Welcome to the Houseworks Holiday Plan!
Christmas is coming, and you're dreaming of a clean and organized home, all decked out in holiday glory.
Then you open your eyes to reality. Looking around the house, it's hard to imagine how to cut the clutter, manage fall cleaning and prepare for Christmas all at once.
How will you bring the current state of domestic chaos into holiday readiness: clean, organized, prepared?
Try the Houseworks Holiday Plan and make your house work ... for the holidays!
Part book group, part organizing schedule, the Houseworks Holiday Plan is an 18-week holiday plan designed to help you clean and organize your home in time for the holiday season--and take care of seasonal preparations, too.
Beginning at the end of August, the Houseworks Holiday Plan breaks decluttering, cleaning and Christmas organizing chores down into small, weekly bites.
Each week, the plan assigns a cleaning-and-organizing focus based on the book Houseworks
You'll learn to STOP clutter, clean and organize each room in your home. At the same time, you'll tackle a few holiday preparations each week. The goal: to bring house and home into readiness for the holiday season.
Houseworks Weekly Focus
Each week, the Plan applies four Houseworks skill sets--declutter, organize, clean and plan--to a single room or area. Area by area, you'll cut clutter, organize, and deep-clean in good time to have a clean house for the holidays.
There's a seasonal logic to the Weekly Focus assignments. Early on, the Plan organizes personal spaces, to make it easier to plan the season, craft gifts and decor, and carry out wrapping and Christmas card chores.
As Thanksgiving Day appears on the horizon, food preparation and storage areas take center stage to speed menu planning, holiday meals and baking.
By December, the focus moves to public spaces and final cleaning, leaving the house clean, organized and ready for the celebration. After the holiday, the Plan's final week sees you into an organized New Year, debriefing, storing decorations, and getting a good start on the next year's celebration.
Holiday Prep Assignments
Along with an area-by-area Houseworks focus, each week includes a planning assignment for holiday prep: a list of do-it-now jobs designed to make short work of preparing for the holidays.
From gifts to decor, cooking to clothes, holiday prep assignments take the big chores and breaks them down into easy-to-manage steps. Doing a few holiday prep tasks each week, you'll be organized for a calm and stress-free Christmas season.
Free Printable Planner Forms
The secret to an organized holiday season? A Christmas notebook to track and record all the little things that make the celebration special. As the plan progresses, we'll add holiday planner forms, calendars, gift lists and menu planners to our notebook--and to make it easy, they're free for the printing in the Forms Library!
2008 Plan Calendar
Personalize your Houseworks Holiday Plan with this 2008 Plan Calendar for use with the Houseworks Holiday Plan Christmas Planner.
New! Print this page in .PDF format.
Giving a copy of the Houseworks Holiday Plan Christmas Planner as a gift this year?
Include this 2009 calendar page to help your recipient get ready for Christmas ... next year! Add an extra copy to your Houseworks Holiday Plan Christmas Planner to share the fun!
Print the 2009 Houseworks Holiday Plan Calendar page in .PDF format.
Planning and Paperwork Week
Are you ready to make a plan ... to simplify your holidays?
This week, we kick off the Houseworks Holiday Plan. Part book group, part get-organized club, we'll travel together toward a calm and stress-free holiday season.
As we begin our journey to a clean and organized holiday house, one job comes first: organizing planning and paperwork. Where do you go to pay bills, keep a calendar, or handle the mail?
Whether it's a dedicated home office or a rolling file cart under the dining table, it's time to declutter, organize and clean the planning area. A holiday prep bonus: we'll set up a Christmas organizing planning center this week, so we can move ahead with holiday season preparations.
This Week's Focus: Planning and Paperwork
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Housekeeping Skill Set: Declutter - pages 19-35
Come up to speed in the war against household clutter. Learn the STOP clutter method, analyze your clutter personality, and find tips for keeping clutter from coming back. - Paper Handling - page 226-237
Declutter and organize Information Central: your household's paperwork center.
Inspiration from the Web:
- Declutter 101: Cut Clutter At Home
- ABCs of Household Paper Management
- Simplify Your Holidays: Make A Christmas Planner Notebook
- Before the Season: Family Values Check-Up
- Create a Christmas Holiday Planning Center
- Make A Master Gift List
This Week's Houseworks Checklist:
- Declutter the home office. We'll be making our lists and checking them twice in the weeks to come, so why not create an organized oasis for handling household paperwork? Declutter the home office or household paperhandling areas this week.
- Set up a basic household filing system. A decluttered paperhandling space is half the battle; next up in the war on paper clutter? An efficient household filing system. Get up to speed on the ABCs of household paper management in your organized home.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist:
- Make the promise! From now until the holidays, spend a little time each day preparing for the season. Whether you follow our plan to the letter, or adapt it to your own circumstances, use the plan calendar to organize the weeks ahead.
- Set up a Christmas notebook. Whether it's a simple three-ring binder, a section in a paper planner, or a database on computer or PDA, make a Christmas planner to hold holiday calendars, checklists and planner pages.
- Focus family values. Get grounded before you begin: complete the family values check-up to focus the celebration around what you truly value.
- Create a Christmas planning activity center. Planning is more pleasant when you have a comfortable space, good lighting and resources at hand. Designate a holiday planning center, an area of your home for set aside for holiday planning.
- Establish a holiday budget. Debt is nobody's holiday friend. This year, set financial limits before you plan the celebration. Tool of choice: a holiday budget.
- Consider a Christmas savings plan. Whether you open a dedicated bank Christmas Club account, set aside cash or add to a gift card balance, begin to accumulate funds for holiday spending now. Your wallet will thank you, come January!
