No Tricks Only Treats! Stress-free Halloween preparations

With Halloween only a couple weeks away, make sure you have everything you need ready to go for trick or treating this year. While the occasion may look a bit different this year, you and your family can still have fun collecting chocolates and candy or distributing it to others by making sure you have the following ready:

For the trick-or-treaters:

Make sure all costumes are clean, in good shape, and ready to be worn. Though this seems unnecessary, sometimes costumes can get ripped or in disrepair after school activities or wearing around the house. Make sure any adjustments needed are made now, and costumes are safely stowed away until the big day. As with any Halloween in Calgary, there is always the potential for bad weather - make preparations now for what to do if winter coats, gloves, mitts and toques are needed. Will the costume be able to be worn outside a coat, or is there another way you can show it off while staying warm?

Face paint, make-up and elaborate hair dos can be a key part of a costume. It’s important to not only make sure you have all the materials you need to get them done, but that you know what you’re doing before the day of. Test out any supplies ahead of time to make sure nothing is dried out or low on supply. Doing a trial run of the face paint or hair style is also a good idea so you know how much time is needed before trick or treating and the work goes smoothly on the day.

Masks will also be an important safety precaution and accessory this year. To make them part of the costume, try to coordinate by finding colours and material that coordinate with the costume. Get creative and try putting together your own mask if you can’t find one online and customize it for the occasion! Other important materials to have on hand when you’re going house to house is hand sanitizer and wipes. Be mindful that you keep your distance from others, and disinfect in the event other surfaces are touched.

There are many different tools children can use to collect their candy - from pails, to reusable bags and the classic pillowcase. Whatever method is being used this year make sure that everything for candy collection. Check and bags and pillowcases for rips and tears (no one wants any candy leaking out!) and make sure there are a couple extras on hand to take along in case any start to get too heavy. Check straps on pails to make sure none are bended out of shape or broken off, and replace or make repairs if necessary.

For those handing out candy:

Handing out candy may seem like a no-brainer, but there is still preparation involved to make sure you’re ready to give out treats to trick or treaters once the first visitors arrive. First, make sure you have all the candy and treats you need. Whether it is chocolate, assorted candies, chips or whatever other kind of treat, try to think carefully about how much you need. While it never hurts to have extra, you probably don’t want to be stuck with a lot of leftovers after the end of the night. Try to consider the age and demographic of your neighbourhood - are there a lot of young families, or are most of the residents older? If you can think back to last year, try to recall how much you purchased and if you had enough and adjust accordingly. It always helps to keep track each year of how many visitors you get to help plan for the year ahead.

If you have decorations up, make sure that everything is in place in the days leading up and that nothing needs to be replaced or repaired. No one wants a burned out light or fallen-over ghost! Even though the goal is to make your decorations spooky, make sure that they don’t take away from the safety of others. Make sure your yard is still well-lit and there are no major obstacles in the way for visitors.

This year, it is also important that those handing out candy take precaution to protect against COVID-19. Make sure your face mask is ready to go and easy to put on and off when trick or treaters arrive. You can also have fun and customize a Halloween-themed mask to surprise guests! Have hand sanitizer on hand, and make sure any potential surfaces are disinfected beforehand just in case (like doorknobs, doorbells, and handrails). The province has a list of tips and guidelines on having a safe Halloween, including innovative ways that people can safely hand out candy while also maintaining the appropriate physical distancing and limiting the surface areas being touched. Visit alberta.ca/halloween for more.

However you may be celebrating Halloween this year, make sure you have everything you need for a stress-free and ghoulish event!

Get Organized for a Backyard Barbecue!

Sunny and warm days are ahead, which means optimal weather for a backyard barbecue with your household. To make sure you aren’t caught unawares the next sunny day that comes, take the time now to set up your outdoor entertaining and most importantly, your barbecue!

Uncover Patio Furniture

Pull out your patio from its winter storage area – whether it is in your garage, shed, or still outside under patio covers. Determine where you will place your furniture and consider the location carefully. For example, where do you get the most sun exposure, and at what time of day? How close is the furniture and entertaining space to the house? When hosting barbecues, it is more convenient to be near the house to easily move food and drinks in and out. Once you’ve decided on your location, place the furniture to create the perfect eating and relaxing area.

