Goal setting for 2018

In January, many people set goals for themselves for the new year ahead, but more often than not, these goals are forgotten by the time February comes along. To make sure this doesn’t happen again this year, be smart about what goals you decide to set so you can see them through to the end result.

 The first step of goal setting, whether it’s short-term (something you want to get done in the next few days or weeks) or long-term (something you want to achieve in a year or more) is to look at the big picture. Decide what it is you want to ultimately achieve, without worrying about the details yet. For example, you might want to get your home organized. This is a major undertaking that must be carefully considered – just saying you want to get organized is not enough to fully realize your goal.

 A popular method for setting personal goals is the SMART method, which starts with setting specific goals. While it is important to have an overall idea of what you ultimately want to achieve, it is important to narrow this down to more manageable goals that have a specific focus. If you want to organize your home, you may want to focus on achieving organization in a single area of your home. Now, the insurmountable task of organizing your home in 2018, becomes organize the kitchen in February, and organize the office in March, and so on.  

 The next step to this process is measurable, because in order to clearly understand what it is you want to achieve, you must be able to determine that you have actually achieved it. Here, the goals you set become a bit more focused. Now that you have the organization narrowed down to a room of your home, you can further determine what you want to do to get organized. For example, you may want to set a goal to organize your kitchen so you can eliminate clutter in your cupboards and drawers, clean out old food items and condiments in your fridge, and get rid of the pile of unused cookbooks.

 Your goals must also be achievable. Think carefully and be honest with yourself when you are setting goals. Is this something that you are able and willing to dedicate the time to? Getting organized is a big commitment that not only involves spending the initial time to declutter, sort through, and put away – it involves changing your lifestyle and habits to ensure you stay organized in the long-term. Once you consider your goal of getting organized, this may need to be rethought if you aren’t going to be able to dedicate the time need to get organized.

 Not only do your goals have to be achievable, they also have to be realistic. If you’re busy at work, involved in a lot of evening and weekend activities, or have other events happening in your life, this may not be the time to focus on a home organization goal. Goal setting requires time and dedication, and although you may want to take the time for them, life may not always make it easy.

 Lastly, it is important to determine a time frame for when you want your goal to be achieved. As it is still the start of the new year, many people will be planning on what they can achieve within the year. It is important to be realistic with this step – wanting to achieve a goal within the year is different than actually being able to do it. Be practical, and give yourself ample time to achieve your goals. You will only end up disappointing yourself or causing unnecessary stress if you rush the process.

 Goal setting is not as easy as it may seem. It requires careful planning, time and dedication to the ultimate goal you want to achieve. Be specific with your goals, and make sure they are measurable so you can better determine if you are on the right track to achieving your goal. It is also important to make sure that your goals are achievable, realistic, and can be completed in a specified time frame. This process requires you to be honest with yourself, and really think about whether or not you are able to fully dedicate yourself to the task.

Get SMART! Achieving your dreams and aspirations for the future can be possible!

How to organize and store your holiday decorations

With many people going back to work or starting school again next week, the holiday season can be declared official over. Unfortunately, this also means that it’s time to put away your holiday decorations – and with the weather so nice for the next couple of days, why not take down your outdoor decorations too?

No one likes to take decorations down, clean them and organize everything, but it is a necessary and helpful step that you will appreciate in the future. Below, we’ve outlined some organization and storage solutions to help you properly store your holiday décor:

Declutter your décor

Before you put away all your décor for the year, go through your ornaments, lights, wreaths and ceramics. Throw away or fix anything that is broken – don’t put away anything that is cracked, torn or ripped until it is repaired. If light bulbs are burned out, replace them or test the lights to see if they are still working and replace them if needed. Any loose branches, leaves or decorations from wreaths should also be cleaned up and tossed before they are placed in storage.

If you have noticed that there are some decorations you don’t seem to use or have the space for, consider giving them away to friends and family, or donate them. There is no point in storing items that won’t be used – the chances are good someone else would appreciate it!

Keep similar objects together

Avoid having to open all of your storage containers looking for garland or a stocking. Instead, make sure all of your similar décor items, like ornaments, or candles, or lights, are all stored together in one place.  Not only will this make it easier for you to find the items you need, it will also make it easier to store items if they aren’t all different shapes and sizes. Wreaths can be hung or placed side-by-side in a plastic bin or cardboard box. Instead of storing ornaments in their individual boxes wherever you have room, keep them together. There are special ornament storage containers that you can buy, or you can make your own by using plastic cups and cardboard or egg cartons.

