Laugh Off Your Holiday Stress Day

Today's the day to kick back and enjoy the festivities -- at least for a moment.

Yes, there are a ton of things on your "to-do" list with Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, the Winter Solstice and all the other celebrations that take place in December. But these are just that - celebrations! Breathe in the hope, the life, and the triumph that is swirling around you.

Let out a great big guffaw, chortle, chuckle, giggle, laugh, or a ha ha ha. You could even hum the "I Love to Laugh" song from Disney's Mary Poppins (the one where they're having a tea party on the ceiling with Uncle Albert.)

Just one little laugh will make all the difference to your day!

*Today is Laugh Off Your Holiday Stress Day according to Jill Badonsky in The Awe-manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder .

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Simplify the holiday decorations

Are You Living the Questions?

I've been thinking in terms of Reading Wednesday for so many weeks now that I find I can't stop. So it's Wednesday and here's what I'm reading this week.
Comfort Secrets for Busy Women: Finding Your Way When Your Life Is Overflowing
by Jennifer Louden.

It's a decent book. It has a lot of good ideas for figuring out what you want for yourself. It is, however, a little more esoteric than what I typically read. That's possibly due to the fact that the author spends a lot of time conversing with the invisible, smoking and drinking Comfort Queen. But I really like the idea of Living the Questions that "the queen" poses through the book. She suggests taking a few of her questions and concentrate on answering them for a few days as you go through your busy life.

For instance,

• What daily principle am I organizing my life around? (p.53)
• What one or two modest steps am I willing to take to get more _______ out of my life? (p. 75)
• Who could I ask for one small, sumptuous act of support to ease my life? (p. 114)
• Is this what I want to think about? Do I want to choose other things to focus on? (p. 156)
• What is one personal limit I am denying or pushing relentlessly against? (p. 218)

What questions are you living with today?

The Great Cookie Baking Day That Almost Wasn't

There is a peculiar burning odor in the room, like explosives, the kitchen fills with smoke and the hot, sweet, ashy smell of scorched cookies. The war has begun.
~Alison Lurie

When I saw this quote, I had to laugh. Making cookies last Christmas season felt like a war. Pretty much anything that could go wrong -- did.

Last year, I had signed up for two cookie exchanges*. Now this is not normally a big deal (except for my waistline ever since I turned 35!) because I usually take a whole day to make all 20-some dozen cookies in an assembly line fashion. Unfortunately, my assembly line had a big wrench thrown in it.

I had planned to make "fancy" cookies for the exchanges to show off my baking prowess. I had been scouring recipe books for weeks trying to find just the right recipe that would be fancy enough, but not too fancy so my kids would still eat. (Not an easy task with picky eaters, let me tell you!)

I shopped. I gathered. I counted, and I prepped. One small problem, I had no rolling pin -- which is a necessity for my mom's pinwheel cookie recipe. So I arranged to have one brought over.

On the Great Cookie Baking Day, my mother-in-law was on her way to bring over the rolling pin for me. She slipped, fell on some ice, and broke her hip. Off to the hospital I went to be with her -- calling my husband and in-laws as I drove. That was not the way that I planned to spend the next 5 hours. (However, I was very grateful that my parents could watch the kids on the spur-of-the-moment.)

Alas, while my mother-in-law was examined, X-rayed, and medicated for pain, I kept fretting in my mind about when I was going to have time to make all those cookies. The parties are approaching tomorrow afternoon and evening! I have no time! I promised! I can't back out now! 20 dozen! 20 dozen! That's 240 cookies! 20 dozen?! Why did I sign up for this thing? Why don't we live some place warm? Who needs cookies anyway? Why am I worrying about cookies while I'm sitting in the hospital, for goodness sake? Argh!

By the time I got home, I was exhausted and crabby. I had resolved myself to do something quick and easy like plain drop cookies -- even though that meant not doing the more elaborate cookies I had planned (for weeks!).

I opened the door and my girls came running. "Guess what? Guess what? We made cookies today! Grandma let us mix and stir." I nearly burst into tears. Between the three of them, they had made all the dough I needed to make the elaborate cookies and had started the refrigeration steps. All I needed to do was basically stick them in the oven- which I had time to do the next morning before the first party. What an unexpected and glorious gift!

I know that help is always available to each one of us - even when we least expect it. I'm grateful for that everyday, not just on The-Great-Cookie-Baking-Day-That-Almost-Wasn't. This year, however, I'm only going to one exchange. Wish me luck!