- Begin a Master Gift List. Make a master gift list now, and check it a lot more than twice to organize holiday gift-giving.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Christmas Planner Cover 
Christmas Planner Spine 
2008 Plan Calendar
Values Worksheet 
Christmas Budget Form 
Master Gift List
Calendar and Creativity Week
Welcome to Calendar and Creativity Week!
This week, the Houseworks Holiday Plan lays down the bones for efficient holiday planning: calendars. We'll focus on time management and scheduling this week, as we put holiday prep chores on the fast track.
Our Houseworks focus: creative spaces. 'Deck the halls' is easier when you have an efficient work area for crafts and creativity. What's the state of your creative space?
Whether a sewing corner or a quilting room, a rolling crafts cart or dedicated arts-and-crafts closet, spend this week decluttering, organizing and cleaning out the creative spaces in your home.
This Week's Focus: Calendars and Creative Spaces
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Housekeeping Skill Set: Organize - pages 37-48
How does your house work? Learn the basics of efficient home organization. - Declutter Crafts and Hobbies - page 220
Crafters know the problem: they can drown in a sea of inspiration--and yarn, fabric, paper and supplies. Get tips for decluttering and organizing the creative space in your home.
Inspiration from the Web:
- Declutter and Organize Sewing, Hobby and Craft Spaces
- Secret for Stress-Free Holidays: Create A Holiday Calendar
- Planning Tips for Holiday Season Travel
- Smart Scheduling for Stress-Free Holidays
- Christmas Organizing Secret: Try A Tear File!
- No More UFOs! Get-Em-Done Strategies for Homemade Gifts
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter and clean creative spaces. Whether it's a corner of the kitchen table or a dedicated crafts room, what's the state of your creative space? Is it efficient and easy to use, or bulging and bloated? This week, take the STOP clutter method to areas where you wrap gifts, sew, work on scrapbooks or make crafts. When the clutter's conquered, clean your space for happy seasonal crafting.
- Assess stored crafts materials. Time to head to the stash--fabric, paper or crafts--to take a look at household supplies. Will you need to replace crafts basics like tape, glue, paper or scissors? This week's school supply sales are a great time to stock up in the crafts closet.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Create a seasonal calendar. Take control of your time with a simple family calendar for the holiday months ... or beyond!
- Plan holiday travel.
- Hold a scheduling session. Little things mean a lot--and never more than during the holidays--so schedule furnace checks, carpet cleaning, a family photo session and chimney inspection now.
- Start a set of tear files. As you read holiday magazines or browse gift catalogs, tear our articles with recipes, decor ideas, gift suggestions or holiday traditions. Staple article pages together and place in labeled file folders ("Decor", "Holiday Recipes", "Gift Ideas") or page protectors in the Christmas planner.
- Start--and use--a shopping list. Tracking "to-buy" items in one place saves time all year, but is crucial during the busy run-up to the holidays. Get the list habit now!
- Inventory unfinished crafts projects. Remember the Rule of Four: if you have more than four unfinished crafts projects, or if any single project is more than four years old, don't schedule any new crafts! Finish the old ones this year--you've already got a head start on the process. Rout out projects you've begun, and take advantage of the time already invested in them for happy crafting.
- Begin a "Gifts to Make" list. Christmas crafters benefit by starting early. Begin working on holiday gifts, decor items and crafts now, for a stress-free season.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Weekly Plan Checklist 
Weekly Planner 1 
Weekly Planner 2
Monthly Calendar 
Shopping List 
Gifts To Make
Me and Mine Week
It's a retreat, a haven, a place of rest: the master bedroom. During the busy holiday season, the master bedroom can be an inviting oasis of calm in the midst of Christmas commotion.
During Me and Mine Week at the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we'll declutter, organize and clean the master bedroom. Our goal: to create a refreshing space for reflection and rejuvenation.
In holiday prep, we'll focus on Christmas cards, set up a gift closet or gift box, and schedule some personal "me" time into the holiday season.
This Week's Focus: Master Bedroom and Personal Spaces
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Sweet Dreams in the Organized Bedroom - page 200
This declutter guide for the master bedroom includes tips for bedroom
clutter personalities. - Top Tips for Organizing the Master Bedroom - page 202
Get organized for a good night's rest. - How to Clean A Dry Room - page 60
Speed cleaning with the Houseworks rules for cleaning a "dry"
room
Inspiration from the Web:
- Changing Seasons: Clothes Closet Declutter
- Tips to Rejuvenate the Master Bedroom
- Simplify Season's Greetings: Using Computers to Send Christmas Cards
- Planning A Gift Closet
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter, clean and decorate the Master Bedroom. It's a place for rest and renewal ... if you can find the space!
Tackle clutter in the master bedroom this week Use the STOP clutter method to sort the stacks and piles. Once you've cleared the items that don't belong, clean your newly-reclaimed private space. Use the "dry room" cleaning method to deep-clean the master bedroom in record time!
Finally, add decorative touches--candles, scent diffusers, flowers--to make the master bedroom a pleasant place to recharge your batteries.
- Tackle the clothes closet. With cooler weather on the way, a seasonal clothes closet declutter is in order. Make room for holiday finery as you sort and toss summer's stained garments. Dare to dump it!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Inventory holiday cards, gift wrap, and mailing supplies. Make sure you know what you have before you buy--and shop at home first!
- Make a Christmas card list. Pull out the address book or database, and make a Christmas card list. Give thought to simplifying and reducing cards sent.
