Clear Out The Clutter!

Clear Out The Clutter!

A clutter-free space creates feelings of peacefulness and relaxation - great feelings to have in your own home!

Now that the holiday season is over you are probably looking forward to a new year with a fresh start on things. And ideally, at least for most people, that includes having a goal of being organized and having some control over your time. One way to ensure that will happen is to clear out the clutter.

When you get clutter under control you have an easier time when it comes to being organized and keeping things tidy. Ultimately this will have a positive impact on your time management. For example, you won’t waste time ‘looking’ for the things you need or want – instead, you will know exactly where to find them. In addition, because there is less clutter, your home will feel cleaner and more spacious – and it will be easier to keep it neat and tidy. In the end this will also help you feel more relaxed, comfortable and less stressed.

The Basics

Clearing out clutter sounds simple (and it can be), but there are underlying issues that must be dealt with. First of all, you probably have some emotional attachments to some of the things that are ‘cluttering’ your space. If that is the case careful consideration will be required during the de-cluttering process.

You may want to create bins for things you want to keep, things you are ready to part with, and things you are not sure about. Obviously, you may be able to throw away some things, and sell or give away others.  

How to Start

De-cluttering is a top priority but you should also take a look at the furnishings in your home. Convenient and attractive storage solutions are essential. Now days you can find everything from coat racks and shelving units to storage bins and benches with built-in storage at your local department store. Take advantage of these easy solutions!

Having a place to store items but keeps them out of the way while also keeping them within easy access is essential. Everyone has treasured items they love. And in some cases it is these very things that cause or add to a cluttered look. Even so, that does not mean you want to get rid of those items. The solution is to find a way to store or display them that suits you.

Kid Stuff

Whether it’s toys, books or model airplanes, kids have lots of stuff. Find attractive ways to store or display these items. Simple solutions are available. For instance, a sturdy shoe box can be covered with fabric or decorative paper to create nice-looking storage for small toys and other items.

Label It

Get in the habit of being organized in whatever you do. One way to do this is to label things. This can be especially important when you are storing items. If you are not sure if something is worth keeping but you are not quite ready to part with it – create an intermediate storage solution – label the container or item, and then check back in 6 months or up to 12 months. At that time it should be easier to make a decision about whether the item should stay or go. If you decide to keep it you should look for a long-term storage or display solution.

After you have de-cluttered your home it will be a more vibrant space. This fresh new organized space just might inspire you to make other improvements!

Debbie Allen writes about holiday traditions, including things like personalized letters from Santa and decorating a Christmas tree, but she also shares tips about things related to home life. Keep visiting this blog to keep up with helpful tips and ideas!

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Letters To Santa & Christmas Ball Ornaments Crafts

Santa letters are a traditional Christmas activity. Writing these letters to Santa provides time for family fun and bonding. It’s a great way to spend time together during the holidays. Many families have found that craft projects are ideal for family time. A simple way to get started in Christmas crafts is with ball ornaments. Ball ornaments can be used to make several different ornaments. These crafts are inexpensive and great for parties or classroom projects.

One of the easiest ways to decorate ball ornaments is to use a permanent mark to draw designs or your name and the year. Permanent markers come in wide variety of colors. Silver, gold, and copper markers look spectacular on solid colored balls. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

You can make a cute Santa with cotton balls. Start of with a plain white ornament. Take two cotton balls and fluff them out with your hands. You may want to use an egg carton to hold your ornament in place while you work on it .Next put a line of glue on the top of the ornament. Place one of the cotton balls on the line of glue. Do the same along the bottom of the ornament. Next you will need to use paint or markers to make the face. Lastly make a hat out of construction paper the ball on the end can made from a small piece of cotton ball. These ornaments are almost as cute as the real Santa.

Using a marker you can write a letter to Santa around the ornament. I do this every year with my kids we have fun reading the ornaments we had made years ago. You may need to help younger child because you have to write pretty small. On the back I have the children write the year and there age. This way we know when each Santa letter was made.

For a baby’s first Christmas I used a pastel ball to record their birthday. For boys I use a pale blue ball and a silver marker. For girls I used pink and gold glitter. If you wanted you could include the birth weight and length

The outside isn’t the only part of these versatile ornaments that can be decorated. The inside can be filled with a number of things. The reindeer food ornament is fun to make. Take a clear ball and remove the top. Now take enough reindeer food to fill it half way. Put the top back on. With the color of your choice write magical reindeer food on the front and back. You fill the ornaments with glitter or crushed peppermint for a different look.

