A Ma-Gyver Christmas, Part 2 | Funkidivagirl.com

Funki and oh-so-helpful organizing & life-hacking tips by yours truly. Like McGyver, who could dismantle a bomb with a roll of duct tape, a toothpick and a nail file, I am Ma-Gyver, organizer of everything and life-hacker extraordinaire. From time to time I will be bringing you my tips and tricks for keeping an orderly house and mind.

In Part 1 of A Ma-Gyver Christmas I gave you some tips about being organized and stress-free during the holiday season. I hope that you have had some time to implement a few of my organizational tips. If not, maybe this post will inspire you to get ready and organized for next Christmas.

Getting organized for next Christmas starts when you pack away your Christmas ornaments and decorations. Most people are so tired from all the holiday celebrations, when they take down the decorations they just throw them into any box. This is exactly how people end up buying boxes and boxes of lights each year that they don’t need; if you don’t clearly label your boxes, then you don’t really know what’s inside. And I don’t just mean “Christmas Decorations” on the side of the box either; I type up a detailed list of what’s in that box and then I slip the list into a plastic sleeve and tape it to the box. I buy those Rubbermaid red and green plastic tubs with lids to store all of my Christmas decorations; they are sturdy and easily identifiable. If you look at this photo, you will see that some things on the list are highlighted; these are the decorations that I plan to use next year. Because I change my color scheme each Christmas, I have many decorations and I don’t use them all every year. By highlighting, I can tell at a glance if this particular tub holds the decorations that I need for this year.

Perhaps my best Ma-Gyver Christmas tool is my Christmas Report; this is the last tab in my Christmas Binder (I described the rest of the binder in Part 1).

Shortly after the new year I type up everything about the recent Christmas and try to be as detailed as possible. First I write general notes about what we did on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and how I felt about it. I comment on our Christmas card, where I bought it and how many I sent; I also attach a print-out of the address labels. I write about our Christmas tree, where we bought it and how it looked, and I write about the decorations in great detail; I list how many ornaments were used as well as the color scheme of that year. The report is pretty long; I write about how we honored our traditions, if we made any crafts, any activities we experienced, what I served for dinner and what I baked, and if we did any entertaining. I think that most important section is Ideas & Notes for Next Year; here I list any decorating ideas, activities I wish to do or anything that I need to buy. In early November when I open my binder, this is the section that I go to first. Finally, I take photos of my Christmas tree and all the decorations outside and around the house; I attach them to the report along with any notes about what worked, what didn’t and what to try next year.

Are you ready to have a Ma-Gyver Christmas? It’s not too late; if you start now, next Christmas will be a breeze! All it takes is a little organizing now to be a lot less stressed next year.

This will be my last post for 2008 as I will be busy enjoying Christmas and the holiday break with my family, but look for a exciting guest blogger premiering this week on Funkidivagirl.com; I promise that you will love this guy! If you are fiending for some funki reads while I’m gone, you can always check out the archives, The Best of Funkidivagirl.com or The 4 Real Housewives. I have some great posts planned for 2009, so be sure to subscribe to Funkidivagirl.com via email or through a RSS reader like Google so that you don’t miss a thing. Thanks for reading; I really appreciate your comments and community. Have a merry Christmas, a happy New Year and as always,

keep it funki!