- Use a computer address book for Christmas card envelopes or labels. Harness the power of computer technology. If your card lists is still kept on paper, convert it to a computerized form. You'll thank yourself in years to come!
- Print address labels for Christmas cards. If using address labels for your cards or letters, print them now. You'll be ready to write, sign and seal!
- Order, buy or print Christmas cards or letters. If you'll be buying cards this year, order them now--particularly if you'll be using the popular photo cards.
- Plan personal pampering sessions, and add them to December's calendar. "If Mama's not happy, nobody's happy"; your mood affects the whole family. If you find the season stressful, plan now for some personal pampering sessions. A massage, a retreat, or even a gathering with girlfriends can be a welcome break in a busy month.
- Set aside a gift closet or create a gift box; inventory any previously-purchased gifts. The secret of organized (and frugal) gift-givers? A gift closet or gift box. If you haven't already, set aside a specific place in your home to hold all bought-ahead gifts. A printable gift closet inventory form will let you know what you have while shopping or making out a gift list, so print one for your Christmas planner today.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Christmas Card List 
Gift Closet
Close To Home Week
Here come the small stuff! This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, our hearts are close to home as we tackle the children's rooms. Empty nest or child-free? We'll use this week to deal with any bonus rooms or areas in our home.
This is also the week we bring a little bit of reality to our dreams of a holiday house, with the Seasonal Spruce-Up exercise. Designed to get our head out of the clouds and our pocketbooks firmly anchored, the exercise cuts through Furniture Flyer Fog and brings sanity to preparing the house for the season.
Finally, in holiday prep, we'll start on stocking stuffers, plan Halloween costumes, and begin working on Christmas cards or letters this week.
This Week's Focus: Kid's Room or Bonus Room
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Decluttering a Child's Room - page 208
Using the STOP clutter method--and a child's eye view--get to the bottom of kid-room clutter.. - Top Tips for Organizing Children's Rooms - page 210
Keep 'em contained and happy with these tips to organize kids' rooms.
Inspiration from the Web:
- 8 Simple Tips to Organize Kids' Rooms
- Seasonal Spruce-Up Exercise
- Make Room for Santa: Pre-Season Toy Declutter
- Gifts From Your Printer: Silly Stocking Stuffers
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize children's rooms. A pre-season toy declutter will make room for gifts to come--and with fall's cooler weather at hand, children will need space for indoor play and homework.
Once the room is decluttered and cleaned, work with your child to create efficient storage for pared-down possessions.
No children in your household? Tackle any bonus room or area this week.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Seasonal Spruce-Up exercise. Complete the seasonal spruce-up exercise to plan any pre-holiday home improvements. Make a realistic list of home improvement chores to complete before the holiday season.
- Declutter children's toys. Work with your child to reduce clutter in the toy closet. Assessing the remaining toys will help you make a good gift list.
- Begin collecting stocking stuffers. Use a Stocking Stuffers inventory form to remind you about stocking gifts on hand.
- Hit the back-to-school clearance sales. After-season sales are a great source for stocking stuffers and crafts supplies. Don't forget to load up on tape and scissors at bargain prices!
- Consult the kids and decide on Halloween costumes. Schedule any sewing sessions in good time to be completed by October 10.
- Plan family Advent celebrations. Look for creative ways to make the season come alive at the library or on the Web. Order any day-by-day materials or Advent calendars now.
- Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week. Goal: to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 1.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Spruce-Up Checklist 
Stocking Stuffers
Birthday Planner
House Room Week
Hospitality is a core value of the Christmas holiday season, so this week, we prepare for houseguests, focusing on the guest room.
No guest room? Take aim on the multi-function area that houses sleepover guests; otherwise, it's another bonus room week!
Our holiday prep focus turns to decor, as we begin planning seasonal decorations. A decor declutter clears surfaces in time to decorate for autumn.
Finally, we'll schedule houseguests and build a little "pamper basket" to welcome them, as we begin writing Christmas cards or signing holiday letters.
This Week's Focus: Guest Room or Bonus Room
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Housekeeping Skill Set: Clean - pages 49-71
Clean fast, clean smart, clean scheduled: all you need to know to make short work of cleaning house.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize guest areas. Whether your household has a dedicated guest room or a simple fold-out sofabed, declutter, organize and clean the area you use to host guests.
No guest room or guest space? Take a bonus week, tackling another area of the household.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Begin planning holiday decor. Check magazines, library books and the Web for decor inspirations. Use a room-by-room decor planner form to coordinate decor plans.
- Inventory holiday decorations. Make a quick inspection and determine what you have to work with. Will you need to replace or upgrade decor items? Make a note on the decor inventory form
- Declutter before you decorate. Do your visual field a favor with a quick decor declutter. A clean sweep now makes holiday decorations all the more impressive!
- Decorate for autumn. Choose "generic" decor items. Nearer to Halloween, add a few Halloween items which can be removed easily after the holiday.
- Schedule houseguest stays. Check in with family--will you host houseguests this year?
- Make a guest room "pamper basket". Guests feel welcome when the guest room or guest area boasts a simple basket of toiletries and personal care supplies. Add a coffeemaker and beverage supplies for a "bed and breakfast" touch.
- Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week. Goal: to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 1.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Decor Storage
Decor By Room
Decor Inventory
Wardrobe Week
Get out your high-heeled sneakers, Baby--it's time to think of holiday finery. This week, our Housework focus will see us declutter, organize and clean clothing care areas and the clothes closets.
