At this point in the winter season, I’m totally tired of keeping track of my family’s extensive collection of hats, gloves, mittens and more!  But an adorable solution is offered by Room Service Home:  a well sized, metal storage bucket featuring a red cable pattern and cheerful labels “hats – mittens – scarves!”  Stylish and chic organization will be at your fingertips and hopefully the fingertips of your whole family! (Hats, Mittens and Scarves Bucket, $59)

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And for more fun and quick tips, come follow me on Twitter – you’ll have to join but it’s easy and free!

Tip of the Week - Organizing  Your Christmas Decorations!

Taking down the tree and removing the lights from the windows is a bit sad – but with a little bit of organization, putting your Christmas decorations back out next year will be a pleasure!  Here are a few ideas that will have you thanking yourself next December!

Organize Your Christmas Lights

As you take down your outdoor lights or tree lights, neatly wrap the strands around paper towel tubes or rolls of newspaper that have been secured with tape.  Most importantly, label each strand with a tag indicating where it was used!  Toss any sets that aren’t working properly and leave yourself a note indicating what you’d like to purchase for next year!

Take Photos of What Worked This Year

Do you set up those lighted porcelain houses?  Did you create a decorative arrangement this year that really worked?  Take detailed pictures, both inside and out, so that you can duplicate your success next year and avoid having to reinvent the wheel!

Use Well Labeled Storage Bins

It may sound crazy, but I only use one type of bin for storing all of my seasonal decorations!  My plastic bin of choice is the 18 gallon Rubbermaid which stacks perfectly, is large enough to hold a lot, but not so big that I can’t lift it when it’s full!  I’ve labeled a Christmas bin for almost every room in the house:  living room, dining room, kitchen, mantle and so on.  The decorations from each room (especially the window candle lights!) are returned to their assigned bin, ready to be unpacked in their proper spot next year.

I hope that these suggestions streamline your packing up this month and your unpacking next December!

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Count Down to Christmas:  Here’s What’s Going On At My House!

In my house, Thanksgiving acts as a sort of gate – and only when it is over, can we walk on through to Christmas!  So at the moment, I haven’t started decorating, writing cards or wrapping.  It’s basically a decision driven by self preservation and the need to limit the weeks of holiday fervor!

But that being said, here are a few things that I am doing right now to ease my passage through that Christmas “gate!”

• Stocking Up! – On gift boxes, tissue and tape (wrapping and strapping!) and hoarding those UPS delivered cardboard boxes.
• Corralling Coupons! – I took a large zip lock bag and started collecting the coupon offers that have come in the mail or printed copies of those arriving by email.  Even if I wasn’t sure if I’d need something from a particular retailer, I saved the coupon – just in case!  This bag must be in the car at all times!  Later, as my shopping picks up, I’ll use a second zip lock bag to hold receipts.
• Cleaning Out the Playroom! – This past week, I had the Vietnam Vets pick up six large boxes of toys and games that my children had outgrown.  It felt great to pass on these items and now there’s some space for Santa’s delivery! 
• Scheduling Routine Home Maintenance! – I had our furnace serviced and finally, had my poorly functioning dishwasher repaired! 
• Look for Stocking Stuffers Everywhere! – Use every errand as an opportunity to pick up some stocking stuffers!  My recent visit to Staples for office supplies yielded some really fun Crayola accessories, hot pink iPod headphones and a blow up globe!  Who knew??

I hope that some of my ideas will help ease your own transition from Thanksgsiving to Christmas!

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For far too long, I’ve been feeling guilty every time I check out at my local grocery store!  And it’s not because I’ve spent too much (which is usually true!) but because I haven’t brought along my own reusable shopping bags for toting my food home!  If you’re wondering why I just didn’t buy the resuable grocery bags offered at every register in my market, it’s sadly because they just weren’t cute enough for my Busy Bee standards!  So, with a little help from my eco-conscious daughter, I’ve compiled a collection of eco-friendly grocery bags that will not only help the environment, but will also make you happy when you use them!