Try and keep all of your holiday décor stored together in the same space. If you have the space, try and clear out one area in a closet, garage or shed to store any containers, lights or other items that you use during the holiday season. If you don’t have room to store everything together, try keeping all outdoor décor together in a place that is easy to access like a garage or shed, and all indoor decorations together in your basement or closet. Since holiday décor is seasonal, you can easily store your décor on the top shelf of a cabinet or closet, or another storage space that is more out of the way.

Room By room Decor storage

If you have a large home, or like to decorate the same year by year, pack away and store your seasonal decorations by room. Label clearly "living room Christmas decorations". That way your living room decor will end up all together and you will have an easier time remembering where things belong one year to the next. 

Label, label, label

Regardless of how you store your items, make sure whatever they are stored in is clearly labelled. This way, you can grab the items that you want when you need them. This is especially helpful for people who don’t put out all their decorations at a time, and prevents them from pulling out all of their boxes to determine what is in them.

While labelling storage containers seems obvious, there are other décor items that are also important to label. If you use an artificial tree, label each tier of the tree. Once the tree is fluffed out it is easy to determine what part goes where, but when it is packed away in a box or bag with the rest of the layers, it may not be clear. Labelling will make it easier to put the tree together next year. If you store your lights in plastic bags or boxes, make sure the label includes what colour(s) they are, and if they are smaller or larger bulbs. It may also be helpful to label what the lights are for, like the outside of the house, the tree, the back deck, or wherever else you put them up.

Untangle your lights

Lights are always tricky to take down, and even more complicated to put up because the cords so often tangle when they are put away. However, there are many different methods to neatly organizing your lights so they won’t get tangled. Consider using a piece of cardboard from a gift box or parcel to wrap the lights around. If you have any left-over ribbon, use it to bundle and tie together each strand of lights. Alternatively, you can purchase storage containers that will wind up your lights.

Make sure to cushion your lights with a softer material, like used tissue paper, newspaper or paper towel to prevent the bulbs from breaking. This is especially important if you are planning on storing your lights in a cooler place like a garage or shed where they could become cold and brittle.

Take down the tree

Many people do not have space to store their tree fully-assembled, so cut down your storage space by storing parts of your tree in separate containers. Most boxes and containers aren’t big enough for larger artificial trees, so store each layer in a storage tube. These containers will easily fit the length and width of the layers once they are folded down. For small artificial trees, the entire tree could easily fit into one container. While many may store their tree in its original box, the cardboard starts to break down and bend over the years, and it isn’t always easy to store or take out every year. By using separate containers, you can minimize storage space and keep your tree safely stored.

For people who do have the space to store their whole tree, there are many options available to easily bring it in an out of storage each year and protect it while it is not in use. For starters, consider using a tree stand that has wheels on it. When the tree is up, you can lock the wheels in place, and unlock them when it is time to put the tree in your garage or shed. When you store your tree together, you can keep any lights or garlands on your tree, and protect them by covering the tree with a large plastic or storage bag.  

Cleaning up and organizing your décor after the holidays is an essential task that can save you time and space for the year ahead!

Make the holidays about the experience, not the stuff!

The holidays always seem to fly by, as many people are occupied with shopping, cooking, baking and travelling. A lot of time is spent planning and completing tasks to enjoy the holidays, but many of us end up not enjoying the holidays because of this. Make this holiday season one that you will actually enjoy by eliminating some of the tasks that normally add a lot of stress.

One of the biggest costs of stress during this time is gift giving – a lot of time (and money) is spent buying gifts, sometimes for many people! Instead, talk with your family, friends, and co-workers and come up with an alternate gift giving solution that everyone can participate in.

For example, consider doing a draw for “Secret Santa” and set a dollar limit that works for every person’s budget. While this may not be the best option for children, this idea works great for adults. There are even apps available that will randomly match people (like this one) that will make sure no one draws their own name, and even lets people upload a list of possible gift ideas. Hosting a “Secret Santa” gift exchange will save everyone money and time, as they won’t have to go and buy as many gifts as they normally would.

Alternatively, you could host a gift exchange where everyone buys one generic present, and people can exchange or steal gifts until everyone has one item. Not only does it also save you from buying more gifts, it’s also a fun activity to enjoy with family and friends. With less time spent shopping, wrapping presents, and delivering gifts, you will be able to spend more time experiencing the holiday season.

While giving and receiving gifts is fun, they are not as valuable as spending time with family and friends. Careful planning and shopping in advance may help reduce some of your stress, but you’ll be even more relaxed when you can completely eliminate one of the many tasks you plan to do this month. The holidays should be about the experience, not just the gifts or items that you give and receive!