Vacation planning – or lack of…

Are you all set for Your Summer Vacation?  I’m not!

I have to admit that we actually are not set ourselves! I know….you are probably surprised with that coming from an organizer….a planner.  But we are not stressing about a vacation this year.  We decided to go simple and save some money so that we can possibly take the kids to Disney next year. (fingers and toes crossed on that one).

We have a farm about 45 minutes from our home that we may use for home base. Staying there and taking day trips. We are also talking about going to Kelly’s Island in Ohio for an over night. Dave would love to take the kids on a fishing charter on Lake Erie…but still checking on pricing. (that would be pretty steep).

Plus I am starting a new Blog called Explore Ohio with Sandy (hopefully in the next few weeks) and I want to be able to highlight some fun places to go in Ohio.  So I am keeping the doors open if I get contacted to visit some fun places that I hadn’t thought about!

Normally we plan early in the year (if not the year before). Have our reservations made, have a route mapped out and look for places to stop and visit along the way. This year is the exception.

We have never flown with all 5 kids (just so expensive). We had a flight and vacation planned 2 years ago with $10 plane tickets from that airline that went under a few months later (can’t think of the name right now). We were going to go to North Carolina and see the mountains and the ocean (both of which his kids had never seen…or flown for that matter).  But my step kids mom was in a car accident literally hours before we were set to leave on our 6am flight and we had to cancel. She ended up being ok, but since we weren’t sure we didn’t feel we could take them away from her.  But we did plan a vacation later that year and took them to Gaitlinburg & Myrtle Beach (picture above from that vacation 2 years ago). We drove, but they did get to experience the mountains and the ocean…just not the airplane!

So have you planned out your vacation for this year?  If you aren’t able to afford a full vacation (not unusal especially with this economy) are you able to plan day trips?

What and where do you like to go for vacations?  Share….I’d love to see your pictures!

Here are a couple links of articles that I have done on planning for your vacations:

Organizing the Car

Summer Vacation and Kids

Summer Vacation Planning

Organizing for a Vacation

Organizing a New You! …but how do I start?

Organizing a New You….So what does that mean?   Organize your home, organize your schedule, your kids, your life? Does it seem like the impossible?  It can be done! But be careful not to bite off more than you can chew and end up in “it is too overwhelming and I don’t think I can do it” land.

Here is how to start.

Planning

1) Sit down with a pad of paper, pen, calendar and cup of coffee in a relaxed atmosphere.

2) Make a list of all the things you would like to organize.

3) Now number them in order of importance. (at least the top three areas that drive you the most CRAZY)

4) Put a date beside those top 3 of when you would like to have them completed by.

5) Block out at time on your calendar to start #1 on the list.

Supplies

Do not go out and buy a bunch of things to organize with. Until you know what you are going to end up with after your “sort” you don’t know what you will need. (unless you want to purchase some clear storage bins..but if you do be sure you have shelves to store them on and measure to be sure they will fit.

1) Black trash bags – trash

2) White trash bags – Donate  (separate colors so you don’t throw out your donate items in the trash)

3) Labels for boxes or bins (masking tape & sharpie marker will be fine)

4) Boxes for storage (my favorite are clear bins)

Sort

Make 5 signs for each of the piles you are going to make while sorting. Then for each item only give yourself 5-10 seconds to make your decision (no time to wander down memory lane). Be tough if you want to reclaim your space.

1) Keep – Love it, Use it, Can’t live without it.

2) Donate – Others would put to better use, doesn’t fit, don’t like it, don’t use it (use the white trash bags)

3) Storage – Holiday decorations, speciality items you use (camping, skiing)

4) Move – Items that need to be kept but don’t belong in this space.

5) Trash – Broken, un-donatable. Try to recycle if possible. Use the Black trash bag.

Tips

*It will seem messier before it gets better. Don’t get discouraged and keep going.

*This takes time, don’t think you will get an entire room done in 2 hours. Start with a small area.

* Once you have sorted your items you are ready to reorganize them in an orderly way.

Time to Organize for Christmas- Christmas Cards

Can you believe how fast time goes? Christmas is only 25 days away. OMG!! And Chanukah comes up sooner than that..I think it is 11 days away (please forgive me if I got that wrong.)
This is the time to get on top of your planning, so that you don’t get overwhelmed at all this month has to bring.

If you send Christmas cards:
Get your cards purchased.
If you order them with pics like I do…get your picture picked out to use or get the kids together this week and take that picture.
Places like snapfish.com and vistaprint.com do them fast and easy. You can also go to CVS or Walmart and order them over the internet and pick them up in the store.
I have also taken my picture (flash drive or camera disc) to Cord Camera or CVS, Walmart and you can make cards while you wait.

Get your address list together if you don’t have it in a file or address book.
Once you have your cards, put together a small bag with your envelops, cards, address book and stamps.
If you have an upcoming Doctors appointment or you are sitting in your car waiting for kids at school or activities…or even if you are sitting watching TV in the evening. You will have your supplies all at hand to get your envelops addressed and cards written.
Many of you have your addresses online and you print out labels (you can still put your labels into your bag and peel and stick while you wait) , but for those of us that do it the old fashion way…this works great.
I personally love getting the Christmas letters from friends. I like seeing what they are up to. Yes, I am a letter giver myself. I know some people hate them, but I don’t like getting a card from someone I hardly see or haven’t seen in years and not getting a picture or note or letter from them.

Disclosure: I am not representing any companies. The links I mentioned are what I have had experience with in the past.

July 4th Weekend Plans? Don’t forget to Make Your List!

For many of us this will be a busy weekend, full of picnics, fireworks, family reunions and fun! This was a 4th of July weekend at our farm 3 years ago. My hubby was helping the triplets to make and paint their own birdhouses. We went canoeing, picked black raspberries and cooked out. Great time.
But busy weekends also entail planning things out so you do not forget to bring the brownies you promised!

Get out Your Paper and Pen and start your list for what you will need to have this weekend.
1)Cooler
2)Ice – Make your own ahead if there is time!
3)Food/Drink
4)Place settings/cups
5)Napkins/paper towels
6)Trash Bags
7)Bug Spray
8)Sun Screen
9)Lighter
10)First aid kit

Ok…now you add on to it. Think through what you are going to be doing for that day.

Check it off as you get it packed in the car.

Your day/weekend will go much smoother if you have it planned out and aren’t forgetting half the things you need.

New Year – New Goals

New Year – Make New Goals

So did you do it yet? Have you sat down and made a goal list?
I did mine this morning. I made myself a form last year when I had so many different projects going – so that I could keep track of things. I used that form and just filled in things I wanted and planned to do this year.
Try and take even 5 minutes at some point today to make out your list of goals.
Keep this list some place where you can access it throughout the year.
If you have a notebook that you keep track of daily things or a drawer where you do your bills, but it feels great to be able to mark things off your list as you go.
I am a list maker and love to mark the things off…I feel like I have accomplished something!
I tend to be visual. I want to see things on paper that are floating around in my head. It makes things more concrete to have it in writing.
One of my goals is to develop a blogging directory. I have gotten a couple to make a list of all my blog sites, passwords etc. But I just haven’t found one that I really like and has everything I want. I want a place to jot down which contests I have entered and which blogs have added my button to their sites, also which sites are reviewing my pouchees and a list of products and the sites they come from that I plan to review.
I am sure many of you computer gurus have everything listed somewhere on your computer. I use the bookmarks and folders for e-mails..but I still want something more organized and concrete to flip open and see. (Call me old school!)
If any of you have any other suggestions as to what would be valuable to add to this kind of directory..let me know – maybe I will come up with a new product for all of us to use!