Houseworks Holiday Plan Week 1 - Planning and Paperwork

We're kicking off the Houseworks Holiday Plan this week. For me, the two big items on our to do list are to declutter/organize my office, and to set up my Master Gift Plan.

This is also the week where we're supposed to set up our planners, but I am more disappointed by the broken promise of the paperless society than the flying cars, so I do everything on my computer. If anyone would like a clean copy of the Excel document I created to track it all, just email me at JENGGREER AT GMAIL DOT COM and I'll shoot you a copy. So anyway, I just update and resave every year, keeping previous versions as idea generators and to remind myself that I already gave my dear auntie the Fitz & Floyd Santa pitcher (or whatever!).

The chore that will consume my week, however, is this pit of an office. Between the avalanche of paper generated by the start of school, and my efforts to keep the kitchen free of the flotsam and jetsam of daily life as I prepare twenty-seven meals, the office has become a dumping ground. I'm not going to be able to conquer it all in one rainy Sunday afternoon. So:

• Monday - I'll ruthlessly declutter the cabinets and knick-knacks, perhaps even purging some of the books.
• Tuesday - Time to go through the files and stacks of papers and do a major purge and shred.
• Wednesday - Set up new files according to the Houseworks plan and see if that helps keep the avalanche from suffocating me.
• Thursday - Clear, clean, and organize the desktop (if there's still anything left!).
• Friday - Serious dusting/vacuuming, including removing books from shelves and getting out the crevice tool.
• Saturday - fun reward for my efforts. I'm going to make a French Memo Board out of the outdated and cluttered bulletin board behind my computer.
  

By next Sunday I should be blogging from my pristine office and getting ready for Week 2.

What will be your biggest challenge this week? Do you make a master gift list, budget, and plan or shop on impulse as the fancy strikes you? Check out the new poll in the sidebar. I'm curious.

Hope you have a wonderful week!