Hugs and Happy Organizing: Pantry Organizing

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Hugs and happy organizing is all about client success stories. Here you will find a pantry organizing success story.

 

 

hugs and happy organizing pantry

Families, family dinners, family holidays all focus on the pantry!  Is you pantry chaotic? Is it a jungle of different cans, granola bars and seldom used mixes? Difficult to know what to make for dinner? It’s time to organize your pantry to make your life and your family meal times easier.

  • Remove all the items from the pantry, tossing what is expired.  Everyone has their own opinion of “expired”. Decide on yours and follow through on it.
  • Group the items together by use and like the grocery store. Typical categories include baking, breakfast, canned veggies, canned meats, beverages, pastas, rice, snacks and condiments.
  • Use plastic bins to help group items together and take advantage of deep shelves.  Bins help you “reach” to the back of a deep area.  Place a front and a back bin so you can move the front bin and reach the back bin.
  • Remove snack items from boxes for easier access for your kids.  Place these bins on a low shelf for easy access for the kids too.
  • Label the bins so everyone knows where items belong.
  • Place items into your pantry by use. The more frequently used items should be stored near the entry.  Extra storage of bulk purchases should be in the back and at a lower level.
  • Keep the floor clear.  Just like a closet, blocked access creates disorganization.

Keep a grocery list dry erase board easy to access in the pantry. Family can add to the list and it’s easier to grocery shop too.

More Hugs and Happy Organizing success stories on pinterest.

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Make ahead Holiday Treats

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I love the idea of bringing a little something to share with a hostess at holiday time.  I also love sending small treats to friends and family during the holiday season.  These holiday chocolates and pretzels are  a wonderful small something to share.  Depending on the holiday, I vary the M&M colors.  I use red for valentine’s, orange for Halloween and red and green for Christmas.  I make ahead holiday treats to save time and energy plus add the joy of the season to my home with sharing easy, simple and fun small bites.  Enjoy these treats and a sweet holiday season!

Chocolate Pretzels

 

Ingredients

  • 24 square pretzels
  • 24 chocolate kisses (milk or semisweet)
  • 24 M&Ms

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

  1. Place pretzels on baking sheets. Unwrap candy kisses and place one in the center of each pretzel.
  2. Place in preheated oven 1 to 2 minutes, until kisses melt. Remove from oven and place one candy-coated chocolate in the center of each pretzel. Chill in refrigerator until set.

Just a smidge of chocolate and a salty pretzel base.  Easy to make and share for any holiday!  Wishing you a joyful holiday season!

 

 

Want to rethink the gift giving? Clutter free gifts make the difference! Join me on pinterest for Happy Holidays.

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Holiday happiness 10 Tips for Mindfulness

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holiday happiness mindfulness

 

The holiday season can become a blur.  There’s extra to do, to make and to finish. Company’s coming and your home is not ready.  There’s gift buying and wrapping.  There’s family photos and cards to write.

 

At the same time we are grateful for our family’s being together and the abundance we are blessed with.

 

Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present.   Being in the moment you can enjoy your accomplishments and share time with your friends and family.  These 10 mindfulness tips will help you stay in the moment during the holiday season.

 

 

1. Make a list and move forward.  When we have too much on our mind, it’s hard to be in the moment.  Getting it all down on paper helps free you up.  Have a weekly planning time to get it all done.

2. Delight in nature.  It’s a time of seasonal change and beauty.  Take a few moments every day to notice the color of the leaves, the duration of the day and nature around you. You are in touch with the changes around you.

3. Focus on fun.  Got leaves? Rake them together and jump in. Hate laundry? Host a laundry party with music and snacks to get it done and off to closets.

4. Nurture yourself with rest.  When we think we have too much to do, our rest is the first activity we diminish to add more time to the day.

5. Embrace inclusion.  Include other’s in your celebrations that are unable to join their family for the holidays.  Adding more people multiples the joy of the season.

6. Troubled by a rude relative or stranger? Think about being overly kind throughout the holiday season despite a difficult situation.  Instead of ruminating about it, return joyfulness.

7.  Share gratitude.  Hug your family, friends and strangers to share the joy of the season.  Write a note to express your gratitude.  Call or text to say thanks.

