Oct. 17th - Family Space Week

[aggy]

Oct. 18th - Family Space Week

Hi guys!

How's the organizing and holiday prepping going? What are your goas for your family space?

 

[nursemomtothree]

The time has come where I want to focus on holiday prep and only holiday prep. The cool temps finally came to Florida, and I want Christmas....NOW!

This morning I'll do a reality check and see what absolutely has to be done, then will focus on those and the holiday part of the plan.

There's always Jumpstart January 2010!

I'll be back to type my list for this week.

 

[aggy]

That's a great plan, doing a reality check.

 

[SparkleNana]

Hi aggy! Thanks for starting off thoughts about "what we want for our family space" for the holidays.

I want decluttered, comfortable, relaxing space. Last week, I found a warm, dark green tablecloth -- that looks great now. And will be great for the holidays.

The family room is not very large. It does have a TV and two couches. The couches have pillows and soft throws - for the coziness factor! (Plus the dining room table and chairs.)

The only "holiday decoration" in this room will be fresh flowers, on the green cloth on the dining room table. It just doesn't work to have more holiday decorations in this room.

So - preparing this room will consist of getting rid of as much unnecessary stuff as possible. And cleaning and polishing. Not a huge amount of work.

As nursemomtothree points out -- there is always Jumpstart January --- cleaning during the after-Christmas period!

 

[rockin_granola]

I'm another one who sort of lost last week, so this week it is a fresh start with the Houseworks Plan!

On that note, something that I did today from the Family Space holiday prep list was to read the article about Creating a Holiday Housework Plan

http://christmas.organizedhome.com/get-organized/create-holiday-housework-plan

and then I came up with a list of the ESSENTIALS ONLY that need to be done. If the way last week got away from me with the family cookout last weekend is a sign of things to come for the upcoming holiday season, then I guess I need to be focusing on the basics right now and asking for some help from my family. So, I posted the Home Chore Chart and will focus on those tasks and my weekly Houseworks Holiday Plan tasks and let the rest wait until January, as has been so wisely said on this thread already.

The room my family tends to spend the most time in during these cooler months is our Loft/Playroom so I'm focusing on that as my "Family Space" this week and will do our Living Room next week as it is our more public space (and it will be good to do that room next week as we've got family coming into town to go trick'or'treating with the kids)

We did a toy declutter a few weeks ago (following the plan) but I need to give the room a good re-arranging and probably could weed through the toys just once more for good measure. We're thinking about possible putting up a Christmas tree in this space, so I need to do some thinking ahead about how that will work out, too.

This space also has a dvd player, video game player, and tv in it and I know I need to go through and organize that area this week.

Looking forward to working along with all of you this week (and maybe it will keep me on track LOL)

Best Wishes!

 

[Cindylouwho]

I just tackled the entryway area to our Great Room, which is where we spend all our time. Rearranged some furniture and did some extra deep cleaning. Looks much better but now a bit empty. Have to go through the house and see if I can find some items to repurpose.

Also, I got a bee in my bonnet and went through my holiday cookie recipes too! Got them all nicely sorted, organized, and ship-shape with my other holiday recipes. (Those cookie recipes had been straggling a bit.)

 

[cindyloowho]

Oh I love that name CindyLou! LOL Good for you on getting those recipes organized.

 

[happy2bme]

Last week was a write off because I was sick, but this week I am back.

Our family room isn't too big and in good shape. I need to go through the board games and movies and see what stays and goes.

As far as holiday prep goes:

decorate for Halloween - working on that today
movie and music check - we are good to go
make a "Holiday Houseworks Plan" - this needs to be done. I am tired of everyone around here acting like they have no idea what needs to be done
christmas cards - have not started. For some reason I don't want to do cards this year. I know that I will end up doing them, so I should just get started.

Have a good week.

 

[SparkleNana]

Day Two of our Family Room Week.

Day One - I did nuttin. I was sick in bed.

Day Two. Also nuttin. I spent the morning and lots of the afternoon with dh -- going to an orthopedic doc for a consult -- then for our reward (brunch at a FABLOUS diner! A great diner is a miracle of simple food prepared so deliciously that it is heaven!) And then - shopping for staples at Wal-Mart. Home now - cooking, laundry, lots of stuff. But nuttin in the Family Room. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[rockin_granola]

So far, I've been kind of avoiding the Loft ....

I did do a quick pick up in there yesterday and then took a long hard look at the really messy game/video/dvd area and decided to wait until naptime for the little kids today before I tried to tackle it. I'm going to have my oldest sit with me and see what we can weed out - surely we don't really still watch/use/play *every* item in that mess?

I also have come up with my Holiday Housework Plan - just the basics.

