Boo! Are You Too Scared To Get Organized?
By Kathy Jenkins, Professional Organizer, Come To Order
For me Halloween has always marked the beginning of the "big" holiday season. Once October hits I know I had better start organizing for the numerous celebrations that are to follow or I will be in big trouble. After all, each holiday is no more than 30 days apart from Oct through January. Let's see there is — Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, and New Years Day. And for me I get to throw in my birthday (Nov), my wedding anniversary (Dec - 10 years this year so you know I am planning something) and my husband's birthday (Jan). So I decided this month to share with you some tips on how to get organized for All Hallows Eve and perhaps it will serve as good practice for organizing the rest of the holidays to come.
Start Early! It is so easy to look at a calendar and think "Oh, I have 4 weeks before Halloween, I have plenty of time". The problem with that approach is that time marches on faster than you think and before you know it, it is the week before Halloween and you don't have costumes or candy. And it is at that point that you find yourself trying to convince your 10 year old to be Barney since that is the only costume left on the store rack and that sugar-free Brachs candy is the new "in candy".
Start thinking about where you will get your pumpkins — are you up for the hay ride and the hunt through the pumpkin patch for just the right one or do you prefer to get one from the grocery store. Either way, resist the urge to carve too soon. Depending on the weather conditions, an un-treated, carved pumpkin can have a life span any were of from a week to only a day. Fear not, there are a couple of ways to slow down the deterioration of your pumpkin. One is to coat the cut surfaces and inside with petroleum jelly. A little messy, but it works. It also helps to store them in the fridge at night. Finally, there is Pumpkin dip, now available at most grocery stores, but note that you have to dip them every night.
If you are planning a party, then begin making your lists now. Decide when it will be, where it will be, who is coming, how they are being invited (invitation, e-mail, phone call or in person), what food will you serve or what you will ask your guests to bring, and what will serve as entertainment. It doesn't have to be complicated, but it does have to be written down so that you can easily track what you have completed and what is left to do. Put a start and end date on each list so that you are sure to stay on schedule.
Decorate Light! This advise actually comes from a client of mine and I wholeheartedly agree. Decorating for Halloween has become grossly excessive, much like all of our holidays. Don't get me wrong, I think it is great to put up decorations to get into the spirit, but remember that every thing you use to decorate not only takes time to put out, but then you have to put it away and store it come November 1st. So as you stroll through the isles at Target, getting tempted by the $250 motion detector Frankenstein that will scare the begeezies out of all of the neighborhood kids, be mindful of the fact that you will have to keep him someplace in your home come November.
Go Easy on the Candy! Have an agreed upon plan for the candy before the kids ever leave the house. This should include going through the treats immediately upon return from "tricking" the neighborhood and tossing away all the things that nobody likes. For the things that are left, have a place to store the candy and make a commitment to keep it only a certain period of time (1-2 months). While it may seem like a good conservation move to recycle the candy come Easter, I can tell you that it will not be appreciated.
Clean up Quickly! As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, the holidays are not far apart this time of year, so make a commitment to put away your Halloween things by Nov 4th — that includes tossing the pumpkins! After all you don't want your Thanksgiving guests to be greeted by Frankenstein with a rotting pumpkin at his feet.
Happy Halloween!
© Kathy Jenkins, Come To Order
Kathy Jenkins is a Residential Professional Organizer, Student Organizer, Certified Family Manager Coach, Writer and Speaker based in Richmond, Virginia. She is a member of NAPO, NSGCD and ABWA and is dedicated to helping her clients simplify their lives by reducing clutter, organizing their homes and offices, and managing their time. Kathy especially enjoys working with kids and their families to help them learn good organizational skills that will benefit them for a lifetime.