Will the family be able to strut their stuff all season long? We'll do a family wardrobe check to make sure everybody's covered (literally) for the season's events. Clothes closet decluttering helps us add needed clothing items to the gift list or shopping list in good time to replace worn or out-grown clothing--and we'll begin individual gift suggestion lists using the clothing sizes and preferences we discover.
Rounding out the week, we work on Christmas card chores, brainstorm ideas for Secret Santa celebrations and begin catalog or Internet shopping.
Ready? Time to get cracking ... on Wardrobe Week!
This Week's Focus: Clothing Care Areas and Clothes Closets
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Into the clothes closet - page 130-138
STOP clutter in the clothes closet, organize clothing, and plan seasonal clothing storage. Don't miss tips for your clothes closet personality type! - Create a laundry activity center - page 142
Speed clothing care chores with an efficiently-organized laundry center.
Inspiration from the Web:
- Changing Seasons: Clothes Closet Declutter
- Lighten the Load: Laundry Systems Analysis
- State of the Closet: Pre-Holiday Wardrobe Check!
- Three Tips for Catalog Shopping
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Tackle the clothes closet. With cooler weather on the way, a seasonal clothes closet declutter is in order. Make room for holiday finery as you sort and toss summer's stained garments. Dare to dump it!
- Declutter, clean and organize clothing care areas. From laundry room to sewing basket, it's time to make a clean sweep of clothing care areas. Declutter the laundry room, then clean and organize any other household area devoted to clothing care. Make it easy to do the wash, press a dress or sew on a button ... fast!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Family Wardrobe Check. Time for a pre-holiday wardrobe check! Fill out the family wardrobe worksheet, and put any "To Buy" items on your shopping list.
- Plan photo wardrobes. Check condition and fit for family photo outfits. Save time and tears!
- Begin individual "gift suggestion" lists for each family member. As you check wardrobes, record clothing sizes, colors and preferences on the Gift Idea Planner form. You'll know what to say when Grandma asks for gift suggestions!
- Clear coat closets. Colder weather plus holiday guests can mean stuffed quarters in the family coat closet. Haul out the clutter, and add extra hangers for guests' coats.
- Brainstorm ideas for Secret Santa or 12 Days exchanges. Workplace, school or social group gift exchanges should be small and sweet. Come up with gift ideas for these informal exchanges now.
- Begin shopping catalogs or the Internet. Ordering early really pays off if you shop online or through catalogs. Begin now to spread the financial burden and build up reserves in the gift closet--and to be sure you receive gifts in good time.
- Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week. Goal: to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 15.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Wardrobe Planner
Gift Ideas Planner
Catalog/Internet
Bed and Bath Week
If the children are to be nestled, all snug in their beds, it's time to get things straight in the linen closet! This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we'll focus on the linen closet and bathrooms.
We'll declutter, organize and clean these areas, then do a quick linen check. Will we have enough sheets and towels? What's the state of the tablecloth? Is the household stocked for winter colds and holiday guests?
With the deadline for mailing overseas gifts at hand, we'll get ready to wrap with a wrap and mail center. An account at usps.com lets us print mailing labels, buy postage and arrange for carrier pickup ... online!
This Week's Focus: Linen Closet and Bathrooms
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Declutter and organize the linen closet - page 194-99
Reclaim the linen closet from "panic clutter" and let linens live in organized splendor with these tips. - Get organized in the bathroom - page 188-193
Everything you need to know to declutter, organize and clean bathrooms.
Inspiration from the Web:
- Declutter the Master Bathroom
- Gift Buying Solution: Think Consumable!
- Christmas Organizing Secret: Set Up A Wrap And Mail Center
This Week's Houseworks Checklists
- Into the bathrooms to declutter, clean and organize! From the master bathroom to the small half-bath off the hall, this is the week to focus on the household's "facilities". Clear away clutter in each bathroom, then deep-clean fixtures, floors and walls. Organize personal care storage and prepare for entertaining and guests.
- Light into the linen closet. Linen storage areas can become a catch-all space, so rout them out this week. Return misplaced items to their homes, then organize sheets, blankets and towels to make them easy to find in busy times.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Make a pre-holiday linen check. As you declutter and organize the linen closet, make a quick linen check. If you need sheets, towels, or blankets, add them to the shopping list now.
- Start stocking up on bathroom basics. Running out of toilet tissue isn't a major problem--unless it happens during a holiday party. Before the season begins, stock bathrooms with ample supplies to ward off embarrassment.
- Set up a holiday wrap and mail center. Use an empty closet, corner or an under-bed organizer to gather gift wrap, ribbons, bags, tags and supplies. You'll speed gift wrapping and parcel mailing with supplies all in one place.
- Speed mailing chores with an account from USPS.Com. Power to the Postal Service! A free account with USPS.Com makes it easy to buy postage, print labels or arrange for carrier pickup. No more waiting in line!
- Buy, wrap and package overseas gifts for mailing.Next week's mailing deadline means that overseas gifts must be bought, wrapped and packaged for mailing this week.
- Begin shopping holiday bazaars--or swaps. Clubs, church groups and organization offer great holiday savings--and a lot of fun--at holiday bazaars. Bazaar season starts in early October; add a few events to your calendar for gifts and decorations. Another frugal source for gifts and decor: holiday swaps. Check your favorite online community for active swaps, where members exchange like items for holiday giving.
- Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week. Goal: to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 15.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Swap Tracker 
Swaps Directory
Family Space Week
Christmas is a time for family, so center the season around a clean and organized family space. This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we take aim on the family room, playroom or family area. Where does your family go to relax together?
In holiday prep, the family room theme continues as we decorate for Halloween, review holiday movies and music, and craft a holiday housework plan.
