12 Days to Christmas! Under-Tree Storage Box

December 13, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

The tree is trimmed, lights glowing. Packing away the storage boxes is easy, but what do you do with all those little bulbs and fuses? They wander the house, constantly underfoot--until you need one.

Keep holiday decor supplies close at hand with this simple, sneaky solution: an under-tree storage box. Select a pretty holiday gift box with a removable lid. Put all fuses, replacement light bulbs and extra ornament hooks inside the box, add a gift bow and slide it beneath the tree.

Next time you need to replace a light bulb or add a new ornament to the tree, grab the box. It'll hold--and hide--all the holiday supplies you need.

Control Christmas Clutter With An Under-Tree Storage Box

32 Days to Christmas! Inventory Holiday Decorations

November 23, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

The weekend after Thanksgiving is a time when many families begin decorating for the Christmas season. Will you bring out the holiday decor today?

Decorating for the holidays can be a lot of fun--unless you must dig them out from under last year's storage chaos. Burned-out lights, broken ornaments, and scattered packaging can dampen anyone's decor spirit.

This year, lay a good foundation for years to come. As you open stored decorations, assess the state of holiday decor. Will you need to replace lights, candles or garlands? Add the new items to a shopping list for post-season clearance sales, and make notes of any items that will be retired this year.

As you unpack, take a look at decor storage containers. Have they held up to the job? Are they easy to stack? If new storage boxes are in order, begin looking out for them as you shop for the season.

Are new decorations in order? Check out these tips to decorate for the season ... frugally:

Frugal Holiday Decorating Tips

53 Days to Christmas! Swap Holiday Decorations

November 2, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

Driving to work or school today, it's hard to avoid the splattered remains of Jack O'Lantern on the street--and the bowl of Halloween candy is looking mighty picked over after the week's Trick-or-Treaters. Time for a decor swap!

Tuck Halloween-specific decorations into a box, and replace them with Autumn or Thanksgiving-themed items to keep holiday decorations looking fresh and timely.

64 Days to Christmas! Start Holiday Idea Files

October 22, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

Christmas magazines and catalogs are fabulous resources for seasonal decorating, gift ideas, and Christmas recipes—but en masse, they can become too much of a good thing.

When the piles avalanche from every side table, finding an article or a recipe that caught your eye a few weeks ago can be an impossible job.

How do you keep all that good information without being crushed by stacks or drowning in paper? Answer: a set of tear files. They'll harness--and organize--all your great ideas in a single location:

Christmas Organizing Secret: Try a Tear File!

69 Days to Christmas! Decorate for Halloween!

October 17, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

If you haven't done so already, it's time to decorate for Halloween! Jack O'Lanterns and black cats set the stage for a spooky good time as little goblins take to the streets on the big night.

To keep seasonal decorating changes simple, use solid-color or generic fall decor for the bulk of the decorations. Tuck a few Halloween-specific items into the mix this week.

After the big night has come and gone, they're easy to remove and replace with Thanksgiving decorations. Keep decorating simple to keep the focus on the good times!

78 Days to Christmas! Focus on the Decor Big Three

October 8, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

When it comes to holiday decorating, less can be more! To save time and cut holiday stress, simplify holiday decorating by following the decorating Rule of Three!

To bring a festive feeling to any home--and do it simply--put your decorating focus on the Big Three elements of holiday decor:

Front Door
Living Area Focal Point
Christmas Tree

So long as you have a wreath on the front door, decorations on the mantel (or a holiday tablescape on a living area tabletop), and a Christmas tree, you've covered holiday decorating basics ... for a simpler, stress-free holiday season.

79 Days to Christmas! Inventory Holiday Decorations

October 7, 2018 by Cynthia Ewer

With autumn in full swing (and Halloween on the horizon), seasonal decorating will soon be underway. Do you know where your holiday decorations are?

While hauling out the jack-o-lanterns and Thanksgiving turkeys, make an informal inventory of Christmas holiday decor. Reason? If you know what you have, you'll immunize yourself from impulse buying as the season progresses--and you'll pick up any needed items in good time to decorate for Christmas.

To "shop at home first", record holiday decorations with a free printable decorations inventory form.

Print a Holiday Decorations Inventory Form

Holiday Decorating