When I arrived at my client’s house and asked if we were going to do Christmas cards she said, “Yes! As of 5 p.m. yesterday I had nothing ready to do cards, and amazingly I’m now ready!” This is a client who has a history of having great difficulty getting her cards done by Christmas. One July several years earlier we came across her Christmas cards that she had never finished from the Christmas before. When I asked her if we could pitch them, she said, “No, I still want to send them.” So, together we finished them. And, ever since she has scheduled one or two sessions prior to Christmas to have me help her get them done. Our current session was the second attempt this year to get the cards done.

My client knew that if she didn’t pull together the stamps and return address labels, print her labels, and get her photo card printed, she was at risk of not getting her cards done this year. She was blocked because she didn’t have a good photo of her children. She could have chosen to cancel our appointment or use our time together for another project. But, she decided to use the pressure of the deadline of our appointment to motivate her to seek help from an employee to create the photo card. Once that block was removed, she was able to move forward.

While I put the stamps, address labels, and return address labels on the envelopes and stuffed the photo cards in them, my client wrote her annual Christmas letter. By the time we ended our session, the letter was written, printed and folded to go in the cards. All that was left to do was sign the cards and add some personal notes!

What was most remarkable about this whole experience was the change in my client’s energy when it became clear that we were going to get the cards to a point where she could easily finish them on her own. This client is a fairly reserved person, not prone to outward expressions of excitement, but that night she was absolutely glowing and thrilled with what she had been able to pull off in such a short period of time. It seemed like a miracle to her.

Would she have been at the same point if she had not set a deadline by hiring me to help her? No way! Deadlines can be really powerful motivators if you honor them!

Recycling Greeting Cards

I get such great ideas from people who hear me speak or read my news tips and blog! Terry Jones shared her method of recycling greeting cards with me. She gave me permission to pass it on to you.

“What I do now to recycle my greeting cards is save all of this year’s cards together and pull them out when writing next year’s Christmas cards to make sure I do not forget to touch base with someone who is probably going to send me a card again next year. After I have sent out this year’s cards, I take the old ones I received last year, cut off the fronts and use them as gift tags for my wrapped presents. It gets the paper clutter out of the house and allows me to enjoy several minutes of reflection, enjoying last year’s cards and the handwritten notes included in them.”

Terry D. Jones

© 2012 Clutter Clearing Community | Debbie Bowie

“Author, Organizing Expert and Feng Shui Practitioner, Debbie Bowie, is a leading authority on clutter clearing to attract more of what you want in life. If you’re ready to clear clutter and move your life forward, get your FREE TIP SHEET, “Feng Shui Tips for Instant Success” at http://www.clutterclearingcommunity.com.

In a recent news tip I wrote about what I do with photos I receive in Christmas cards. A dear friend and networking buddy, Carrie Emery, read my tip and sent me an email sharing what she does with those photos. She gave me permission to share that with you.

“Most of my friends got married and had children long before I did and they would send adorable pictures of their families. I started a photo album–very basic album with the sticky pages–and have added the pictures each year. Each family has their own page which grew into pages. Since it was such a basic notebook style album, I would just add a new page when one was filled up.”

“What I have now, many years later is a photo album that shows the children from birth to high school for some. It has turned into a treasure. I can open it up at Christmas, usually as the season is winding down, add a few photos and look back at how the children have grown over the years since each year is right there on their page(s). And, it is a small manageable task that I can do in just a few minutes while watching the news or while waiting on perma-hold on the phone.”
Carrie Emery
Mary Kay Cosmetics

It’s never too soon to start making plans for Christmas gift giving. Why not kill two birds with one stone? Tackle your photo nightmare and create unique, heart-warming Christmas presents.

One of the best ways to tackle the overwhelming task of photo organizing is to decide to make photo scrapbooks as Christmas gifts. That way you have a specific goal, the calendar, to motivate you to start looking through your photos.

Getting started with the photos is the hardest part. Often the sheer volume is overwhelming. Don’t despair! Just put your head down and look for the best photos. Don’t worry about organizing them! Just search for the best photos for your project and you’ll soon find yourself energized by the excitement of the project and the memories ignited by the photos. And, some photo organizing may get done in the process.

If you think there’s no way YOU could do something like an electronic photo scrapbook because technology is your enemy, think again! If I can do it, so can you! A client showed me how she made a photo scrapbook using FREE software from www.picaboo.com. Because I knew I was technology challenged, I got my husband, who is computer savvy, to show me how to do the first scrapbook.

The process goes like this: choose great photos; get them scanned by a service or with your photo copier/scanner; choose free photo scrapbook software to download; download your photos into that program; compose your book (the really fun part!); place your order; the scrapbooks are delivered to your door.

In my first attempt I made a family scrapbook that brought my mother to tears and two scrapbooks of relatives who had recently died to give as gifts to their families. I had fun making the books. I began my scanned photo archives. And, I took photos that were accessible only to me and made them available to my loved ones in a form that they can enjoy over and over again. What a photo victory!