Mailing deadline: mail overseas gifts this week!
This Week's Focus: Family Spaces
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Family room declutter, organization and storage- page 214-219
Cut clutter in the family room, and organize books, magazines and entertainment media.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize the family room or family area. Family room, playroom, living room or den, this week's assignment is to dig in and declutter, deep-clean and organize the space where your family gathers on a daily basis.
While you're there, take aim on media and entertainment areas. Reunite video games and DVDs with their missing cases, and create an organized space for them to live when not in use. You'll make it easier to find holiday music, books and movies as the season progresses.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Decorate for Halloween. Add a few Halloween-specific items to your autumn decorating to bring a spooky shiver to life. After the 31st, they're easy to remove and replace with a Thanksgiving theme.
- Tune time: make a music check. How's your stash of holiday tunes? If the sounds of the season move you, review the family's collection of Christmas music. Note favorites on a holiday favorites planner form.
- Movie review: check the family's holiday video library. Whether it's A Christmas Story or It's a Wonderful Life, review holiday movies. Is it the year to add new titles to the gift list? Get ready for December popcorn nights!
- Start amaryllis bulbs. Fresh flowers at the holidays are a fragrant--and frugal--gift. If you'll be giving holiday plants, start amaryllis bulbs now; they'll need eight weeks to be ready.
- Buy, wrap and mail overseas gifts. International mailing can take weeks ... or more. Be sure to mail all overseas parcels early, so they'll arrive by the holiday.
- Create a holiday housework plan. Many hands make light work and never more than at the holidays. Negotiate a holiday housework plan, assign jobs and work together to keep family spaces clean. Print our chore checklist form. Post it publicly and hold family members accountable for delegated tasks.
- Divide the Christmas card list into five sections. Complete one section this week. Goal: to be finished writing, signing and addressing cards by November 1.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Chore Checklist
Holiday Favorites
Public Spaces Week
It's Halloween week! Along with the trick-or-treaters comes a new pace to the season. Thanksgiving is on the horizon, so we turn our attention to the public space in our home: the living room or great room.
In holiday prep, we'll celebrate Halloween, then tuck its decorations away, replacing them with Thanksgiving themes. We'll complete Christmas cards and buy holiday stamps, and start saving mailing boxes so that we can recycle them to send gifts.
Finally, we'll prepare for Time Change Sunday with a household safety check.
This Week's Focus: Living Room or Public Space
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Surfaces and Systems: Maintain Walls, Floors, Furniture and Fixtures - pages 157-171
The living room is the home's fancy handkerchief. Learn to care for specialty surfaces, furniture and floors. - Be Prepared with a Family Disaster Plan - page 180
A safety plan saves lives: review your family's emergency preparedness..
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize the living room or public space. With the holidays hard upon us, your household's living room or public space will be on display. Prepare for family events and drop-in visitors!
Remove all clutter from the living room using the STOP clutter method, then deep-clean the room. Move furniture pieces and vacuum beneath them, polish fine woods, and clean or vacuum draperies, window coverings or blinds.
Once the living room is clean and free from clutter, take a minimalist's eye to the room 's decorations. Will your holiday decor shine, or will it compete with current decor items? Clear tabletops, shelves and corners for the holiday decorations to come.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Buy holiday stamps. Seasonal stamp designs are available now, buy holiday stamps early for best selection. Order online from USPS.Com to avoid standing in line.
- Begin saving packaging materials. Recycling makes sense ... and cents. As catalog orders arrive, begin to stockpile mailing boxes and packaging material for re-use in December. Store them close to your wrap and mail center to speed holiday mailing chores.
- Celebrate Halloween. Ready to join the neighborhood fun? Use our free printables to start a Halloween BOO tradition in your neighborhood. Spread the BOO joy!
- Status Check! Review the progress of the Houseworks Holiday Plan on the first day of the month. If you're falling behind, adjust goals to a more realistic level.
- Decorate for Thanksgiving. Remove Halloween decorations and replace them with Thanksgiving-themed items.
- Complete Christmas cards or letters. Christmas cards should be finished and ready for mailing. ; Stamp envelopes and set them aside until it's time to mail them next month. Tip: leaving envelopes unsealed makes it easy to add a newsy post-script if the spirit moves.
- Seasonal safety check. Observe Time Change Sunday with a seasonal safety checklist: change batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and flashlights. Don't forget the first aid kit; will you need to replenish any supplies?
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Boo Sign - Cute
Boo Sign - Colorful
Boo Sign - Blue
Boo-ed Poem
Ornament Journal
Cooking Space Week
November's here, and it's time to clear the decks in the kitchen: holiday meals ahead! In the next two weeks, we'll declutter, organize and clean cooking spaces and food storage areas. This week, it's the kitchen; we'll leave food storage spaces--refrigerator, freezer and pantry--for next week.
Holiday prep chores focus on the tastes of the season. We'll dig out our holiday recipes, plan menus and baking, and do a tabletop check to prepare for the festivities.
This Week's Focus: Kitchen
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- In the kitchen - pages 102-113
Declutter, organize and clean the kitchen or food preparation areas.
Inspiration from the Web:
- Kitchen Declutter: Cut Clutter in the Kitchen
- Menu Planning: Save Time In The Kitchen
- Holiday Baking Solution: Make It A Specialty
- Save Money on Holiday Meals
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Get down and dirty with a kitchen clean-up! American Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners put new emphasis on the household's kitchen. This week, we tackle kitchen clutter, cleaning and organization.