8. Give yourself extra time to savor a moment.  A little extra time between events and errands makes for less stress.

9. Work together with others.  Delegate and partner with people and resources around you.  Incorporate your family into holiday organizing and activities.

10. Keep spirituality in your season.  Materialism is everywhere and it’s hard to keep yourself grounded.  Whatever your belief, choose one activity that taps into your spirituality.

 

Wishing you a joyful holiday season!

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Holiday Technology Tools

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 holiday tech tools

 

 

The holiday buzz starts early! In October and November is the time to get started on our holiday preparations.  Not only do we need the time, it is tons of fun to stretch out the holiday spirit.  Why not add some new tools to your holiday preparations?  Get ahead this year with your holiday planning using holiday technology.  Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, I am surrounded (virtually) by amazing women entrepreneurs and bloggers.  I asked them to share what works best!

 

I use evite to organize all the gatherings for the end of the year holidays.  From guests, who will come or not, what to bring, attire and super cute templates, I just love this online tool year-round. I also love Shutterfly’s shared websites to organize the kids’ classroom parties. Once you create the event you can add a sign-up list of what to bring, and afterwards we all share our favorite pictures.  Having fun just got a lot easier with these tools!

 Helena Alkhas

www.facebook.com/HelenaAPersonalOrganizer

@HelenaAlkhas

www.pinterest.com/helenaalkhas

www.youtube.com/user/HelenaAlkhas

https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HelenaAlkhasHA1/posts

 

Think about unplugging for a couple days during the holidays.  Use your technology to plan better, such as google calendar.   Automate as much as you can with holiday cards and automatic payments.    

Laura Rolands

@coachforADHD

www.myattentioncoach.com

www.facebook.com/myattentioncoach

Managing the way I read the news and any other topics I’m interested has changed dramatically thanks to my favorite tool – Flipboard.  It makes every story into a beautiful magazine-like page that can be ‘flipped’ through. Personally,  I love flipping through: news, art, culture, travel, style and lifestyle topics to name a few.  

Geralin Thomas

@metrozing

www.metropolitanorganizing.com

https://www.facebook.com/GeralinThomas

http://www.pinterest.com/Geralin/

 

 

I use a binder designated Holidays and fill it with lists for cards, crafts, gifts, meals and recipes.  These are all printed from ListPlanIt, of course! 

Jen Tankersley

@ListPlanIt

www.listplanit.com

www.facebook.com/ListPlanIt

 

 

My favorite Holiday Tech Tool is SendOutCards. http://www.sendoutcards.com/11788.  I used to spend hours writing personal messages, stuffing, addressing and stamping envelopes for my Christmas cards. Every year, to try to save time, the list would get shorter and shorter. Then I found SendOutCards. I now send over 300 greetings, each with a personal message, in a fraction of the time. It allows me to send my love and well wishes in a big way.  

Stephanie LH Calahan – Business Vision Catalyst

@StephCalahan

http://www.stephaniecalahan.com

 

 

During the holidays, I do much of my shopping online to avoid mall rage. (Closely related to road rage, but without vehicles.) I never shop for anything without first checking www.retailmenot.com to see if there are coupon codes for that site. I’ve saved on everything from ordering pizza to photos. Then I log into www.ebates.com where I get paid cash back to shop! The amount varies per store, per day but when I combine those two, I’ve saved sometimes up to 25% in discounts and getting cash back. Don’t shop online without these tools!

Kirsten Oliphant

@kikimojo (twitter, instagram, Pinterest)

www.kirstenoliphant.com

Managing holiday music has never been easier with Pandora radio. It is an option for the smart phone or computer.  At www.pandora.com, you choose free music to play, choosing by artist or genre.  It creates “stations” with various artists. The most amazing aspect is the “mix” Pandora radio creates with your station.  The variety of artists is unlimited too! 

Certified Professional Organizer Ellen Delap

@TexasOrganizer

www.professional-organizer.com

www.facebook.com/EllenDelapProfessionalOrganizer

www.pinterest/EllenDelap 

 

Join me for more holiday tips on pinterest  Happy Holidays.

