Houseworks + Holidays

America celebrates Thanksgiving next 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 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.

Dining Space Week Assignments

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.

Food Storage Week Assignments

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.

Cooking Space Week Assignments

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.

Public Space Week Assignments

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!

Family Space Week Assignments

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!

Bed and Bath 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!

Wardrobe Week Assignments