Posts Taged holidays

Your Step-by-Step Thanksgiving Guide

When November rolls in, it means the Thanksgiving countdown is on. You’ve got three weeks or so to plan and execute a fabulous Thanksgiving feast. If the mere thought of your Thanksgiving task list makes you cringe, we can help! Thanksgiving is about spending time with your special people and enjoying a traditional meal together. With our step-by-step guide, we can help you focus on that instead of stressing out about all the tasks at hand. Don’t aim to be a Martha Stewart-level hostess; remember, she has dozens of minions doing most of the work behind the scenes!

Early November

  • Finalize your Thanksgiving guest list. Take care of the calls, emails, and texts to nail down who is coming to your house for the big turkey meal. Let your family know who will be joining you for Thanksgiving and let them know you will need everyone’s help in getting your home ready.
  • Haven’t seen your dining room table in awhile? It’s time to clear away the clutter it’s buried under. Enlist your family’s help. As a part of playtime, children can return toys and arts and crafts to their bedrooms. You and your partner can put away items which don’t belong in the dining room. Resist hiding the clutter in a bedroom or closet to be dealt with later. If your dining room (kitchen, pantry, entryway) is buried, and clearing it out seems like an impossible task, don’t hesitate to contact Simplify Experts for help.
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Ho Ho Oh No! Holiday Time Management and ADHD

“I’m so confused!” was my first thought as I walked into Home Depot and saw frightening Halloween decorations for sale positioned right next to dazzling Hanukkah and Christmas delights. My initial reaction was followed by, “Wait, isn’t it a bit early for Christmas decoration sales?”. Then my heart skipped a beat and the panic set in: “Yikes! I need to get started on all that holiday stuff or I’ll never get everything done!” The onset of the holiday season can be both exhilarating and terrifying. This is one time of the year during which time management is crucial. For those struggling with ADHD and/or have loved ones challenged by ADHD, time management during the Fall holidays can be particularly daunting.

Time management encompasses the ability to both “see” and “feel” time. Visual cues are used to observe the passage of time, such as the movement of hands on an analog clock or changing shadow patterns on a sidewalk throughout the day. We feel time as we perceive its passage before, during, and after our experiences. Furthermore, we gauge our behavior using the concept of a time horizon—how near in time something needs to be for someone to be motivated into action. According to psychologist Ari Tuckman, people challenged by ADHD experience a shorter time horizon. That motivation kicks in much closer in time to when the event will take place, greatly affecting time management. Tuckman asserts that those with ADHD recognize two times: now and not now. All this spells trouble when trying to navigate the holiday months amidst deadlines, events, and additional responsibilities. However, there are strategies to help deal with the impact that ADHD plays on time management during the holidays.

Strategy 1: Start Now

Calendars: This is the time of year when the calendar becomes your best friend. That snazzy calendar app on your smartphone is sure handy because it travels with you (assuming you’re like me and take it with you everywhere) and is so versatile. However, I can’t stress enough the importance of a more visual, paper calendar for this time of year. It is much easier to visualize that time horizon as well as your increased commitments if you use a paper calendar, especially one with large day blocks in which to record entries you can readily see. If you are in charge of scheduling for a family, a personal calendar as well as a family calendar is helpful for coordinating everyone’s activities while not losing sight of your own commitments.

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Keep Your Home Safe When Leaving for the Holidays

If you are heading out of town for the holidays, for a long weekend or for a week, it’s a prudent idea to have a checklist of To-Do’s to ensure your home’s safety. Unfortunately this most wonderful time of year also brings about a rise in theft and burglaries. According to CNN Money burglaries peak during December because would-be thieves know people are on vacation, or are out shopping or visiting all day. Here’s our thorough guide to keeping your home safe and looking “occupied”.

Use these sectioned checklists:

Electronic

  • Put timers on several lights around the house, including your holiday lights and front/back porch lights. Have the timers go on and off at varying times, so an obviously unoccupied, dark home doesn’t suddenly all light up at 4:30pm. Winter hours mean dark mornings–set timers to also turn on 6:00-9:00am.
  • Double-check indoor/outdoor holiday lights and wiring. Don’t leave any fire hazards.
  • Unplug your automatic garage door opener so thieves can’t open it with a universal remote.
  • If you’ve got a security system, a video doorbell, or motion detector lights, check to make sure it’s working properly.

