Holiday Shopping Tips

With Valentine's Day tomorrow, I thought this was a great time to share these holiday shopping tips originally published on Valentine's Day 2006. 

Here are a few brief tips to avoid the stress and rush of last minute shopping:

1) Birthdays---Write all important birthdays of loved ones in your calendar. This can be done once a year if you purchase paper calendars. If you use an electronic calendar this only needs to be done once. Set a time once a month to shop for cards or gifts.

2) Weddings/Showers/Etc.---When you receive the invitation, take a moment to mark your calendar and RSVP. While you have your calendar handy, set a time to shop on-line or in store for a gift. For best selection on gift registries, shop soon after you receive the invitation.

3) Major Holidays (Christmas/Hanukkah/Etc.)---Shopping year round can be a great way to reduce stress and spread out the expense, but only if you keep the items in one place AND keep a detailed record of what you purchase for whom. I have worked with many clients that forgot about their year round purchases and ended up shopping at the last minute anyway.

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life. Do you need to conquer the clutter in your closet? Carolyn will be presenting "Conquer Your Closet" through Ann Arbor Rec and Ed on Friday, March 15, 2013. Register with Ann Arbor Rec and Ed. 

Simplified Gift Giving

Over the last few years spring and summer have brought birthday parties, bridal showers and weddings to my family. This year seems to be the same, which gets me thinking about simplified gift giving. 


Some folks love the whole process of shopping, buying, wrapping and giving gifts so much that they have whole rooms devoted to the process. For me, and I assume many readers, it is more like a corner of a closet. 


I recommend shopping for gifts as you need them to avoid wasting money on a stockpile with no recipients. Remember, that "on sale" item won't be a bargain if it sits in a closet unused. 


Keeping a running list of gift ideas in the notes feature on my iPhone and in Outlook on my PC helps when it is gift giving time. The cloud application Evernote could also be used for this. 


To save time shopping, I have standard clutter free gifts (usually something consumable like nice chocolates) that I like to give. For bridal showers and weddings, I typically check the registry on-line as soon as possible and then go into the store to purchase both the shower and wedding gift while there is a good selection in my price range. 


To save time gift wrapping, I always ask if the store has free gift wrap and take advantage of that service. This is a perk that you will find at many locally owned specialty stores and gift registries. 


For those gifts that I need to wrap myself, I keep one roll of gender neutral, all occasion gift wrap on hand. This avoids the need to store multiple rolls of gift wrap. In addition, I have a ribbon bin (which always entertains my kids while I am wrapping gifts) and a collection of gift bags. Most of the ribbons and gift bags are the best ones salvaged from previous gifts. 


These gift giving tips help keep my life simple and save money for my family. 


Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life. To receive a free copy of Carolyn's "Secrets of a Simply Organized Life" and a monthly subscription to the e-newsletter "Your Simply Organized Life" sign up here. 

Holiday Returns

Carolyn making a holiday return at REI in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

This past Christmas, Santa brought my family a few items that were not just right. 


With all of the extra stuff that the holidays brought to our home, things were getting a little cluttered. Leaving the packaging in place, I separated the items we really did not need.  


Then I went about gathering the receipts that I could obtain and scheduled making the returns in my calendar. 


Between appointments last week, I made my returns and even found a couple of bargains, making sure I did not bring more into the home than I left with. 


Overall, the process was super easy, especially at REI in Ann Arbor, Michigan where a fellow shopper agreed to snap a photo of me with REI team member, Matt (pictured above at left). 


I did not have the receipts for a couple of items, but it was clear where they were from. Both stores offered me a gift card credited with the lowest item price. In one case, the store credit was so low that I did not feel it was worth it to make the return (this item went into my re-gifting box). However, I accepted a gift card from the other store and will make a point to use up the credit for something that we need in the near future. 


In many cases gift cards or gift certificates do expire. Be sure to make a point of using up those gift cards in the next few months, before they expire or get lost in the shuffle. 


Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life. On Saturday, January 14, 2012 Carolyn will be presenting "Simply Organize the New Year:  5 Simple Strategies to Keep Your New Year's Resolution" at the Women's Health and Fitness Day in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a free event. 

