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When packing up the holiday decorations this year, set a limit to
how many boxes are enough for your family. Set a limit, tell
someone else so that you will be accountable, and be honest with
your self and your storage capacity. I want to enjoy the holidays
with my friends and family. People are my priority, not stuff.
Volunteer your time to those who need
extra help during the holiday season. Donate canned food items to your
local school to help them with their collection. Go through your coats,
hats, gloves, warm socks and donate them to a shelter or directly to our
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E - Excitement
is everything
Start counting now! Buy that
chocolate nativity calendar and watch a child’s face shine with
excitement each and every day when he opens that little flap. If you
don’t have any children, enjoy the chocolate yourself! (Heck, get one for
each member of your household!) Take yourself back to the elementary
classroom and make a chain linking enough circles of construction paper
until the final day of Christmas.
Evening of lights! Pack
friends and family into your car with some hot cocoa and a candy cane for
everyone, and take a drive to Eagle Crest to see the
holiday
lights.
They really go all out to create a magical
experience.
Peace of Mind can help you:
Shop, wrap, send gifts, hang lights, decorate your home, plan a
holiday party for your family or work; coach you with priority listing,
scheduling, meal planning, and help you hold it all together during this
exciting season.
A -
Advancing to the New Year
Acknowledge family traditions and create new ones. What were your
favorite memories of the holidays? Make sure to incorporate something
that everyone in your household remembers fondly. What would you like to
change or add to your traditions? I made the mistake of springing on my
family that I wanted to stay in Bend this Christmas and not make the trip
to Portland on Christmas Day. When it became clear that they needed more
time to digest the idea, we decided to talk about it this year and
incorporate the change next year.
When packing up the holiday decorations this year, set a limit
for how
many boxes are enough for your family. We did this with Halloween and
purchased two orange tubs. We had to determine what decorations were the
most important to us and pass on the rest. We do this for two reasons: we
have limited storage, and we really don’t need that much stuff. What are
your limits? We have 8 Christmas tubs and that includes lights. If we
purchase or receive more items, something has to go. I have set a limit
and I stick with it. We sort through our Christmas
decorations before storing them each year. When doing it yourself, ask these questions:
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Did I like this item?
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Did I have a place to display this item?
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Is it broken and do I want to fix it?
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Would someone else really love this item?
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What is the number of boxes that I am comfortable storing?
It’s easy to buy another green box. Set a limit, tell someone else, so
that you will be accountable, and be honest with yourself and your
storage capacity. I want to enjoy the holidays with my friends and
family. The people are my priority, not the stuff.
Peace of Mind can help you:
Document traditions, set routines, train others on routines, goal
setting, priority mapping, scheduling, organize any space in your home,
create much need storage with The Closet Factory custom
designs and installation, set limits and stick to them, and pack up your
decorations in an organized fashion.
C - Caring for others
Volunteer your time to those who need extra help during the holiday
season. Donate canned food items to your local school to help them with
their collection. Go through your coats, hats, gloves, warm socks and donate
them to a shelter or directly to our homeless. Check out what the kids at
Clackamas High School are doing and have been doing for the last 10
years. Click on activities, clubs,
key club, pictures, 2006 file, and the Winter Rage pictures. Peace of Mind can help you:
Clear out the clutter, sort through your clothes and blankets, take
unwanted, usable items to various non-profit centers. Call Peace of Mind
for a copy of our Central Oregon Donations List. 541 390-9873
E - Enjoy the act of Gift Giving and
Receiving When creating
your list of “What I want” and “What I want to give,” make it a priority
to include something that will enrich your life and the lives of others.
These examples are based around the Multiple Intelligence Theory that was
developed in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner.
Linguistic intelligence ("word smart"): Books, Books, Books! Set a goal
to read up on a subject that used to interest you before the time was
gobbled up by family, work and who knows what else. Make it a priority
and schedule it into your week.
Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart"):
Sudoku. Think
of all of the ways that we use numbers and try to figure out how to use
your brain when figuring out problems logically. Bake something and teach
measuring while mentally converting things into the metric system. Just
checking if you are still with me!
Spatial intelligence ("picture smart"): models, mapmaking, illustrations
– I love those magazines
that have the hidden pictures. I used to love to go to the dentist
because they had those magazines at the office.
Plan a trip where you have to use maps: map out your vacation the old-fashioned way.
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart"): Exercise – I know you
know that you need to exercise, so if you’re not, how are you going to
start? Find an exercise sponsor! Ask a friend to forgo a gift this year
and give you the gift of her time and exercise partnership instead. Have
her work with you to create a plan and help you execute your plan and
stay on track. Make it a priority and make it fun, or you won’t do it.
Musical intelligence ("music smart"): Musical instrument lessons, singing
lessons, CD’s, iPod, create your own music with others, attempt to write
a song. I attempted many last year and kept them in a file on the
computer. Someday I will put them to music and sing the ones that are any
good.
Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart"): Fill up your calendar with
appointments with family functions, fun with friends, networking with
peers. Throw a party for the homeless and bring them hot drinks,
blankets, socks, mittens, hats, coats, shoes and sing carols.
Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart"): Start a reflection journal
where you create a gratitude list, a list of accomplishments, a list of
challenges, a list of fun things to do, a list of giving to others and a
list of when others gave to you. I started a log and noted when someone
did something unexpected that made me smile and have a warm heart. I
listed the action and the person. I love looking back at that little
notebook.
Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart"):
Go outside and take others
outside with you. Kids, adults, find gifts that get people outside. Take
a sketch pad and a pencil and start a seasonal journal. Sit in the same
place during different times of the year and sketch the scene. Then note
in words: what does it look like? Feel like? Smell like? Sound like? Take
a piece of string and make a circle. Go out and place that string
somewhere and note what you see inside of that string. Categorize what
you find. Living – Non living, colors, hard – soft, you are learning to
sort! This is a step toward becoming organized!
Peace of Mind can help you:
Shop, plan events, brainstorm creative gifts for those you love and
create a list of gift items for yourself, Organize your home before and
after events and celebrations.
Wishing you a very merry
Christmas and a happy New Year!
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