Moving shelf by shelf, cupboard by cupboard, take on kitchen clutter this week. Using the STOP clutter method, bring food preparation workspaces to a lean, mean, efficient state.
Once clutter is conquered, a kitchen clean-out is in order. Rout out the grime and corral the crumbs for a sparkling holiday kitchen.
Don't worry about pantry, freezer or refrigerator just yet ... we'll turn to food storage areas next week.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Organize holiday recipes. It's November ... do you know where your seasonal recipes are? Dig out the recipes you use during the holiday season, and add them to the holiday recipes planner. Thanksgiving Day is too busy to waste time hunting for the Green Bean Casserole recipe.
- Plan Thanksgiving menus. If you're hosting the Thanksgiving feast, it's time to make a menu plan. Use a menu planner form, and delegate, delegate, delegate!
- Plan holiday baking. With recipes out, make a list of baked goodies you'll make for the holidays. Our holiday baking planner form is a good place to start.
- Buy containers for freezer meals, baked goods or kitchen gifts. Holiday-themed disposable containers are available now. Double up on freezer food storage bags, too; they'll do triple duty this month.
- Order Thanksgiving turkey.
- Bake any fruitcakes or Christmas cakes which require mellowing. Now's the time to bake the Christmas cakes! You'll have eight weeks to mellow them before the season.
- Do a tabletop check. Inventory serving pieces, stemware, china and flatware. Check store flyers for sales. Will you be ready to set a pretty holiday table?
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Holiday Recipes 
Recipes To Try 
Menu Planner
Weekly Menus 
Baking Planner 
Potluck Planner
Food Storage Week
American Thanksgiving reminds us to be grateful for our bounty--and in most homes, that blessing is most clearly seen in the larder. Refrigerator, freezer and pantry hold a wealth of foodstuffs--and with holidays ahead, these food storage areas will be called into front-row service.
This week, we'll declutter, organize and clean food storage areas. Whether you have a single shelf and refrigerator-top freezer unit or dedicated areas for pantry and freezer storage, it's time to bring order to the larder.
Holiday prep chores run in harmony this week. We'll inventory the freezer and pantry, take advantage of seasonal sales to stock up, and build frozen assets to see us through December's busy evenings.
This Week's Focus: Food Storage Areas
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Get organized in refrigerator, freezer and pantry - page 114-123
Tackle clutter, organize and clean food storage areas with these great ideas.
- Top tips for grocery shopping - page 96
Save money at the supermarket ... all year long!
Inspiration from the Web:
- New Year Resolution: Clean Out The Refrigerator
- Organized Pantry: A Beginner's Guide to Pantry Pride
- Feed the Freezer: Complete Freezer Cooking Guide
- Sneak Up on Freezer Cooking
- Frugal Holiday Meals: Beat the Holiday Grocery Game
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize food storage areas this week. From refrigerator to freezer, cupboards to pantry, this is the week to cut clutter, clean and organize food storage areas.
FIrst priority: a refrigerator clean-out. Make space for holiday cooking by tossing expired bottles and jar, and bring holiday sparkle to the Great White Whale with a top-to-toe cleaning session.
In the freezer? We'll cull the clutter, organize the contents, and make room for holiday baking and the fruits of a freezer cooking session.
Finally, dry storage areas deserve a shake-down, too. Toss stale or expired food items, clean shelves and organize the survivors for efficient holiday cooking.
Ready? Set ... bake!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Clean out the refrigerator. Seasonal cooking requires storage space, so clean out the refrigerator now. .
- Clean out the freezer. Make-ahead baked goods and holiday freezer meals need room, too. Clean out the freezer to create a home for holiday goodies to come.
- Set up a freezer inventory. Keep track of your frozen assets with a freezer inventory form.
- Organize and inventory the pantry. The year's best sales on staple foods lie just ahead. Know what you need--and make space to store it--with a pantry inventory form. Set aside foods you won't use to donate to holiday food drives. A
- Stock up on seasonal staples. It's loss leader time at the supermarket, as merchants compete for your holiday food dollar. Take advantage of low prices and stock the pantry.
- Plan potluck meals. If you're part of family, church or social groups that hold Advent potluck dinners, be ready. Our potluck meal planner will help organize and delegate community dinners.
- Add freezer meals to the freezer. Whether you do an at-home freezer cooking session, try the new meal assembly franchises or simply cook some extra pots of chili or spaghetti sauce, stow away a few pre-cooked freezer meals. In December, you'll appreciate having dinner ready to go on busy nights.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Freezer Inventory 
Pantry Inventory
Dining Space Week
America celebrates Thanksgiving on Thursday, gathering family and friends around the dining table. This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we'll see to it that the celebration takes place in a clean and organized dining area.
Holiday prep chores observe the American Thanksgiving holiday, together with the traditional Black Friday sales. We'll prepare for the holiday meal, celebrate Thanksgiving, then shop! Finally, this is the week we plan holiday entertaining, so put on a festive mood as we follow the Houseworks Holiday Plan.
This Week's Focus: Dining Space
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Set a pretty table - pages 101
Short and sweet for a busy week: tips to set a pretty table.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Dive into the dining area. With the mid-week feast taking center stage, prepare a worthy dining area for your holiday celebration.
Declutter and deep-clean the dining room or dining area this week. Polish fine furniture, tidy any storage areas, and if needed, add extra leaves to the dining room table.
Set the stage for a lovely holiday meal!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Plan for Thanksgiving Day. Plan table settings, seating and a centerpiece for Thanksgiving Day.
