After the holiday season, my home always feels like it is busting at the seams with new toys and gadgets, clutter, and piles and piles and stuff that needs to be put back into place. But where to begin???  It is all a bit overwhelming!  

To help organize your organization, there are a two plans listed below.  Depending upon your needs, choose one that will help you meet your goals of home organization!

THE 21 DAYS TO GETTING ORGANIZED CHALLENGE

http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2010/12/21-days-to-getting-organized-challenge.html

This blogger provides a detailed plan and posts daily tips to help get your home organized.  Each day is broken down into sections: 

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR CLEANING CHALLENGE

Organized Home

Clean House, Cut Clutter, Get Organized at Home!

http://organizedhome.com/cleaning-grand-plan/new-year-cleaning-challenge

Christmas has come and gone ... and left a mess behind. Looking around, you wonder how you'll ever dig out in time for Spring!

Solution? Take the Challenge!

Roar into the New Year and clean house fast with the New Year Cleaning Challenge from OrganizedHome.Com.

Based on Katie Leckey's Cleaning Grand Plan, the New Year Cleaning Challenge kicks off 2015 with a 14-week plan to clean and organize a spring-clean house.

Working in small weekly bites makes a big job easy, while printable checklists help organize and track cleaning chores. By Spring, you'll be ready to open the doors to warmer weather.

TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT GRATITUDE

This time of year, children are exposed to what seems like endless treats, goodies, and gifts.  With all of the excess around them, it becomes a constant challenge to keep them focused on being grateful for the fortunes they already have.  

Each month, our grandchildren's elementary school focus on a character trait.  In December, they are learning about GENEROSITY, and focusing on BEING KIND, GIVING BACK, and GRATITUDE.

Our granddaughter's Brownie Troop recently adopted a family at a local homeless shelter and bought gifts from a families wish list for three young girls and their mother.  After wrapping the gifts, they made "Gratitude Soup" by decorating a bowl and writing down the "ingredients" on slips of paper of things that they are grateful for, such as a "good food", "a warm bed", and "cool clothes". 

If you are looking for a way to fun way to teach and instill gratitude this holiday season and beyond, these two books are great resources!  

GRATITUDE SOUP: by Olivia Rosewood

http://www.amazon.com/Gratitude-Soup-Olivia-Rosewood/dp/1448681286/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=08SD1SPBG9S3C55Z9SHV

Violet the Purple Fairy learns how to make Gratitude Soup by thinking of all the things, people, places, and experiences that she is grateful for, putting them in an imaginary soup pot. She is able to shrink her pot of soup with her imagination, and she keeps the gratitude warm and flowing in her heart all day and all night. Perfect for teaching your children about gratitude with fun and play, this rhyming, colorful 8x10 picture book combines collage and watercolors as Violet the Purple Fairy tells her own story of cooking with gratitude. Your children might even be inspired to make their own Gratitude Soup! Look for the "Create Your Own" version of this book, an arts and crafts version of this story that allows your child to make their own gratitude soup. There is scientific evidence showing that gratitude dramatically changes brain chemistry, leading to a peaceful mind and healthy body. Although gratitude has been a staple of human faith and philosophy for thousands of years, the formal scientific exploration of gratitude only began in the year 2000, and it has been fervently studied ever since. In one study performed at UC Davis, published in the Journal of School Psychology, those who had a daily gratitude activity had more positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness, and energy. Gratitude can lead to fewer physical ailments, as well as an enhanced feeling of well being. Children who practiced gratitude showed more positive attitudes toward their school and their families. They are less likely to judge others, and also less jealous. They are more likely to share and to want to help. Without a doubt, gratitude is a powerful life tool. When I tried to teach my own children about gratitude, they asked me, "But what is gratitude?" I was inspired to create this book to help them understand and experience what gratitude is about. I hope you find it as helpful as I did.