From Nubius – “Girly” Shopping Bags

Here you’ll find what I’d call the “girly” version of resuable shopping bags!  Designed by B. Happy, these bags are really attractive with patterns including polka dots, paisley, damask, floral, and mod!  The bags are very strong, crafted from upholstery weight cotton, bound by grosgrain ribbon, and have handles made of heavy weight nylon webbing. (nubiusorganics.com, $19.95 reflects a sale price!)

From Giggle Fish Gifts – Logo Shopping Bags

At Giggle Fish Gifts, you’ll find a wonderful assortment of eco-savvy gifts, but I especially like their stylish and well sized shopping bags with fun logos!  “Get Hip Get Green” or “Love This Planet” are both great choices and each one holds the equivalent of two paper bags or three to four plastic bags.  Five will contain an entire cart load of groceries!

Finishing touches include:

• crafted from 100% recycled materials
• non-toxic
• hypoallergenic
• washable and water repellent
• and a donation is made to a children’s environmental group with each purchase

The price is fantastic too. (gigglefishgifts.com, $5.95)

From Sea Bags – Totes Sewn From Recycled Sails

For fabulous, classic totes sewn from recycled sails, this is your one stop shop!  While you can find uses for every one of the Sea Bag totes, there’s one style dedicated to recycling – a 14″ x 14″ bag featuring the green, three arrow logo synonymous with doing good for the environment! (seabags.com)

From The Palm Gifts – Personalized Preppy Bags

Fans of a preppy lifestyle need only check this site for their reusable shopping bags!  Using basic canvas bags, The Palm Gifts adds grosgrain bows and embroidered monograms to make these bags stand out!  There are 12 ribbon choices, 6 monogram styles and 8 thread selections guaranteed to make your bags unique and personal! (thepalmgifts.com, $20 for one, $54 for three and $100 for six)

From Reusuable Bags – Compassionate Bags

The Gecko Trader Recycled Market Bags are compelling purchases both by their funky patterns and the compassionate back story associated with the bags.  Using 100% recycled grain and feed bags from Asia, disadvantaged workers in Cambodia, who are part of the Fair Trade Federation, create these colorful and useful bags which can last a lifetime.  (reusablebags.com, $22.95 or $19.95 if you buy two or more of the same style and color)

From Three Beans & Co.

These recycled cotton totes, available in either grocery or lunch size, are so cute!  By putting adorable faces on colorful vegetables and adding a clever saying, these bags are a favorite of mine!  The funny little “pea” bag reads, “Peas Think Green” and the “strawberry” reads, “Berry Green!”  Lunch bags retail for $13 and the grocery size for $15! (3beanscompany.com)

So what fun shopping bags will you choose?  Will you be joining me in guilt free grocery shopping?  I’d love to know!You may also enjoy:

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Two clever and useful closet organizers for children have just caught my attention! 

The first is the Closet Monkey, a set of six dividers designed to organize clothing by size in a baby’s closet.  The dividers are colorful and feature cute animals, allowing parents to arrange baby outfits by size, ranging from 3 to 24 months. The tags come packaged in a fun box that is ready for gift giving for $19.95. (closet-monkey.com) The best part about this gift is that a new mom will never find an adorable outfit in her baby’s closet that has been outgrown before it was worn!

For slightly older children, here’s another fabulous innovation! Ezee Hangers are the brainchild of a dad who was frustrated with his children’s inability to hang up their clothes!  While his kids were old enough to be responsible, they weren’t tall enough to reach the hangers!  His solution is really cute, giraffe shaped plastic hangers which have an extended handle, lowering the clothes to a child’s height!  Offer your children a chance to be independent and help keep your house neat as well! (ezehanger.com, 30 hangers for $29.95)

I love when I can recommend products created by parents who are problem solving for all of us!  Take a look and improve your children’s closets today!

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Tags: closet monkey, ezeehangers, closet organization for kids, kid, closets, hangers, fun animal shaped, easy, children, shoppoing