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5 Ways to Use Your Daylight Savings Time Extra Hour

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productivity

This weekend daylight savings time ends and we fall back. We all love that initial daylight savings time extra hour and that extra hour of sleep! What if we keep appreciating that extra hour as a daily bonus? Here are 5 ways we can use that extra hour for our priorities.

1. Exercise

We never feel like we have time to exercise! Think about adding one hour of walking, cardio or other exercise to you day. You can break this into 2 segments, morning and evening too.

2. Reading

How many magazines and books are accumulating in your  home? Take one hour for your reading pleasure.

3. Family Meal

Life is busy and we seldom have time for a meal together. Family meals promote communication and cohesiveness.

4. Sleep

Keep heading to bed early so you can rise and shine with an extra hour of sleep each night.

5. Planning

Use your extra hour for planning time. Whether it is your weekly planning or family meeting, adding in planning time makes your life less stressful and more meaningful.

How will you use your extra hour?

Join me on my pinterest board, Time is on My Side!  Learn loads of time management ideas.

 

Getting Organized for the Holidays

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holiday organizing

It’s already the holiday season! We see it in our yards with Halloween decorations, in shops with Christmas decorations, and we feel it in the energy around us.  Thanks to BlogElevated, I have asked some bloggers to share how they get organized for the holidays.  How do you get organized for the holidays? 

 

Admittedly, I am not the most organized person, however when it comes to holiday decorations I make an exception. We store all of our holiday decor in labeled containers in the garage and pull them out when it’s time to decorate. I always make sure the house has had a good cleaning/dusting before setting out our decorations. Then, when the holiday is over all of the decorations go right back into their container! Inevitably, we end up with a bit more decor every year and have to buy another container, but it’s worth it to keep things organized!

Heather Shaw

Blogger and Entrepreneur 

Mother of 2

 http://www.asouthernmom.com/

 

 

My best tip for getting organized for the holidays starts the year before when I’m packing for the holidays. Our family celebrates many religious traditions for Advent, before Christmas. So, when I am packing up decor from the year before I put things in boxes in the order they will be used the next year. The advent wreath comes out first, and all of our stuff we use the first couple of weeks of Advent are packed together (i.e., the Advent wreath isn’t packed with other wreaths.) We do our Christmas tree on Gaudete Sunday (3rd Sunday of Advent) so ornaments and tree stuff are packed together in a box. We put up stockings on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, so those are packed in the bottom so they will be the last out of the box. I use different apps on my phone to track gifts we’ve bought for the kids, and I use the Amazon Wish List feature to keep track of things the kids want throughout the year. I made a Pinterest board for myself called Husband Buy Me This for my own “wish list”. I love using Pinterest for this because I can add the price and link to the store where he can purchase it, so he doesn’t have to go on a scavenger hunt. http://www.pinterest.com/milehimama/husband-buy-me-this/

Lisa Stauber

Co-founder Blog Elevated Conference

Mom of 10

http://milehimama.com

 

I start planning at least a month in advance. Decorating is always my first priority, because it takes so much effort, and I can enjoy it the longest. I think of things that enchanted me as a child, and then try to incorporate them into my lifestyle with my family now. Next, I start dreaming up recipes to share with my family and friends. Sweet treats and Main Dishes, always including traditional favorites as well as new tastes and flavors to help begin new memories. 

 Nicole T. Woodard

Author, Food and Home Blogger

Author of 37 Catholic Classroom Crafts (in 30 Minutes or Less),

Mother of 4 little girls

 http://www.nickiwoo.com

 

 

When it comes time for preparing for the holidays, meal planning may come to mind when you’re planning that celebration meal. But with the busy holiday season, healthy habits can take a back seat to more fast and convenience foods that are not so good for you. But it doesn’t have to. In early November, I like to make up several healthy meals that to store in my freezer. Adding a simple salad or steamed vegetable to most meals means you’ll not only be eating a little healthier but also saving money to spend on holiday shopping and activities.

 

Brenda Thompson,

Freelance Writer and Blogger

Meal Planning Magic

http://www.mealplanningmagic.com

 

 My holiday organizing is about breaking things into baby steps.  I love my holiday time line for getting it all done! 