GRATEFUL: A SONG OF GIVING THANKS: by John Bucchini

http://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Giving-Thanks-Andrews-Collection/dp/006051633X/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TVWCKXFNNYC19P5FRGT

CD with an original recording by Art Garfunkel included

Once in a while, a perfect union of words and music creates a transcendent song that soars from the heart and speaks to every soul ...

Grateful is such an anthem -- a loving reminder of the gifts available to us when we approach life with gratitude. It is a song that inspires courage, compassion, and hope.

In this exquisite picture book and accompanying CD recorded by Art Garfunkel, Anna-Lisa Hakkarainen's radiant paintings bring John Bucchino's words to life. A joyous celebration of the beauty of the seasons, the wonders of nature, and the blessings of faith, here is a gift to be treasured by children and adults of all ages.

Is your house currently on the market or are you considering selling you house during the holidays?  

Check out these resources for some advice!

Top 10 Tips for Selling Your Home During the Holidays

Attract homebuyers even during the holidays with these useful tips!

The holiday season from November through January is often considered the worst time to put a home on the market. While the thought of selling your home during the winter months may dampen your holiday spirit, the season does have its advantages: holiday buyers tend to be more serious and competition is less fierce with fewer homes being actively marketed. First, decide if you really need to sell. Really. Once you've committed to the challenge, don your gay apparel and follow these tips from FrontDoor.com.

1. Deck the halls, but don’t go overboard.
   Homes often look their best during the holidays, but sellers should be careful not to overdo it on the decor. Adornments that are too large or too many can crowd your home and distract buyers. Also, avoid offending buyers by opting for general fall and winter decorations rather than items with religious themes.
    
2. Hire a reliable real estate agent.
   That means someone who will work hard for you and won't disappear during Thanksgiving,Christmas or New Year's. Ask your friends and family if they can recommend a listing agent who will go above and beyond to get your home sold. This will ease your stress and give you more time to enjoy the season.
    
3. Seek out motivated buyers.
   Anyone house hunting during the holidays must have a good reason for doing so. Work with your agent to target buyers on a deadline, including people relocating for jobs in your area, investors on tax deadlines, college students and staff, and military personnel, if you live near a military base.
    
4. Price it to sell.
   No matter what time of year, a home that’s priced low for the market will make buyers feel merry. Rather than gradually making small price reductions, many real estate agents advise sellers to slash their prices before putting a home on the market.
    
5. Make curb appeal a top priority.
   When autumn rolls around and the trees start to lose their leaves, maintaining the exterior of your home becomes even more important. Bare trees equal a more exposed home, so touch up the paint, clean the gutters and spruce up the yard. Keep buyers’ safety in mind as well by making sure stairs and walkways are free of snow, ice and leaves.
    
6. Take top-notch real estate photos.
   When the weather outside is frightful, homebuyers are likely to start their house hunt from the comfort of their homes by browsing listings on the Internet. Make a good first impression by offering lots of flattering, high-quality photos of your home. If possible, have a summer or spring photo of your home available so buyers can see how it looks year-round.
    
7. Create a video tour for the Web.
   You'll get less foot traffic during the holidays thanks to inclement weather and vacation plans. But shooting a video tour and posting it on the Web may attract house hunters who don't have time to physically see your home or would rather not drive in a snowstorm. 
    
8. Give house hunters a place to escape from the cold.
   Make your home feel cozy and inviting during showings by cranking up the heat, playing softclassical music and offering homemade holiday treats. When you encourage buyers to spend more time in your home, you also give them more time to admire its best features.
    
9. Offer holiday cheer in the form of financing.
   Bah, humbug! Lenders are scrooges these days, but if you've got the means, then why not offer a home loan to a serious buyer? You could get a good rate of return on your money.
    
10. Relax — the new year is just around the corner.
    The holidays are stressful enough with gifts to buy, dinners to prepare and relatives to entertain. Take a moment to remind yourself that if you don't sell now, there's always next year, which, luckily, is only a few days away.