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Our newsletters are published quarterly in April, August and December.
We are happy to provide the past few newsletters below, just in case you wish to
preview an issue, or if for some reason you did not receive your current issue.
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Back
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Newsletter - December 2005
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Greetings!
Welcome to the Winter edition of the Pea Organizing Services Newsletter! This information will be helpful as you organize your home, office and life. If you have an organizing question that is not answered in this newsletter, please feel free to contact us. Thanks for subscribing and have a peaceful and organized holiday season!
Kristin White del Rosso, Pea Organizing Services
Keep Your Holidays Organized and Jolly
December is Stress-Free Holidays Month. While the holiday season will always be busy and eventful, it does not have to be a frantic time for you and your family. Even as December begins, it is not too late to get organized for the holidays.
First things first. Locate your holiday decorations and gather them together in one place. Consider buying see-through large organizing boxes for each holiday you celebrate. Items that are displayed together should be stored together. You can use boxes with color coded lids as well. For example, red for Christmas and blue for Hanukkah. Immediately put away any decorations you won’t be using (or better yet, consider donating them to someone else) and store the containers where they belong so they don’t clutter up other areas of your home.
Gather your wrapping supplies. Make sure you have enough wrapping paper, tissue paper, gift bags, tape, ribbon and gift tags. Take an inventory of items and make a list of what you need. Be creative and simple with wrapping. Stick with solid colors such as white that can be used throughout the year with different-colored ribbons. Other ideas include presenting cookies or fudge in a decorative candy box or solid color Chinese take-out box, rather than being thrown in a plastic sandwich bag. What if you don’t have any wine bags? Try decorating a bottle of wine with nice ribbon or wrap the bottle in clear cellophane wrap or tissue paper and tie it up with ribbon.
Remember to give consumable gifts as much as possible. They don’t have to be wrapped and they create less waste.
Computerize your address list for holiday cards. That way, you only have to update it annually and you can print out labels instead of handwriting envelopes. This will also ensure you an accurate headcount for the quantity of cards you need to purchase. Make your own return-address labels and add a fun holiday graphic to make it look festive. Signing cards and labeling envelopes can be a family event. Make it fun and add some holiday flair by playing your favorite holiday music or movie in the background.
A great tool to help you stay organized this holiday season is “The Busy Mom’s Christmas Organizer” (Cold Toast Press: 2005) by Theresa Fiorani. The spiral bound, portable book helps you stay organized for the holiday season with lists ranging from tasks, gift ideas, party planning and decorating needs to thank-you notes, as well as vinyl pockets to store receipts and recipes. Measuring about 9” x 6”, “The Busy Mom’s Christmas Organizer” includes more than 100 tips from professional organizers, including me, across the United States.
Last but not least, coordinate your calendar to keep track of your various holiday events and social activities. Get a blank calendar for December and pencil in all upcoming obligations. This should include trips to see family, holiday special events, and time for gift shopping and wrapping, cooking and baking, and event preparation. Most important, be sure to leave some availability for your own downtime. Even if you have to re-evaluate and make changes to your calendar, the goal is to go into the holiday season prepared.
Make Holiday Travel Fun and Easy
Does the thought of traveling for the holidays overwhelm you? If you and your family are traveling, there are some great ways in which you can reduce stress, save money and maximize your time.
If you’re flying or have limited space in your car, consider mailing gifts ahead of time. Wrap and ship gifts early, or order from a catalog or the Internet and have them delivered to your destination to cut down on cargo.
Use a file folder or large envelope to store plane tickets, maps, hotel reservation information and hotel phone numbers, directions and other essentials. If you visit the same destination each year, update the information after each trip for reminders the following year.
Bring the holidays to your car and plan to make the trip festive and fun. Pack a Thermos® of hot chocolate and a bag of holiday cookies. Pack a variety of holiday CDs to play during the trip. If your vehicle has a DVD player, bring along some holiday movies for on the road to get everyone in the spirit.
If your kids need other ways to keep busy during a long road trip, encourage them to make their own holiday cards with inexpensive blank note cards and a fresh box of crayons. A great travel tool is a lap desk that has a plastic writing surface with a beanbag backing.
Be sure you have a plan in place to leave your house in order. Use a timer for your outside holiday lights and any indoor lights and be sure to turn off your Christmas tree lights. Also, recruit a friend or neighbor to keep your Christmas tree watered, gather your mail and newspaper, and don’t forget to arrange appropriate care for any pets left behind.
Winterize and Organize
Whether it’s balancing your holiday season activities or reorganizing your home after the holidays, there are plenty of great organizing opportunities with the cooler temperatures and winter season.
