6 Inspect your seasonal decorations
When you put them away, look for missing hooks or broken bits on balls and wreaths. You can probably fix them yourself, but if you can't, get rid of them now and use this as an excuse to go shopping again. There will no doubt be serious bargains to be had.
7 Restock the liquor cabinet
You may have used up a lot of your mix and stand-by offerings like vodka, rum or scotch. It's always nice to have a few sweet after-dinner bottles as well, and they may also be close to empty now that the guests have gone.
8 Take care of your dinner party accessories
Polish the silver and pack it away carefully. Check table linens for small holes before washing them and putting them away. Don't bother putting them away if they need to be mended. It's easier to take care of this stuff now, rather than adding it to your to-do list when you're in the throes of getting ready for the next holiday.
9 Deal with your pictures
Take that film in if you used a traditional camera or download the precious ones if you've gone digital. If you wait till after the next celebration, you'll feel overwhelmed by them all. Sit down now and edit the great ones from the less-than-stellar and make a plan for them all. As you create a file, e-mail them to people who were in the shots, as a way of saying thank you for celebrating with us. (You'll kill two birds, as they say; see number 10.) And if you're going to hang on to all the shots yourself, pick up a few photo albums now.
10 Send thank-you cards
Keeping on top of holiday notes can be tough when you're in the middle of planning, celebrating and shopping. But now that things have slowed down, there's more time to draft short missives of gratitude. Do it -- you'll feel good about it.
Image courtesy of Crate and Barrel
Read more in Organizing and Things To Do
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8 Comments
What a sadly materialistic and wasteful world we live in. Everything must be perfect, so buy, buy, buy! If your stock of candles is low, rush out and buy more now - think how terrible it would be if you didn't have any pretty scented candles next Christmas. And what a relief that those broken decorations give us an excuse to go shopping again!
I enjoyed this article and I think csdax needs to lighten up. Maybe some pretty scented candles will help!
If you don't want to shop, don't shop but the article was well written and some of these reminders are great to get done before you forget and most importantly while some of these items will be on sale! So relax csdax and if it's not what you're into, nothing to worry about.
I think csdax woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I found this article very useful. Does it mean that I am rushing out to buy STUFF? no but it is a great reminder to dump those cds that are taking up all of that dead space, and no I don't need candles, I know I owns them, I just couldn't find them over the holidays so this article reminded me to locate them. p.s. scented candles in January make me feel better!
Smile [csdax], I'm sure there's a a Value Village in your area to take advantage of (^^)...and no I'm not being hypocritical. I went through an uplifting 'purge' before the holidays...I couldn't understand why we as a culture enjoy, or more importantly-encourage- buying bulk amounts of things right after we use them up (the only annoying thing about costco!). I think what the real message is use what you already have before you give into the tempting sales right after new years and christmas. If you use what you bought awhile ago then you can check out the new materials/trends for 2009 without feeling guilty because of your full-to-exploding pantry or closet back home. Hope everyone has a great January, and indulges in the new trends while saving money by using what you already have! Take care! ~. Kaleigh
I am printing the whole calender out so I can try...laugh... I mean TRY to follow some good advise...it helps me with things and if I cant afford a lot of this advise being on a disability pention I sure appresheat the idea that I may find some ones unwanted gifts at the Goodwill or Bible thrift etc... three cheers for bargain stores...;-) Heidi12
Me again there is one good thing about Januarys...that is the feeling you get when all is put away and you get a good thank you letter in the mail about the last Christmas party open house... heidi12
nicely written, great ideas...and lots of work ahead! Happy New Year!