* A cookie exchange is one of those gatherings of people where everybody bakes a dozen or so cookies for each guest and then you all switch -- so you can "save time" while enjoying lots of different types of cookies and an evening out.

Wrapping Up the Gift Wrap in 6 Steps

Tissue paper and ribbons and boxes. Oh, My! If you are like me, then you have a variety of gift wrapping supplies in your home. Some have been accumulated from school fundraisers. Some from after holiday bargains. Some from previous gifts that were "too good", "too cute", "too useful" to get rid of. What do you with it all?

1. Pick a home for wrapping supplies. Gather all your wrapping supplies in one place. This way, you can what you have at a glance. You may wish to sort all the wrapping paper into one pile, all the gift bags together, all the tissue paper, all the ribbons, etc.
2. Consider how often you actually wrap gifts. When was the last time you wrapped a gift? Have you only been using a certain type of wrapping material? Have you been buying gifts online more and more having items shipped directly to the receiver's house?
3. Limit the amount of wrapping supplies to what you will use in one year. Once you've figured how much you own (sometimes it's suprising to see it all gathered in one place), figure out how much of that you will actually use in the next year. If you find that the same two rolls of paper and sixteen gift bags are still there from five years ago and you hate looking at them, consider releasing them to someone who can use them. Recycle them if they are too wrinkled or crushed. You may want to consider donating extras to a local school, church, or senior center.
4. Simplify the wrapping process even more. If all you have time and energy for at this point in your life is gift bags with tissue paper, consider releasing the boxes, ribbons, and wrapping paper that you don't use. Consider getting one type of wrapping paper - say good quality white and use it for all occasions with different colored ribbons or bows for interest.
5. Pick a storage method that works for you. Options include vertical, horizontal, hanging, rotating, canvas, plastic, wood, or cardboard*. You may even want to consider a combination for your things.
6. Label. Label. Label. Make sure your containers are labeled so you don't have to open each one to figure out what's in there everytime. It also helps other people in the home find the items faster and easier. Don't count on your memory to remember exactly what's in there next year. Let 2 seconds of writing now, do the work for you later.

* If you are storing wrapping supplies in an area that could get wet, I'd suggest something besides cardboard.

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Reading Wednesday -- Week 13 -- It's All Too Much Part 3

Well, you've made it to the last set of Fall 2009 questions! Nice job! You're in the home stretch now!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS -- It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh p. 180 - end

1) If you've been reading along in It's All Too Much, you'll see that it ended with a discussion on clutter maintenance over time for your home. Did you try any of the suggestions like the In/Out Rule (when one item comes in, one goes out) or creating a bag for charity? What worked well? What didn't work so well? If you didn't try any, what contributed to you not doing so?

2) In the last section of the book, the author talks about creating an annual cycle of organization where you create (or follow) a yearly calendar to keep your home clutter-free. With the New Year just around the corner, will you be developing a new annual ritual for the clutter in your home? Would you be willing to share that with us? If you are not creating any new rituals this year, what is the main factor in your decision not to do so (i.e. time, energy, space, emotion, etc.)

3) WRAP-UP: We have seen home organization from a variety of perspectives during the past few months, including

• a 1930s version of an organizer who transformed an entire (quirky) family,
• two brothers who died as a result of their hoarding behavior,
• a college professor who advocates for an optimal level of mess in everyone's lives,
• and a modern professional organizer who says that "the one factor that I see in every single situation is people whose lives hinge on what they own instead of who they are." (It's All Too Much Afterword, p.219)

We've seen that clearing -- and collecting -- clutter has its tradeoffs (positive and negative) in

• time
• energy
• money
• relationships
• emotions
• efficiency
• effectiveness

In your own life, are neatness and organization worth the trouble? Why or why not?

Did anything that you read in this series make an lasting impression on you? If so, what?

MOVING FORWARD INTO THE NEW YEAR
Reading Wednesday is evolving! Starting in January you're going to see a new approach and a new discussion format!

The "...And Stuff" series will kick-off in 2010 to discuss the interaction of "Stuff" to other aspects of life. Each month will be given its own theme. For instance, January will be exploring "Money and Stuff". Each Wednesday I will be asking questions posed from my own reading on the topic of the month. You can comment on the questions or send suggestions for what you want to hear about. No outside reading required for you! (But you are more than welcome to join me and help come up with questions!!)

Thanks for being a part of the Fall 2009 series! See you next year!

Happy Reading!