that 80-95% of college students procrastinate? Maybe you’re rolling your eyes and saying, “Duh, who doesn’t know that college students procrastinate?” And maybe you were one of those students.
But when you’re trapped in a procrastination cycle, it can feel as if everyone around you has it all together and you’re the only one who has, once again, gotten yourself into trouble with the doom of an approaching deadline. In her new book, How to Do It Now Because It's Not Going Away: An Expert Guide to Getting Stuff Done, Leslie Josel tackles the sticky problem of procrastination.  Ever had this maddening experience?
You step outside and see your breath for the first time in the season. Yay, it’s sweater season! You run up to your closet and reach for that favorite sweater that’s been tucked away since spring. Eager to feel the comforting hug of snuggly wool (or maybe luxurious cashmere) on your arms, you pull the sweater over your head. But, wait, what’s that? Is that a little piece of lint? No! It’s a hole! And there’s another! Nooooo!!! Moths have feasted on -- and ruined -- your favorite sweater.  It’s August, so that means time to get ready to go back to school. Sorry, I mean remote learning. No, wait, hybrid. Or maybe a pod?
Wow! And I thought annual school-supply shopping was hard (Why are the supply lists so long?!). Now, we have to contend with shifting school start dates and 11th-hour plan changes. This year, every decision we have to make around getting our children back to school seems fraught with frightening complications. What’s a parent to do? Get organized!  When my daughters were little, they only had four toys. Organizing them sure was easy!
OK, that’s not exactly the full story. When my kids were six and one, we lived in Italy for two months while my husband was at an artist’s residence. For those months, the only toys they had were a doll, a stuffed animal, a miniature set of blocks, and a box of crayons. It was a great experience, not only of living in another country but also of living with less. Packing for that trip was a real test of my organizing abilities! To make space for my husband’s art supplies and still fit into our teeny-tiny Italian car, our personal belongings were relegated to two carry-on suitcases. So, I packed minimal toys and one storybook treasury, so we’d have all our favorite books in one relatively compact volume (This was a pre-Kindle, pre-iPad trip)! To supplement the toys, I printed out this kite template for us to use.  Have you noticed that during this pandemic, many people have turned to crafting to soothe the soul and alleviate boredom?
I love this trend, as I've always been an avid crafter, trying just about everything from millinery (my former profession) to tatting. My current focus is on making face masks. It's gratifying to make a few each day and to see people help themselves from the bag at my front door. In addition to my mask factory, I've also been knitting, making things with my daughters, and playing with ideas for retrimming some summer hats. With all this activity, my craft studio is a mess! 
With all the time you’re spending in your home these days, you’ve likely noticed that there’s plenty of items lying around that you hardly use, or food that’s gone bad but is still sitting in the back of your fridge. However, with this extra downtime and lack of visitors, now is the perfect opportunity to finally get your house in order. So, it’s time to toss out any junk that’s managed to sit on your nightstand for far too long, and throw out those old, expired salad dressings to go, along with the broken can opener that still hasn’t made its way to the garbage.
While the thought of decluttering and reorganizing your home can be overwhelming, it’s much more doable than you think. Better yet, it can all be done without needing to purchase anything new. To help you get started, we pulled together tips from decluttering and organizing experts living in Nashville all the way to professionals living in Vancouver, BC (and many more in between). Here’s how to get your house in order without buying anything new.  Paperwork, filing, taxes -- there must be some people who enjoy dealing with these, right? I’m not one of them and I suspect you aren’t either. Unfortunately, with tax day coming up next month, piles of paper are a reality for many of us.
What are the top causes of this paper pileup?
What are the solutions to these problems?
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