Clean, Clean, Clean

No matter how carefully items are stored, there will likely still be some dust and grime to clean off your outdoor furniture and décor. Take some time to spray and wipe everything down so you can eat and visit on clean and fresh smelling furniture. If you have cushions stored separately, make sure they’re given a quick airing and pat down to remove any dust that has accumulated.

Of course, it’s important to make sure the star of the show is also thoroughly cleaned and ready for the main event. Before you fire up the grill for the first time, make sure it has had a good clean and scrub. You can check out this guide from Popular Mechanics on how you can properly clean your barbecue before use.

Inspect Your Items

Check to make sure all your furniture and décor are in working order. Any cushions that need replacing or lights that are burnt out? Need more charcoal or smoke chips, or a replacement brush for the barbecue? Take inventory of what items you may have around the house and in outdoor storage to see what else might need restocking before the barbecue and outdoor season begins in earnest.

Enjoy for the Season

Once you’ve finished inspecting and replaced any materials that were damaged or used up last season, you can look forward to enjoying your outdoor space for the rest of the season! To keep your outdoor space organized and in working order for the rest of the spring and summer season, implement some practical and easy-to-find storage placements for items you won’t need outside all the time. For example, outdoor cushions and décor might only be needed when the space is in use, so if you have furniture with built-in storage, plan for where to keep items in the interim. You can also designate a space in your backyard shed, garage, or spare storage space in your home that is easy to access whenever you’re ready to go outside. If you have separate outdoor dining accessories, consider keeping them in a kitchen cupboard or drawer so they are all together and in easy reach of the backyard or patio.

Finally, don’t forget to keep your eye on the weather forecast for the next perfect barbecue day!

Phase 3: Finding the right organizing products

Moving is a multiple-step process that requires a lot of work and planning. On the blog, we’ve been going through each step in the moving journey of one of our clients. The move was prepared in their current home, a walk-through was conducted of the new space, and their belongings were unpacked and carefully sorted. Now, it is time to plan how their belongings will fit into the new space with the right organizing products.

It isn’t as simple as going to the nearest department store and buying some bins – there are a lot of products available that are created to assist people in maintaining an organized space. In a way, there are almost too many different products, to the point that people can run into the problem of accumulating too many baskets or specialty organizers for their items that they don’t really need.  

Before we even started shopping, we carefully examined the client’s new space to see what kind of products would work and where, keeping in mind the actual items and belongings we had to work with. For example, the master bedroom had a large walk in closet that was empty except for a rod for hangers. However, the client had a wide variety of clothing and accessories that wouldn’t work with hangers. This necessitated the purchase of a closet organizer that provided hanging room for dress clothes and coats, as well as shelves and racks for shirts, pants, shoes, ties and bags. 

The new kitchen had large cupboards and drawers, some with deep angles that made the spaces difficult to store items. Although the space was large enough for pots, pans, and mixing bowls, they were almost impossible to reach and would require the clients to take out items to reach other items. The drawers had plenty of space for a large number of utensils, but they would easily become cluttered and lost if they were left loose in the drawer. For the cupboards, the team was able to find innovative cupboard organizers with moveable shelves, so the clients could pull them out to reach the items they needed without emptying the cupboard. As for the utensils, an organizer that fit the dimensions of the drawer were added to keep the cutlery and utensils in their place. The organizer had a mix of large and small spaces so a variety of different-sized utensils could be placed in the drawer, making the space adaptable and customizable.    

In the client’s new home, we were able to find organizing products that worked with their items and would actually provide a benefit to their home. Instead of buying unnecessary products that would only add to their clutter, the Calm Order team focused only on adding pieces that would contribute to the organization of the new space. In some cases, it may not be beneficial to add in an organizer – the space and function of your home or room may not require any specialty products. You might also already own an organizer or a cabinet that can be used to store items that you may not have thought of previously using.

When it comes to finding the right products, remember that while there are a lot of different organizing products on the market, finding the right product – if you need them – requires you to consider the space you are working with, the items you own, and how you use them.

Keep an eye on the blog for our next post, where we will take a look at some of our favourite organizing products and storage solutions!