The inside of a ball ornament can be painted in swirls. All you need to do is pour a couple different colors of paint in the ball. Next slowly roll the ornament to achieve the effect you want. Be careful not to use too much paint. You can also glue small jewels or pieces of ribbon on the outside of the ornament.

Besides letters from Santa, the special ball ornaments will probably be your most treasured Christmas mementos. They will mark special years and remind you of cherished times you spent with family members creating the beautiful ornaments.

Santa Letters, Gifts, And Christmas Day Fun & Relaxation

The build up to Christmas can seem chaotic. At my house we do everything from writing Santa letters to shopping, decorating, entertaining and more. I guess that’s a big part of why we prefer to stay at home and enjoy each others company Christmas day. We lounge around the house all day in our new Christmas pajamas. My husband and I feel that it is unfair to drag the kids out of the house when all they want to do is stay home to play with their new gifts.

First thing in the morning the kids run down to open a package from Santa. The air in the living room quickly becomes filled with bits of ribbons and wrapping paper. They open one gift and return to the tree to find another a package with their name on it. Drew and I take as many pictures as we can. It is important to us to have visual record of our Christmases together.

After we have opened all of our gifts we cook breakfast together. Some years we make something easy like cinnamon rolls or pancakes and other years we go all out and create a gourmet style breakfast. While breakfast is cooking my boys bring in the empty reindeer food bowl. They show everyone that the reindeer ate all of the food we put out. We sit down together at the table and have a nice breakfast. The kids can’t finish their meal fast enough. They are so excited about the things they received from Santa.

Once we have the kitchen cleaned up after breakfast the kids run off to play with their new toys. While they are entertained my husband Drew and I start to cook our Christmas dinner. We both love to cook and we usually get something new for the kitchen. Now and then one of the kids will pop in and help out for a bit. My youngest daughter will almost always come in and write thank you letters to Santa while we cook. She thanks Santa for everything that was under the tree, fully believing that he is responsible for all the gifts. She will have her letters from Santa as references as she writes. She’s not one that can be argued with and we certainly would not want to. We actually want our children to believe in Santa for as long as possible.

Drew and I set the table with our special Christmas dishes. When we sit down to eat each kid gets a turn to tell us what their favorite gift was.

Once we have put away dinner, we veg out and watch a few movies. Drew always remembers to buy the movies for Christmas day. One by one the kids drift off to their beds. Christmas is always such a tiring day for them all.

Once the last kid has wondered off to bed and it is just me and Drew. We sit by the lights of the Christmas and enjoy the stillness of the night. Each Christmas night we have a champagne toast for surviving another Christmas. This is when Drew and I exchange our special gifts. This is perhaps my most cherished tradition. It may sound silly but Christmas may be the most romantic night we have throughout the whole year. We reflect on our love for each other, our love for the kids, and how important their happiness is to us.

Santa’s Reindeer And Christmas Letters

I bet some of you out there have wondered how Santa’s reindeer spend their time when they're not flying across the world helping Santa to deliver gifts to children everywhere. After much research and I will now share with you the secret life of Santa’s reindeer at the North Pole.

Santa’s elves tend their warm and cozy stables and they keep plenty of fresh hay in each stall. All of the reindeer have their own bowls made special for them. Dancer’s bowls are shiny gold with sparkling music notes all around the side. In the bowls is their food that Mrs. Claus makes using Santa’s magical reindeer food recipe. On the wall all of their bells and harnesses are displayed waiting for the next Christmas Eve.

They love to play with all of the other wood creatures who live at the North Pole. Mrs. Claus watches all the animals play from her kitchen window while she bakes her pies. When they play hide and seek the little white snow bunnies always win. Sometimes hidden in the snow the animals find gifts from Santa Claus. They are usually small little treats that Mrs. Claus made especially for them.

The reindeer have important work to do for Santa all year long. Santa’s mailed is delivered to a special cart that the reindeer pull. When a bundle of letters arrives at the North Pole it is the reindeer’s job to make sure all the mail gets to Santa’s office. Santa’s small elves would have a hard time moving all those letters in so much snow. Without the reindeer Santa would have a hard time answering all those Christmas letters.

