Empress

The Holiday Grand Plan starts Sept 1st

Just want to let you know that the Holiday Grand Plan begins Sunday Sept 1st. Neither Liz nor I will be able to make regular updates to our group this year, but if anyone wants to do that, please feel free.

Meanwhile, when looking at the Organized Home website, I noticed that they actually have four different getting ready for Christmas plans and an article about choosing which one is right for you. There are two different whole-house prep plans (HGP is one of them), as well as a six-week plan that focuses more on Christmas-specific prep, and monthly club that runs all year.

Best of luck to you in your holiday preparations this year!
Empress

Checking In...

I had a really good Week 1. Since I haven't worked the plan for the last few years, it seems that means I also hadn't cleaned my porch. Ew. There are going to be many areas this year that won't look "good" because they need enhancements I just really can't afford, or because it's just not worth putting the money into this place (very old mobile home) and we need to do something else. But I got rid of a bunch of stuff I haven't touched in the last few years and it's definitely BETTER. And that's the important thing. 

Here's one thing I found to take care of that I think should probably be mentioned on the plan and isn't--I washed my flag. 

In 2001, I was the manager of a fabric store. Post 9/11, we were INNUNDATED with requests for flags--or anything that looked remotely like a flag, and we (along with every other retailer around) were simply not prepared to meet the demand for weeks. And when I say demand, I mean DEMAND. It was a stressful time for everyone, and we took a lot of abuse from a number of people who were very upset to find themselves without a flag to fly and no way to get one. 

Even if you're not one to fly your flag regularly, this is a great time to check on it, make sure that you have one, and that it's in good repair. There seem to be so many rules regarding the flag that I know it makes some people wary about dealing with it at all. I did Google to make sure it was okay to wash it. Opinions vary, but the general consensus seems to be hand-washing is fine. And it looks nice, right?

Flag tangent aside, I thought my first week of the HGP went really well and I'm off to a great start on Week 2. 

Here are some links I wanted to pass along:
Ornaments to make:
Paper garland (would make great ornaments too)
Photo ornaments
Paper balls 1
Paper balls 2
Paper balls 3

Freezer meals:
http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/0…

How's everyone else doing?
Empress

HGP for Evernote

Hi, everyone. It seems like forever since I've been to LJ.
The Holiday Grand Plan start on August 26th this year, and I've spent today getting ready. A few years ago, I broke down all the big task lists on the HGP site into smaller, daily lists. I entered those into my Evernote account today so that I'll be able to move the day's tasks to my To-Do Notebook each day. You can view my HGP notes for Evernote here.

If you're not familiar with Evernote...it's awesome. It's an application for making lists and notes which are stored in a cloud and accessible from all your computers and devices. The free level has tons to offer and they've got apps for everything. I love it! Check out Evernote. A video about why you might want to use Evernote. And a site with a bunch of helpful videos to get you set up and started. 

Part of what I love about the idea of using Evernote to keep up with the HGP is the functionality of attaching files, web clippings, and other notes to your notes. So throughout the year you can save recipes, craft ideas, and gift ideas, and attach them to the relevant week of the HGP so you can remember them when you want them. You can even take photo notes with your smartphone of gift ideas you see when you're out and about.

If Evernote's not of interest, another idea for getting these daily things done: go to the notebook, copy the do-to lists for each day, and paste them on the appropriate day in Google Calendar. Then have the Calendar send you email reminders or a daily agenda.

I haven't worked the HGP for the last few years, and my home and Christmases have not been the same. In case you can't tell, I'M KIND OF EXCITED to get back to it this year. Hope you are too. Good luck in whatever you decide to do this year.

~Susan
Christmas

Co-Mod Needed

I just released a book, went to Disney World, came home, have 200 things in my inbox to deal with, have an insane new puppy-- I've also got 1-3 trips planned during our regularly scheduled Grand Plan time, when I usually never leave the house. Suffice it to say that I'm completely scatterbrained and really need someone or someones to help out with this group this year. I haven't even looked at the calendar yet. Anyone interested?

:goes away to breathe:

ETA: After some deep breathing, realized I forgot to remind you that the HGP starts on Sunday, August 29th this year. Hope you'll all come back.
chrimuss

from The Simple Dollar

Five Big Ways You Need To Think About Christmas... NOW!

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/201…

"It’s mid-June, so there’s no better time to write about Christmas. Right? Right?!
The truth of the matter is that just a little bit of forethought right now can save you a ton of time, effort, cost, and heartache this December. While it might feel really out of place to think about Christmas on a warm June day, right now is the perfect time to give these five things a quick thought..."
Christmas

HGP Week 15: Overview

Welcome to Week 15 of the HGP. This is Finish-Up week.

The plan this week is mostly about finishing up and maintaining what's been done. If you follow the Finish-Up link above, there are some suggestions given for working on dividing up household tasks and assigning chores to maintain what's been done.

Mostly, if you're done enjoy it!

Holiday Prep:

  • Mail all packages and cards

  • Finish purchasing and wrapping gifts

Christmas

HGP Week 14, Day 1: Overview

Welcome to Week 14 of the HGP. This is Holiday Decor week.

This entire week is dedicated to decorating for the holidays and continuing to work on the storage areas if you haven't gotten those under control yet. There really aren't any deep cleaning tasks, and what everyone will do this week will be different depending on how much and what areas you decorate. So no more daily tasks. Some things to keep in mind:

  • Get rid of any decorations that are broken, lights that don't work, or things you don't love.

  • Group decorations for different holidays together and label all boxes.



Holiday Prep:

  • Decorate house and yard

  • Get tree

  • Prepare all packages for mailing and mail during this week and next.

  • Mail all overseas cards.

  • Order any holiday food, turkey or roast, platters, etc.

  • Have a craft day with kids