Stress Free Holiday Tip #6

Tip #6: Ask for It

My intention with this holiday tip is not to focus on material gift giving or to make demanding requests of family members. Instead, the intent is to get away from giving meaningless gifts or worse yet, something that might be considered clutter.

The truth of the matter is that most people stress over holiday gift giving. This tip is meant to eliminate some of that stress both on the giving and receiving ends.

By letting your loved ones know what you want for the holidays you help them give a gift that will be appreciated for years to come. Furthermore, what you might want for the holidays may not be material at all. This is especially true for our older relatives that probably have everything that they need, but just want to spend some time with family.

You should also ask others what they want for the holidays. If your friends and family respond openly, this tip can save you time, frustration and money---especially if you happen to be a last minute shopper.

There will be people that readily tell you what they want. Then there are others that will say something like "oh, I don't need anything" and you know well they will expect a gift come holiday time. For these more challenging folks on your list, look and listen for cues they might give you regarding something they might need or be able to use. A donation to their favorite cause may be just perfect.

By sharing our wishes with our friends and family during the holidays, we get away from frenzied holiday shopping and focus on what is really important during this special time.

In tip #7 I will share my ideas for clutter free gifts.

Would you like more tips on surviving the holidays without a big mess? The December 1st edition of "Your Simply Organized Life" delivers. Sign up here and receive a free gift.

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and founder of Simply Organized Life.

Stress Free Holiday Tip #5

Tip #5: Declutter

I have written about prioritizing how you use your time and money during the holidays. Now it is time to discuss how you use your space during the holidays. Leading up to Thanksgiving, I have been helping many clients declutter their kitchens, family rooms and dining room tables. It is great fun and the rewards are plenty.

If you plan to decorate for the holidays at home or in the office, all of your beautiful decorations will be overshadowed if clutter abounds. Now is the time to declutter. This can be very empowering. Not only will you make room for those beautiful decorations, you will also make room for new gifts.

Making Room for Decorations:
Holiday decorations are usually displayed in the most public areas of a home or office. These are the areas that you want to look nice for visitors throughout the year, but especially at the holidays. If you are overwhelmed by clutter in these spaces, focus on one area at a time that you plan to decorate. For example, if you want to decorate your staircase banisters, focus on clearing the steps of any clutter.

Making Room for New Gifts:
This tip is great for anyone that expects to receive a gift during the holidays. Have you ever heard of the "one in, one out" rule? This is a way of achieving equilibrium in your space. If something new comes into your space, something old must go out. This simple rule can keep clutter from taking over. By letting go of some things before the holidays, you can free up space and share with others that may be less fortunate. It is also a great lesson to teach children.

Getting and being organized is a process, not an event. For continuing tips on decluttering, sign up for my monthly e-newsletter "Your Simply Organized Life".

Carolyn Anderson-Fermann is a public speaker, organizing expert and the founder of Simply Organized Life.

Organized Gift Wrapping

This afternoon I took a few minutes to wrap two Christmas gifts (shown at right). These are the first of just a few gifts that I will purchase or assemble for the holiday.

I must be honest that I do not really enjoy wrapping gifts and am not particularly good at it, but I do think my tips can help the average person keep their wrapping supplies organized and at hand when they need them.

My strategy at Christmas (and for birthdays) is to buy one jumbo roll of a seasonal pattern that will work for just about everybody. This avoids the clutter of multiple rolls of leftover wrap for the remaining 11 months of the year. If this is too boring for you, you can purchase one pattern for each family member.

For all those odd ball shaped gifts (and for giving gifts while traveling), I use gift bags that I occasionally buy but in most cases I just reuse the ones I have received in good shape. The red bag in the photo contains my gift bags and tissue paper. I also like to reuse ribbons, bows and tissue paper. I keep those items in the tall bag, but as I use it up I will eliminate the tall bag and combine those items with the gift bags. All of my wrapping supplies are stored together in the corner of a closet.

If I lived closer to Royal Oak, Michigan (and if her services were affordable) I would probably give up the gift wrap altogether and use Lisa's Gift Wrappers. Lisa also has a blog with many for tips for gift wrapping.