 

How you you get organized for the holidays? 

 

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Company’s Coming! Decluttering your home

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home organizing

 

Company’s coming! What a great way to make sure you are organized! These words strike fear and get you in gear.  It’s time to tackle the guest room and the dining room.  Decluttering your home before company comes creates an inviting and welcoming space for them.  Follow these 5 easy steps to declutter and be ready for visitors.

Guest rooms become storage.  Dining rooms become work areas.  Both are easy spots throughout the year just to drop off bags from the car or other purchases you have not found a home for yet.  Set aside time on your calendar in 2 hour segments for decluttering.  You can get these areas back to their original use easily and efficiently.

 

  • Reset and distribute.  Start by grouping items and then distributing to appropriate spots in your home.  Your kids can help by being runners. You can use a basket or plastic tote to help carry items to where they belong.

 

  • Organize room by room.  Next go room by room and incorporate those items.  This will require some editing and blending of new and already owned items.  Get ready to cast off and donate what you have replaced with newer items.

 

  • Create mobile storage.  If your dining room was used as a craft room, think about storing crafts in 3 drawer sterilite rolling cart. These can be rolled to the garage for storage while your room is being used for holiday dinners.

 

  • Power through paper clutter.  If paper was stashed in your guest room, consolidate it into bags.  Use 15 minute time pockets to power through what you are keeping and what you are discarding.  Once you have culled this down, set up 15 minute periods to file. Powering through paper helps you know what to keep and what to discard.

 

  • Fun and function.  Set your table for your holiday dinner early. It will keep your table from getting cluttered again.

 

  • Freshen up.  Freshen up your guest room with new linens, a small tray of toiletries and mints, and fresh flowers to keep your room ready for guests.

 

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Fall organizing: Gift wrap organizing

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fall organizing gift wrap organizing

Fall organizing prepares you for the fun ahead including holidays.  Lots of gifts, for family, friends, and charity, will be wrapped in the next few months. There is seldom a home that is not overflowing with materials to beautify a box or bag.  Be gift wrap read by organizing and sprucing up your stuff.  Organize your gift wrap and be ready for the holiday season.

  • Start by culling out what has seen better days.  It’s easy to think you will need an abundance of bags, tissue and ribbon. However, be sure these are in excellent condition to use for another gift.  Decide how many bags of different types are needed. If you have too many baby shower bags or happy birthday bags,  decide on a number to keep. Your bags and wrap can be recycled or donated.
  • Decide what other supplies you need.  Fall is often when school fundraisers for gift wrap take place. Knowing what you need will help you support local charities and not over purchase.
  • Your gift wrap station should be easy to access.  There are lots of possibilities.  Hanging gift wrap bags are popular to store bags in guest closets.  Dresser drawers in your guest room are an option. Short, three drawer sterilite plastic chests can work too.  Having subdivided areas for tissue, ribbon, bags and rolls makes it easy to find and use your supplies. Under bed gift wrap organizers are available for any room. You can also divide holiday and every day supplies, storing holiday with your holiday decorations.

 

hanging gift wrap organizer

 

 

 

under bed gift wrap organizer

  • Place the items in your new storage area. Label the categories so you know what is stored in each space.
  • Take a little extra time each time you wrap a gift to replace items where they belong.
  • Maybe this year you want to forgo gifts and go clutter free too!

What’s your gift wrap trick for eliminating and storing?

 

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Five Fall Organizing Tips for Your Home

