Nearly There Week

By Cynthia Townley Ewer

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:

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!

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).

Ornament Journal