Planning

Only 18 Days Till Thanksgiving

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It’s hard to believe there are only 18 days until Thanksgiving. For the last 10 plus years we have gone over to my sister-in-laws so I haven’t had too much work to do. I would make homemade rolls and pumpkin pie. Other than that I just had to show up.

This year is different. My mother has been ill so we will be having it at her house but I’m the one who will be doing most of the work. My sister and her family are coming in town but not until Weds afternoon. She will be able to help me with all the last minute preparations but I will have to plan, organize, and shop ahead of time. On top of that both of my sons and daughter-in-law will be visiting this year.

Now that I have a confirmed head count I will go to the grocery and order a fresh turkey to be picked up on Weds November 24. Because it’s been a long time since I have had to do so much for Thanksgiving I’m going to create a planner to help me keep on track.

I found a great website where you can print a customized planner and calendar that will help you keep track of what you need to do when and where. http://www.oceanspray.com/planit/essentials/planning_book.aspx

I just found this site today and ironically it has “order fresh turkey” for the task listed for today, Nov 8. I won’t be getting to the store today but I’m sure tomorrow will still be soon enough.

Here is another website where you can print out a Thanksgiving Countdown and get lots of other help with planning and organizing. http://www.bhg.com/holidays/thanksgiving/planning/

I’ve printed out some of the information from the above sites and put them in a 3-ring binder. This will be my Thanksgiving planner. As I gather my recipes, shopping lists, etc. I’ll put them in the planner. By reviewing it everyday it will help me stay organized so I can avoid any last minute chaos.

Below are some other links for Thanksgiving and for Veterans Day which is this coming Thursday.

*Veterans Day – Thursday, November 11

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/veterans/

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/veterans-day/teacher-resources/6674.html

*Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 25

http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/thanksgiving.htm

http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving

http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanksgiving/

http://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

If you have piles of paper clutter then you need to get my eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. It can help you clear out the piles and organize the important papers.

3Debook_Clutter8 http://organizebythemonth.com/CutOutThePaperClutter.html

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November Holidays

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Below are the dates and some links for the holidays in the month of November. Mark your calendars and start planning your “to do” lists so you can enjoy the holidays without the last minute chaos. If you need some ideas on planning out those lists then check out this blog post. http://organizebythemonth.com/?p=300

*Election Day – Tuesday , November 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day_%28United_States%29

*Daylight Saving Time Ends – Sunday, November 7

http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/dst.cfm

*Veterans Day – Thursday, November 11

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/veterans/

http://www.teachervision.fen.com/veterans-day/teacher-resources/6674.html

*Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, November 25

http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/thanksgiving.htm

http://www.history.com/content/thanksgiving

http://holidays.kaboose.com/thanksgiving/

http://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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October Holidays and Observances

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It’s hard to believe September is almost over. The school routines should be in place by now and hopefully running smooth. The cooler weather (at least in the northern parts of the country) is setting in plus the daylight hours are getting shorter and shorter.

There are only a couple of holidays during the month of October but there are many, many “observances” for either a day, a week, or the month. Here are two sites that list lots of these special observances. It’s amazing how many different things can be celebrated during this month. I have not check out many of them but you can Google any that interest you.

http://www.brownielocks.com/october.html

http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/OctoberCalendar.html

I’ve listed some of the more common observances below. The one that has the most significance to me is “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”.  I’m a breast cancer survivor along with my mother and sister.  I have done a little more research for links to help educate you on the subject. Most people know at least one person or family that has dealt with breast cancer. Learn how to reduce the risks for yourself and your family members. Give generously (money and/or time) to the charity of your choice. The more we all contribute to finding a cure the sooner we won’t have to live in fear of cancer.

Ok, I’m getting off my soap box. Check out the links below. October is not only a month to educate yourself on a variety of topics (see above links) but to have lots of fun!

Holidays

October 11, (Monday) Columbus Day

This is a Federal Holiday so most Federal buildings and the post office will be closed.

http://www.history.com/topics/columbus-day

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/columbus/

October 31, (Sunday) Halloween

I’ll add more links as the month goes on so be sure to check this blog often. If you have any suggestions for Halloween fun please let me know in the comment section. Thanks.

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/halloween/index.shtml

http://www.halloween.com/

Other Observances

October 3 – 9, National Fire Prevention Week

October 1-31, Breast Cancer Awareness Month

http://ww5.komen.org/

http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

 

Janice

 

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Important Dates in September

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When I started this blog a few years ago I had a separate newsletter that listed all the special dates for the current month. I discontinued that newsletter and added the information to my Tip newsletter. Then I got away from putting that information there also. So now I’ve decided to put it on the blog.

I know a lot of readers liked getting these dates and links so they could plan ahead to celebrate the holiday or event. Getting organized by planning ahead for things is the key to enjoying them with a lot less stress.

If you have any links or know of special dates of interest for the current or upcoming months, please let me know in the comment section. To avoid spam I have to approve the comments before they are posted but I check often for new comments and post them as soon as possible. Thank you.

September 11, (Saturday)

http://www.butlerwebs.com/tragedy/default.htm

http://voicesofseptember11.org/dev/index.php

September 12, (Sunday) National Grandparents Day

http://www.grandparents-day.com/

http://holidays.kaboose.com/grandparents-day.html

September 21, (Tuesday) International Day Of Peace

http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/2010/

September is National Apple Month.

Although this is an event that the apple industry takes part in to promote the sale of apples they also want to educate the consumer on the benefits of apples. As the weather gets cooler and the days shorter the taste for crisp, cold apples or the smell of apple pie baking comes to mind. Here are some links that give you information on the benefits of eating apples plus loads of recipes. Enjoy and get healthy!

http://www.usapple.org/index-c.cfm

http://www.applerecipes.us/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/apple/index.html

If you have a problem controlling the paper piles in your home or office be sure to check out what tips and ideas are offered in my new eBook,

3Debook_Clutter8 “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

Janice Scissors

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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Starting Over & Over & Over

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Have you ever cleaned up your home for company and then promised yourself you will keep it that way…always? Then daily life gets in the way and before you know it the house is a mess with clutter again.

You beat yourself up for not keeping your promise. You tell yourself you are a failure. You feel you can never get the house under control and keep it that way.

Then you get angry and decide you’re going to clean up the house once and for all and keep it that way. So you start over again with hopes, dreams, and determination to get it right this time.

Here’s a a quote to think about when you find yourself in the above situation.

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.”

When you start over to clean up the clutter in your home for yet another time, stop and think of “why” it got this way again, not the “how”. We all the “how” – we simply did not put things away. It’s when you figure out the “why” then you can start doing something different and guess what – you’ll get different results.

  1. Why didn’t things get put away?
  2. Why do you keep purchasing more items? (Do you really need them? Do you buy without planning first?)
  3. Why don’t you have a place or “home” for each item in your home? (Too many items? Not enough or the right kind of storage?)
  4. Why don’t you have a routine to follow to keep the house cleaned up? (Never wrote out a plan? The old routine never works? )

We all have weaknesses and it’s easy to come up with excuses. We all have strengths too. Maybe you keep you desk at work clean and organized. Or your craft project is organized and ready to work on. Or maybe you’re great at organizing your childrens school parties, etc. Take a look at what you do well no matter how large or small it may be and try to apply some of those techniques to what you are not good at.

“Have confidence that if you have done a little thing well, you can do a bigger thing well too.” ~ Storey

“It’s not how many times you fall that matters; it’s how many times you get up.” ~ Anon

Janice

https://cutclutterwithscissors.com

http://twitter.com/jlscissors

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