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home organizing
Fall organizing makes ready the transition to autumn.  ›I love Fall!  It’s a time of transitions, back to school, fresh starts, and the gateway to the holidays!  Here are five fall organizing tips for your home.  Focusing on these areas will make your home company ready too!
›
›
›Organizing Your Time
Activities gear up during the fall.  Your kids activities, church activities, fall festivals, and football games are all important dates and time to add to your calendar.  You may be planning to travel as well.
  • ›Add all your dates to your calendar as soon as possible.  You will avoid conflicting activities and feel more in control.
  • ››Set aside time to prepare for big events.  Be sure you add in preparation time.  This includes time to make food, time to pick up an item or time to travel to your activity.
  • Get your family into the swing of things with a family meeting, recording dates on a month at a glance calendar posted in your kitchen.
  • ›Use checklists.  Spend a few minutes the week before an activity writing down all the items you will need to bring.  Having a checklist makes it easy to be sure everything gets to your destination.
›Organizing Your Landing Strip
Happily we need light sweaters and jackets, different shoes, and hopefully an umbrella during fall.
  • Create a spot where things come and go in your home right at your entry.  A basket for shoes or boots corrals them where you can find them later.  Hooks on the wall add a spot to leave a jacket.  A small attractive trash can can hold umbrellas.
  • ›Use baskets or totes to carry items back and forth to the car.  A tote  gives you a spot to place a return or other item that needs to get to the car.  It also is a way to carry it there.
  • ›Storage for keys.  Attach a key spot for dropping your keys as soon as you enter your home.
  • ›As with all spots in your home, remember to declutter regularly.  Too many shoes or jackets at your landing strip makes chaotic clutter.
›Organizing Your Crafts
  • Start by dividing items by craft.  If you know you are no longer doing that craft, send the supplies off to Texas Art Asylum.
  • Divide your space by “centers” where you can use your craft supplies, setting up spaces with a table, chair and storage for your supplies.
  • ›Plan a projects area to store multiple projects in progress.  Often you are working on several projects simultaneously.  Take this into account in our craft space.
›Organizing Your Pantry
Many of our holidays revolve around food.  In the fall we are entertaining more and inviting in company.  Dinner time is back in full swing with the routines of school and work.  Organizing your pantry makes it easy to prepare meals.
  • ›Remove everything from your pantry and toss what is expired.
  • ›Set up your pantry with categories like the grocery store  and additional groups such as veggies, breakfast, and snacks
  • Think about what you want to frequent and easy access to first, then place items accordingly.  Especially for your kids, place items they can reach on the lower shelves.  ›
  • A turn table lazy susan is great for difficult to access corners.
  • Use baskets for snacks and floppy stuff
  • Canisters for flour, sugars, and pastas are important in our climate.
›Organize Outside
Cooler temperatures will start soon.  It’s time to rein in the outside clutter too.
  • ›Bring pool items, cushions and extra toys  in and store in your garage or attic.  Remember to hose down items and clean before storing.
  • ›Add vertical storage to the garage to store tubs.  Label your tubs for easy access.
  • ›Freshen up your entry by sweeping, dusting and cleaning your door and entry way.

Fall organizing prepares  you for upcoming events.  Have  these areas decluttered and ready for fun!

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Organizing Receipts

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organizing your receipts

 

Receipts here, there and everywhere? Is it time to get a better handle on your receipts? As temping as it seems to toss or shred as many as you can, it is easy to find a simple solution for storing receipts.  Organizing receipts saves money, helps you return items easily, and simplifies tax time.

Here are 6 simple ways to keep receipts under control!

  • Use a Ziploc or small zipper case in your car for receipts.  Gather them together from your purse, car and bags.   Drop them in the case each time you get gas.
  • Place an envelope on your kitchen desk.  Keep receipts by month and write the name of the month and year on the front of the envelope.
  • Have a slot in your command center in your kitchen for receipts.  Drop these in daily while you are doing your paper triage.
  • Have receipts in the closet? Keep a box in your dressing area for dropping in receipts.
  • Use a 13 slot accordion file for keeping receipts by month.  Keep your accordion file in an easy to access desk drawer.
  • Set up a monthly hanging file for receipts and bank deposit slips in the front of a file drawer.
  • Keep your receipts in a To Be Scanned folder or box.  Neat Desk is a great option and easy to use.  Have your Neat Connect (sponsored link) set up wirelessly all the time on  your desk, ready to use.

Now that you have gathered these, how long do you keep receipts?

  • Want to match up your credit card purchases with the monthly statement?  Match and then destroy unneeded receipts.
  • For major purchases, staple the receipt to the instruction book.
  • For taxes, in the state of Texas, these can be used as a tax deduction because of sales tax. Save your receipts by month.  Neat Connect (sponsored link) is especially helpful with templates for taxes.

Got receipts? Organizing receipts? How are you organizing receipts?

 

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