- Set up a Black Friday Sales game plan. Online bargain sites and e-mail alerts allow Web-savvy shoppers to spot the best deals days before Black Friday. Make entries in your holiday sales planner and plan shopping strategy as information comes to light.
- Set the table ahead. Set the Thanksgiving table a day or two before. You'll have time to spot (and fix) tarnished silver or stains on the tablecloth. Use sticky notes to mark serving dishes so it's easy for guests to help.
- Double up on freezer-friendly dishes. Cooking for the feast, plan to double or triple amounts for any freezer-friendly dishes, and tuck the extras into the freezer for later use. Candidates include pies, unbaked stuffing and--surprise!--mashed potatoes. You'll enjoy lightening the load for Christmas dinner.
- Celebrate American Thanksgiving. (Canadian and UK friends? Enjoy the day off!
- Shop Black Friday sales! Use your game plan to get the best deals quickly.
- Plan holiday parties. If you'll entertain next month, make plans now.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
"Black Friday" Sales Planner
Entry Space Week
December arrives this week and with it, the fullness of the holiday season. This week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan, we'll open the door to the season, focusing on the front porch, front door, entryway or foyer.
Decorations come out this week, if they haven't already. We'll inventory and inspect decorations and begin to decorate for the season. Mail chores get a nod: we'll send party invitations and wrap domestic gifts for mailing. Finally, the first-of-the-month status check means it's Deadline Week for crafts projects and homemade gifts.
This Week's Focus: Entry Space
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Fight clutter in the entryway - pages 184-187
Make the right first impression with a clean and organized entryway.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Prepare a welcoming entry space. Front porch or foyer, apartment door or entryway, this week's focus is on the entry area of the home.
Remove clutter, clean and organize the portal to your household this week. Check the front door, cleaning and polishing knob, knocker and any windows. Check the state of the welcome mat; is it time for cleaning or replacement? Check outdoor lights and replace any burned-out bulbs.
Declutter doorway storage areas so outdoor shoes, umbrellas or keys find an efficient, attractive home.
Clean out coat closets and add extra hangers for holiday guests' use. Be ready to open the door to a wonderful holiday season!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Inspect and inventory decorations. As seasonal decorations come out of storage, make a quick review of what you have. Test light strands, and add any needed parts or replacements to the shopping list.
- Begin decorating.
- Send party invitations. Having a holiday party? Send invitations early. Social calendars fill up quickly in December.
- Wrap gifts as they are purchased. Every little bit helps, so wrap ahead where possible.
- Status check. On the first of December, review where you are with holiday prep. Crafts projects and homemade gifts should be finished soon; check for any missing catalog orders.
- Arrange for baby-sitters. Be quick to call for help as holiday invitations arrive; baby-sitters are busy in December, too.
- Package send-away gifts for mailing. Be ready to mail send-away gifts by next week.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Party Planner 
Party Budget 
Party Guest List
Storage Week
Decorations shine bright this week in the Houseworks Holiday Plan!
As we remove them from storage, we'll focus on the storage space they call home the other eleven months of the year.
In holiday prep, the season moves toward full swing with the coming of Advent. It's time to complete gift shopping, mail send-away gifts and complete holiday decorating.
This Week's Focus: Storage Space
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- The rules of household storage - page 222
Store efficiently, store right!
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Organize storage areas. Ransacking a crowded attic is nobody's idea of a good holiday time. This week, organize household storage areas as you bring forth holiday decorations.
Whether it's attic, garage, closet or shed, take time to tidy up household storage. Inexpensive storage organizers can help keep clutter from creeping into corners--and a neat storage area will make it easier to return decorations to their year-round home at season's end.
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Begin family Advent observances. Advent begins on Sunday; consider your family's traditions carefully. New! Will a magic elf visit your home this year?
- Complete holiday decorating.
- Order Christmas ham, roast or poultry.
- Finish gift shopping. Where you can, wrap as you go to prevent a long night with the tape and ribbons on Christmas Eve.
- Mail domestic gifts. Just say "no!" to lines at the post office; use USPS.Com to purchase postage, print shipping labels and arrange for carrier pick-up.
- Check cameras and camcorders Be ready to capture the moment. Will you need to buy film, batteries, cassettes or storage media? Add any needed items to the shopping list.
- Make an under-tree "emergency box". Use a gift-wrapped box with removable lid. Placed under the tree, it holds extra bulbs, fuses, ornament hooks and batteries.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Magic Elf Letter 
Magic Elf Passport
Magic Elf Report
Holiday Traditions
Final Clean Week
Two weeks before Christmas? It's time for a final finish cleaning at the Houseworks holiday plan.
We've decluttered and deep-cleaned; this week's goal is to bring the whole house into a ready state for the remainder of the season.
In holiday prep, we'll complete gift wrapping, plan Christmas dinner, mail Christmas cards and bring home the ultimate seasonal symbol: the Christmas tree.
This Week's Houseworks Focus: Final Clean
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Housekeeping Skill Set: Plan - pages 74-81
Put it all together--schedules, to-do lists and routines--to keep a clean and organized home.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Do a final pre-holiday whole-house clean. Sure, we've tackled household areas week-by-week and the deep-cleaning is done--but this week, it's time to polish up the house with a last whole-house clean.
Play cleaning service this week, and give every room a top-clean session of dusting, vacuuming and final touch-up. You'll bring the entire house to a holiday-ready state. Time to celebrate!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Wrap party! Hold an informal "wrap party" brunch or evening for friends. Work on wrapping packages together. At the end of the party, swap leftover supplies for a fresh look next year.
- Use freezer meals on busy nights.