The reindeer love to practice to fly. They fly over the tall pines and glide right above the frozen rivers and lakes. It takes practice to fly around city skyscrapers and mountain peaks, even with Rudolph’s light leading the way. They have races in the sky and the elves watch and cheer from the ground below. When the reindeer land in the fresh snow a cloud of sparkling white rises up from under and around them. The reindeer disappear for a moment until the snow cloud settles again.

When Rudolph receives letters from children all of the other reindeer help him to write letters back. They take the letters to a special mail box that says letters from Rudolph in gold writing. These letters get delivered the same as letters from Santa Claus.

As you can see, the reindeer have plenty to keep them busy at the North Pole. While they like being at home at the North Pole the thing they love the most is that magical flight they take each and every Christmas Eve. Making children of the world happy is part of the magic of reindeer.

Traveling Tips and Advice for the Christmas Season

Are you on the lookout for traveling tips and advice for the Christmas season? Here is something exciting and different that you could do this year. Since children enjoy themselves the most during Christmas you could plan a trip to Lapland.

The land is located in the Arctic Circle. This is where Santa Claus lives. You could celebrate Christmas by meeting Santa Claus, his reindeer and Elves in his residence before he starts off on Christmas Eve. Every child gets to meet Santa and also receives a gift. They can enjoy ride on sleighs that are pulled by reindeer, enjoy log fires that are cozy, Christmas carols, snow mobiles, husky rides and a beautiful Christmas Gala dinner. You will be able to experience a really wonderful Christmas holiday with your family.

You could also celebrate Christmas at the unique Ice Hotel situated in Jukkasjarvi in Sweden. This is located 200 km is the Arctic Circle. It is built every year from ice that is crystal clear that is available from the Tome River that flows very fast. It is designed differently every year along with its suites. You could spend a night in a cozy and warm bed in this hotel. You could then check into a Swedish hotel for the rest of the days. You could indulge in a number of winter activities outdoors or you could sit peacefully by the fireside and play games or read a book.

You could plan a holiday in Sydney, Australia if you have had enough of the snow and cold and wish to celebrate Christmas in summer. The weather there in December is great. You will be able to enjoy Christmas as you normally do with Christmas carols, Christmas trees, Santa Claus and turkey dinner. Sydney hosts various free events in Christmas like the fantastic display of fireworks on New Year's Eve, concerts, slide shows, entertainers and choirs.

You could go on a cruise during the holidays. This would be ideal for mothers because they can relax once the family is on board and the party starts. The adults could relax in the day time while the children enjoy themselves. Evenings would be reserved for decking out for Gala dinners every night during the Christmas season. You and your family could enjoy fantastic entertainment, delicious food as well as a stress free Christmas.

You could go to New England in order to enjoy Christmas. You would come across skaters on a pond that is frozen, white churches having slim spires, cute colonial homes having huge holly wreaths hung on the front doors, lights twinkling on Christmas trees and so on. These are images you will find on thousands of Christmas cards. You will come across beautiful B&B’s and hotels which will give you a fantastic Christmas. These buildings are old colonial style.

Traveling during the holiday season can add a wonderful touch to the magic of the season. But children often worry that Santa won’t be able to find them when they are away from home. To relieve their anxiety just take along your paper, pens, and envelopes and have the kids write a letter to Santa when they arrive at your destination. Then in a day or two you could have authentic letters from Santa delivered to your children at your holiday location. The kids will be amazed that Santa found them so quickly and this will truly brighten the entire holiday event. Be sure to have your camera ready to capture the moment your kids the personalized letters from Santa Claus. And don’t be surprised if the letters become long cherished childhood keepsakes. Your kids will always associate wonderful memories with the letters and your holiday vacation. Just plan ahead and you can make it happen! Your kids will be surprised and delighted.

Preparing Your Home for Christmas Guests

If many guests are expected for Christmas in your home it is best to plan everything in advance. Since taking care of every little thing can stress you out, you could start preparations early at a time when you have an hour or two to spare. It is always best to check the amount of space in the house before you invite people over.