Change your photo nightmare into a photo victory! Make precious photos the subject of your Christmas planning this year. Start now!

Happy Photo Sorting!

P.S. There are many photo programs out there in addition to www.picaboo.com. Find one that works for you!

© 2012 Clutter Clearing Community | Debbie Bowie

“Author, Organizing Expert and Feng Shui Practitioner, Debbie Bowie, is a leading authority on clutter clearing to attract more of what you want in life. If you’re ready to clear clutter and move your life forward, get your FREE TIP SHEET, “Feng Shui Tips for Instant Success” at http://www.clutterclearingcommunity.com.

I know, most of you are cringing at the mention of Christmas. And, some of you are thinking, “Why would anyone be making plans for Christmas in September, other than planning where you’ll be this Christmas?”

It’s never too early to knock a few items off your Christmas to do list. Christmas happens in layers of things to do. The first layer of Christmas cards, for example, is gathering the ingredients: getting the cards; composing the Christmas letter; finding a photo to send; and buying stamps. The second layer is assembling all the pieces and writing notes.

Making a list of gift ideas is the first layer of Christmas gifts. The second layer is buying, ordering, or making the gifts. The third layer is wrapping the gifts.

Is it any wonder many of us feel overwhelmed when we look to the upcoming Christmas season? But, what if you began whittling away at pieces of those layers prior to the big November/December rush? Here are some tasks you can do now that will ease you into the holidays without the angst:

• Make your gift list and carry it with you so you can pick up items whenever you’re shopping. Shopping early means you can avoid the insanity of the crowds and parking during the peak season. (Just yesterday I picked up a gift for my brother-in-law. I can check him off my list!)
• Order holiday cards.
• Identify your Christmas photo and have it duplicated.
• Make notes of items to put in your Christmas letter.
• Plan where you’ll spend Christmas and make travel reservations.
• Begin Christmas craft projects. (I’ve begun photo scanning for photo calendars and scrapbooks.)
• Bake and freeze cookies, breads and casseroles if you have freezer space.

I’m sure there are many more little tasks you could be doing right now. My list is just a starting point.

Do you feel resistant to doing Christmas tasks so early? Perhaps you think you need to be in the holiday spirit, something that’s difficult to feel when it’s not yet fully fall. Just remember how you usually feel when you wait and have more to do than is humanly possible in December. Doing even one task now will lighten your load and get you moving into the holidays with a different energy and attitude. The more you do ahead, the more time and energy you’ll have to enjoy the activities of the season.

Some people really hate the Christmas holiday season. I love it! Why? It is such a nice break in routine from my day to day life. I’ll admit, Bob and I have our own little rut–go to work, come home, watch TV, go to bed, repeat the next day with small variations and many things to do crammed in here and there. Weekends are spent recovering from the week with occasional fun times with friends.

During the holiday season I enjoy special music I’ve heard for over five decades. I eat foods that are prepared only during the holiday season. I visit friends just because it’s the holidays! And, the decorations! I love the lights on trees, decorating front porches and seen through the windows of houses. Christmas tickles the little kid in me!

It seems to be the “in” thing to grouse about how commercial Christmas has become. If I focused on that I’d miss the all the special sensations, sounds, sights and experiences of the season. Who cares! So what if it’s commercial! People have to make a living and the Christmas season can been a boon for retail. So what! I choose to focus on the blessings of this season, and turn down the volume on any commercial annoyances.

Many years ago I separated from my first husband. It was a sad disturbing experience. When the holidays came around I was still grieving, but I decided that there was no way I was going to let that ruin my Christmas. It was an important decision. It was the first time I consciously realized that I have a choice about how I feel. Christmas was so important to me, had always been a high point in my year. I was not going to forsake that joy, even in the midst of grieving a major loss. I decided that I could enjoy Christmas on my own. I decorated my own little apartment. I listened to Christmas music. I reveled in all the holiday celebrations at work. Sure, I had sad moments, but I didn’t give up on enjoying the pleasure of the season.

And, here we are again at the edge of another joyous Christmas season. Yes, the economy is in rough shape. Many of us have lost big bucks from our nest eggs because of the ups and downs of the stock market. We can focus on that or we can turn our heads toward the lights, smells, sights and sounds, the red, green, gold and glitter of the season and give thanks for those blessings and all those special people who give our lives meaning. We have a choice. I hope you choose joy!

© 2012 Clutter Clearing Community | Debbie Bowie

“Author, Organizing Expert and Feng Shui Practitioner, Debbie Bowie, is a leading authority on clutter clearing to attract more of what you want in life. If you’re ready to clear clutter and move your life forward, get your FREE TIP SHEET, “Feng Shui Tips for Instant Success” at http://www.clutterclearingcommunity.com.