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5 Steps to Make Your Guest Bedroom Ready for Holiday Guests

A guest bedroom

The winter holidays are just around the corner, and I am C-A-L-M. We are getting ready early this year. We know who is coming over for dinner, and who will be staying with us. I know what the menu will be and who is bringing what dish. I’ve even made a shopping list. Bring it on! I admit it, I was feeling in control. Then, last night, one of the kiddos was feeling congested and he wanted the humidifier in his room. Piece of cake, I knew exactly where to look!

A few minutes later, as I am digging around in the guest bedroom closet, unsuccessfully trying to locate the humidifier, a terrible thought occurred to me. Guests will need to sleep in this very room and it looks like a tornado swept through here long ago! My smug holiday mood evaporated pretty quickly.

The door to the guest room is always closed, and for good reason! The bed hasn’t had sheets on it since the last guests stayed here (over the summer). On top of the bed, there are boxes and bags with various purchases needing to be returned to various stores. The Halloween bin is on the floor, empty.

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Hosting A Safe Holiday Gathering for Senior Guests

Having guests visit for the holidays is an exciting time for the whole family, although some needs may vary from guest to guest. Senior citizens are especially unique in their needs. If you’re expecting a few elderly family members in for the holidays, you’ll need to prepare accordingly. Whether they’re spry or a bit mobility-impaired, you’ll find it’s best to have a safe home ready for your senior guests.

Here are some adjustments for your holiday gathering that will make it safer for your guests.

Arrange transportation

While rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft are a great way to save time and ferry your guests to and from the airport, it’s not always a good idea to use those as a substitute for a personal pick up. Particularly when your senior guests need assistance, it’s usually best that you or another family member meet them at the airport.

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Get Help for the Holidays: Outsource, Delegate, Simplify!

Holidays

You survived Halloween and Thanksgiving, which means the winter holidays are just around the corner! The next few weeks will be a whirlwind of shopping, planning, hosting, traveling, and celebrating, all on top of your already frenetic life. This should be a joyful time of year, but with all that is on your to-do list, it feels overwhelming. Instead of hiding under your covers until January, tackle the holidays with this three-prong strategy: Outsource, Delegate and Simplify.

You deserve help – who says you need to tackle the entire holiday season by yourself?

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Five Holiday Prep Tasks You Can Do Now

get ready for the holiday

I am talking not about buying a jack-o-lantern and decorating for Halloween. Because I know that most of you have already done that. I am talking about time-saving holiday preparation for the BIG holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Clear the Space

Say you are a crafty person, and your dining table is currently being used for ‘non-dining’ purposes. This is the time to finish whatever project lay in pieces on the dining table. We’re always busy. Put some specific times on your calendar and prioritize finishing the project. Devote time to clearing the space for the holiday celebration.
Sound completely overwhelming? I get that.

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10 Quick Ways to Make Your Kitchen Holiday Ready

Holiday Kitchen

During the holidays we use our kitchen more than any other time of the year. We will bake cookies. We will host family and friends for dinner. Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve give us plenty of opportunities to use all our dishes, kitchen gadgets, cookbooks, appliances, and panty items. This makes it a perfect time to make decisions about what kitchen items are still relevant, needed and useful.

  1. Check your pantry supplies. Use website stilltasty.com to determine whether your spices or other pantry staples need to be replaced. Make a list of staples you need to replace.
  2. Will you use fine china for special dinners this holiday season? Many don’t.
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Planning and Budgeting for the Remainder of 2016

planning and budgeting

As we wind down summer, we are thinking about back to school. We also need to be planning and budgeting for the next four months. Here are some things to plan for now, so that you feel on top of things later.

 

Back to School Planning and Budgeting

  • Purchase back to school supplies:
    • Inventory what you already have in your home before you go shopping.
    • Print school supply list to take with you while shopping.
    • After shopping put all the new supplies together in one spot; like in a new backpack.
    • Take kids with you to shop for clothes and shoes. This will prevent having to return clothes and shoes that don’t fit.
    • Resist buying more that you need.
    • Don’t stress if you can’t find it all. Students don’t need everything day one.
  • This is a great time to inventory your child’s clothing and purge outgrown or worn out items.  Purchase new school clothes or school uniforms and shoes. Do fall sports shoes fit? Is there a PE uniform that needs to be purchased?
  • Schedule any overdue medical, vision or dental exams for your children.
  • Complete any school medical forms.
  • Budget for beginning of school year PTA, school and sports fees.
  • If you are planning on applying to private schools for the 2017-2018 school year:
    • Research potential schools.
    • Sign up for informational meetings and open houses.
    • Research test preparation courses.
    • Register for entrance tests.
    • Begin contacting teachers for letters of recommendation.
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