Make sure that you have bedding, sleeping bags, inflatable beds or beds for people other than your family members. If space is not a problem but the bedding is you could ask your guests to bring along bedding of their own depending on your relationship with them or else you would have to check them into a B&B or a local hotel. You will have to do the bookings way in advance because they would be filled up for Christmas. Usually children love sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor because they think of it as an adventure.

When you have sent out invitations start planning the purchases you have to make and the things that will have to be accomplished before hand. It is best not to leave anything at the last moment. If you find it difficult to handle things on your own, delegate jobs as well as deadlines for them to be completed to the members in your house. Always try and do a little work every weekend a couple of months before Christmas. Make nibbles and food that can be defrosted and also heated when required with minimum supervision so that you will get more time to socialize and converse with your guests and spend less time slaving away in the kitchen. You could opt for ready-made dips and healthy snacks that are easily available in supermarkets so that you can have a relaxed evening. Sip on a drink and put up your feet. You need to enjoy Christmas, too.

It is your duty to make your guests very comfortable. See to it that you have spare toiletries and plenty of towels in case they have not brought them along. Give them some space so that they could hang up their clothes. Keep some activities and games ready before your guests arrive so that they can enjoy themselves. Dominoes, Card games, Jigsaws, Pictionary, Scrabble and Monopoly are enjoyed by one and all. Ensure that you complete all your house work so that you need not run around even when your guests have arrived. Have some DVDs ready so that they are occupied.

If your guests will include children you will need to provide everything needed for that special letter to Santa. These letters are an important Christmas tradition for most families in the United States and Canada. The letters provide information for adults about what the children want for Christmas and they offer kids a fun activity. If you really want to impress your guests you can have personalized letters from Santa delivered to your home for them. This will delight the kids and it will insure them that Santa will know where to find them on Christmas. Something as small as these inexpensive packages from Santa can be the highlight of the holiday season for kids. If you plan everything in advance you will be able to enjoy yourself in the company of your guests. Preparing your home for Christmas guests will be a breeze if you start way in advance.

Christmas Celebrations around the Globe

Christmas is a festive occasion that is celebrated every year around the world, though different people have different traditions and ways of celebrating this occasion. It turns more special when the entire family is involved in the festive preparation. There are favorite traditions related to Christmas that are consistent throughout much of the world. For example, many places use a Christmas tree and the children believe in Santa Claus. Writing letters to Santa Claus is a cherished tradition of the holiday season and personalized letters from Santa become treasured keepsakes.

People across the globe celebrate the Christmas holiday in different ways – below you will see some of the basic traditions from around the world.

France:
Christmas goes by the name of Noël in France and Santa Claus is called Pere Neol though they sure decorate the Christmas tree in the traditional way with red ribbons and real candles instead of the garland electrical artificial lights and fancy decorations that are used in America. The French also believe in decorating the real Christmas trees that are outside their own house like the evergreen tree. They trim it and shape it up to give it a perfect Christmas tree shape.

Hungary:
The Hungarians call Santa Claus as the Winter Grandfather or Mikulas in their language. But he doesn’t visit the children on Christmas Eve and instead visits them on December 6Th. So the children clean their rooms and prepare for Winter Grandfather’s visit. They expect Santa to leave candies and toys in their freshly cleaned boots and the children who don’t clean their rooms and shoes get a golden birch instead and no gift. And according to the Hungarian belief they visit their relative’s house to give Santa and his elves time to set up the gifts in the house.

Germany:
In Germany holidays are considered to be lively decorated to embattle the festive occasions. And the Germans simply love to put electric candles as Christmas lights and also cover and decorate their homes with lights of different colors. A special German decoration called Adventshranz which is actually a leaf like wreath which has four candles and most Germans prefer to dedicate the Christmas day with a manger scene that is the famous depiction of the stable and they believe that St Nicholas brings them gifts on December 6th.

Latvia:
Latvia is considered to be the home of the first Christmas tree. The whole family enjoys a traditional meal of bacon sauce, sausages and small pies.

New Zealand:
People of this country celebrate Christmas in the summer season as they have their summers during December. And the Christmas dinner usually includes BBQ, ham and shrimps.

United States:
Americans love to celebrate with the entire family exchanging gifts and enjoying a hearty meal.

It seems that adults everywhere enjoy giving gifts to young children whose joyful laughter and love fills the air during this joyous time of year.