For example, how do you deal with bulky winter clothing? Use spring-loaded wooden clothespins to clip together boots and mittens. Write each family member's name on a clothespin with permanent ink. To avoid a mountain of wet coats on your sofa or table, use a coat tree or wall peg in the garage or laundry room for each family member. Hang up the coat, clip the mittens to the lapel, and clip boots together under the coat in a place where everything can dry out. Another option to keep your children’s mittens organized is to sew the end of a long piece of yarn to each mitten and string the yarn through each coat arm. That way, the mittens are always with the coat and are ready to slip on your hands.
Because winter may not be the ideal time or may be too cold for hosting a garage sale, consider donating unwanted items to charity. If you have slightly-worn coats and warm clothing and any household items that you no longer want, the holiday season is a great time to donate them to those who are less fortunate. Take some time with your family to go through your closet and drawers to search for items you no longer need. To avoid a pile cluttering up your house, make immediate plans to have the items picked up by or to drop them off at a charity.
For those of you who are in the Charlotte area, Pea Organizing Services, and fellow local professional organizers Karin Solomonson and Julie Kourie created a non-profit organization called The Butterfly Bin in an effort to help needy people get household items no longer wanted by others. For pick-up or drop-off information, call 704-344-0210 or visit www.butterflybin.org.
Visit The Butterfly Bin website...
Dates to Remember
- December: Stress-Free Holidays Month
- December 31: Make Up Your Mind Day
- January: Get Organized Month (Be sure to check our Web site, www.thepea.com, for special events)
- January 9: National Clean Off Your Desk Day
- February: National Archive Your Files Month
- February 13: National Clean Out Your Computer Day
ADD/ADHD Information
Find my listing and those of other ADHD service providers in the National ADHD Directory, which is hosted by the national non-profit organization ADD Resources. Their website, in addition to the Directory, has numerous articles written by national ADHD authorities as well as adults with ADHD. They also offer membership which include the 138-page ADDult Reader; an 8-page quarterly newsletter, ADDult ADDvice; and access to their lending library with over 450 ADHD titles in books, audiotapes and videotapes.
Visit the NSGCD website
Quotes to Ponder
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.” – Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
“The challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.” – Steven Covey
“O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, . . . I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness, And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours Of long uninterrupted evening, know.” – William Cowper (1731 - 1800)
Recommended Reading
“The Busy Mom’s Christmas Organizer” by Theresa Fiorani
“Getting Organized: Learning How to Focus, Organize and Prioritize” by Chris Crouch
“The Time Trap: The Classic Book on Time Management” by R. Alec MacKenzie, Alec MacKenzie
POS News and Notes
[August 1, 2005] CHARLOTTE – In an effort to help needy people get household items no longer wanted by others, Kristin White del Rosso, CPO, president of Pea Organizing Services Inc. and fellow local professional organizers Karin Solomonson and Julie Kourie created a non-profit organization called The Butterfly Bin < www.butterflybin.org >.
[September 26, 2005] Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. , has several organizing tips featured in a new book by Theresa Fiorani called, “The Busy Mom’s Christmas Organizer” (Cold Toast Press: 2005).
[September 27, 2005] Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. , has participated in recent media opportunities about getting organized. Interviews included “Charlotte’s Morning News” on WBT 1110-AM, WFAE-FM 90.7 (Charlotte NPR affiliate), Today’s Charlotte Woman and the Charlotte Business Journal. She also wrote organizing articles that were published in the North Carolina Journal for Women, Personal Excellence and Organizing Network. In addition, Kristin was named a finalist in the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year award.
[September 28, 2005] Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. , has recently completed certification as a PTAC (Productivity Trainer and Authorized Consultant) with the Hemphill Productivity Institute in Raleigh, NC.
[October 10, 2005] Kristin White del Rosso, president of Charlotte-based Pea Organizing Services Inc. www.thepea.com, was featured in a story by WFAE- FM's www.wfae.org Jaime Bedrin called "Overcoming Hoarding."
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Save up to $100 toward the ultimate gift of garage envy!
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Pea Organizing Services and Rand Ruland of Garage Detail are teaming up on a special holiday deal to reorganize that cluttered garage. Imagine a tidy garage with custom-built shelves and workbenches still with plenty of room to park a car!
You can use either company or both together. Either way – you’ll save on this garage makeover. Save $50 off for the Garage Detail services and $50 off for a garage day makeover with Pea Organizing Services. Offer is good for appointments made through March 31, 2006.
For more information about this holiday garage makeover, contact Pea Organizing Services at 704- 344-0210 or kristin@thepea.com or visit www.thepea.com. Or contact Garage Detail at (803) 322-6400 or organize@garagedetail.com, or visit www.garagedetail.com.
Offer Expires: March 31, 2006
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