My ESSENTIALS ~ Holiday Housework Plan:
Daily -

* clean kitchen after dinner
* do 1 load laundry - wash, hang to dry
* tidy living room
* tidy Girls' room
* tidy Max's room
* tidy Master Bedrdoom/Bathroom

Weekly/Weekends -

* vac dining room
* vac living room
* vac loft
* sweep kitchen and pantry
* clean guest bathroom
* clean kids' bathroom
* change linens and towels
* shop for groceries

I'm hoping that if I get those bare-bones basics done plus my weekly Houseworks tasks, that we'll be able to get through the holidays with a (relatively - at least in the public spaces) clean house AND an unfrazzled Mom.

I'm finishing up the Halloween costumes this week, too. Wanna do a big push today and tomorrow and then hopefully this weekend everyone will try things on and we'll make any last minute adjustments. I need to do some Halloween decorating, too.

Oh, and I still have some addresses I need to track down for my Christmas card list from folks I know have moved recently.

Can't believe it is Wednesday already!

Best Wishes! - especially to everyone who is feeling poorly this week. Hope you all are feeling better soon!

 

[SparkleNana]

Wednesday of Family Room Week.

Rockin-granola - you have been very brave to face the fact that the "messiness of everyday life" can just get overwhelming at Christmastime! AND that we NEED to address is daily to keep up with things.

One thing that I am hoping will help -- is to get everything possible OUT of this room. Less visual clutter will help, I think.

The other thing is the DAILY STUFF! I KNOW that I have to do this more than once a day. (My dh works at home and leaves piles everywhere! I love having him work at home! So I want to devise some routines that I can actually use - to keep things picked up.) Maybe - getting up at commercials and picking up? I will think about that.

 

[nursemomtothree]

Rockin Grandma - thanks so much for posting your holiday cleaning schedule. I'm struggling right now to decide what to include in mine.

I think I should just include less computer time----then I could get more cleaning done.

 

[rockin_granola]

How is everyone doing?

Today is a good day here for a final push on Family Spaces week as it is gray and rainy outside and my husband has taken my two bigger kids to the movies - a morning with just me and the baby = some peace and quiet to get things done. I'm working on our Loft/Playroom this week and it will be a lot easier without the two bigger kiddos, who are eager helpers, but have their own ideas about "clean" LOL

I'm going to try and get Halloween costumes finished up today and then have everyone try them on to make sure everything fits, too.

And, I still haven't really decorated for Halloween ... just have some Autumn bits and pieces here and there.

I need to do our Holiday movie review and work on Christmas cards today, too.

I'll check in and let you know how I do. What are YOU trying to get done today?

Best Wishes!

 

[SparkleNana]

This week is really busy and exhausting! I think it is a very good "preview" week for December.

If I do routines today - that will be WONDERFUL! (Because I was too tired/too busy to do them yesterday.)

If that is all I get done -- then that is absolutely, 100% fine!

If I get a little more done - great - but NOT necessary.

Because all the rest of my deep cleaning/etc. is not rescheduled to Jumpstart January! Oh.... I WILL follow the weeks and do what I can.

And if what I can do is just the "daily routines" --- then that is super-fantastic!

Talk to you later!

 

[nursemomtothree]

I just don't know where the time goes, or how I fill it.

 

[rockin_granola]

nursemomtothree ... well, I'm guessing you're a nurse and a mom of three, so I bet your days are pretty full (( hugs )) It will all get done ... and what doesn't, well, that can always wait or maybe even isn't that important to get done this year anyway, right? Don't be too hard on yourself. As you reminded me earlier, there is always Jumpstart January

I think the key for me yesterday was dh taking the kids to a movie. We may have to keep that tradition going each week LOL

I got the loft space cleaned, decluttered, and even did some furniture rearranging. I may have to let go of my idea of putting a small Christmas tree in there, but I know that the space is happy and clutter free now and that we'll be able to relax in there together, so I think that is the most important.

I did a MAJOR movie paring down and stored a lot of things to rotate back into circulation later. It was fun getting the holiday movies out (tho' I think my dh thinks I'm crazy since Halloween isn't over yet) ... I may have to watch one or two while working on Rudy Day stuff today.

I even got a date set with my inlaws for Christmas with them. (usually this is decided sorta last minute and we both end up feeling a calendar crunch trying to find a date, time, and place) Feels good to know that is on the calendar.

I feel like Family Spaces week started off slow for me, but that yesterday I accomplished what I needed to so I'm going to move ahead to next week.

Hope everyone is having a terrific weekend!

 

[SparkleNana]

Should I pick up the Family Room ---- and then bring out Christmas wrapping papers and supplies, Christmas gifts, and my Christmas notebook?

Dh has gone to play golf and won't be back for hours. So.... no peeking.

What do you say?