- Plan Christmas menus. Make a simple menu plan for Christmas week. Delegation is easier if you have an idea of what's for breakfast ... or lunch, or dinner.
- Update address book. As holiday letters and Christmas cards arrive, update the address book with any changes.
- Mail Christmas cards or holiday letters.
- Complete gift wrapping.
- Buy Christmas trees and/or fresh greens.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Child's Gift List
Nearly There Week
We're nearly there! Holiday parties, cooking and a growing sense of excitement mark this week before Christmas.
Around the house, only minimum maintenance is needed this week.
The week's holiday prep checklist includes the last few chores to get ready for the big day.
Are you ready? A clean and organized home for the holiday season!
This Week's Focus: Nearly There
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Minimum maintenance - page 69
Rock-bottom essential chore schedule for busy times.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Minimum maintenance. It's the organized solution for busy times: a rock-bottom chore checklist of must-do household chores. Does your household have one?
Create a minimum maintenance checklist and post it publicly. Encourage family members to pitch in and share the work. Delegate, delegate, delegate!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Decorate and wrap baked goods. Ice the sugar cookies, assemble the goodie trays and wrap for giving.
- Record a special holiday message for the answering machine.
- Start or add to an ornament journal. Many families give children collections of holiday ornaments; add meaning to the gift with a simple journal page recording who-what-where of each ornament.
- Make a Christmas morning box. Think ahead: what will you need when opening gifts? Include a notepad, pen, scissors, box cutter and plastic garbage bags.
- Put together any "assembly required" toys.
- Check and organize stocking stuffers. Place each family member's gifts in a separate grocery sack so Santa can get a good night's rest on the 24th. Hang sacks on clotheshangers in the back of a closet to keep stuffers from prying eyes.
- Write letters to Santa. (And keep them. Misspellings and all, you'll treasure them in later years).
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Ornament Journal
Celebration Week
Celebrate! The height of the season is here, so draw close to family and friends.
Only minimum maintenance is needed in the house this week.
Holiday prep centers on those few chores needed to make a smooth move between Christmas and the New Year.
Season's greetings!
This Week's Focus: Celebration
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Minimum maintenance - page 69
Rock-bottom essential chore schedule for busy times.
Inspiration from the Web:
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Minimum maintenance. It's the organized solution for busy times: a rock-bottom chore checklist of must-do household chores. Does your household have one?
Create a minimum maintenance checklist and post it publicly. Encourage family members to pitch in and share the work. Delegate, delegate, delegate!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Charge cameras and camcorders. This week, plug them in like the cellphones so you won't miss a moment.
- Celebrate Christmas.
- Journal holiday memories. Jot down the high points of the season on a holiday memories journal page. Even a short and sweet record will be treasured in a year ... or ten..
- Family thank-you notes. Best way to teach the art of the thank you note? Do it as a family. Write notes together this week.
- Take down fresh trees and greens. Watch local news sources for information about recycling Christmas trees.
- Decorate for New Year's.
- Recycle holiday paper. Give Mother Earth a holiday gift: reuse or recycle gift wrap, ribbons, holiday cards and packaging materials.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
Holiday Memories
New Year's Week
All good times must end; it's time to wrap up the Houseworks Holiday Plan and move into an organized New Year.
Tying up the season's loose ends, we'll make New Year's resolutions, remove and store holiday decor, and set the stage for next year's celebration.
See you next year!
This Week's Focus: New Year!
Reading Assignments from Houseworks
- Habit, the Household Wonder Worker - page 82
Bring the power of habit to the New Year's resolutions. - Create A Center for Paper - page 226
Get organized for a great New Year--and ready for tax time!--with an activity center for paper-handling.
Inspiration from the Web:
- New Year, New You: Keeping New Years' Resolutions
- Hold A Post-Holiday Debriefing
- 5 Tips To Get Organized for Next Christmas
- New Year's Resolution: Clean Out the Refrigerator
- Paper Chase: The ABCs of Paper Management
This Week's Houseworks Checklist
- Minimum maintenance. It's the organized solution for busy times: a rock-bottom chore checklist of must-do household chores. Does your household have one?
Create a minimum maintenance checklist and post it publicly. Encourage family members to pitch in and share the work. Delegate, delegate, delegate!
This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Make New Year's resolutions. This year, don't just make them, keep them as you harness the power of paper. Use a free Resolutions form to pin new habits down on paper.
- Set up a calendar for the new year. Designate a fresh new calendar. You've polished calendaring skills as you've worked the plan, so carry them forward into the new year.
- Hold a holiday debriefing. Get a head-start on next year's planning--and avoid traps--with a quick debriefing session.
- Swap extra cards and gift wrap with a friend. Don't let those last few cards languish for fear of sending them again. Swap extras--gift wrap, too--with a friend. You'll both have fresh new cards to recycle next year.
- Take down remaining decorations. All good things have to end--and the visible Ghost of Christmas Past can be a real disincentive to an organized new year. Take down remaining holiday decor this week. You'll see it again, next season!
- Store holiday decorations. Take the time to store holiday decor securely and in an organized way. However ready you are to move on, sloppy storage will cause new problems down the line. Be sure to use sturdy, moisture-proof containers and organize stored decorations neatly. Make notes of any items that need to be replaced, and purchase replacements in the after-season clearance.
- Set up a "holiday box" for stragglers. No matter how you scour the house, a few holiday stragglers will always be left behind. Give them a place to go with a holiday box: a designated container for any last holiday items you find. In a few weeks, take the box to the storage area for next year.
This Week's Christmas Planner Pages to Print:
New Year's Resolutions 
Debriefing Worksheet