Go ahead and treat yourself to that Starbuck’s! You made it through the Christmas holiday season in one piece! Christmas can be one of the most stressful times of the year if you are not properly prepared for it. Hopefully, you have many fond memories of December and don’t have to deal with too many unwanted pounds from all the great cookies and candy that seem to be ever-present the entire month of December.

One of the stresses of Christmas is to have to go out to the garage and face the monster of disorganization. You need to get to the boxes that have your lights and decorations, but inevitably, they seem to disappear into the black hole in the garage. There is a solution.

This is a great time to purchase some plastic totes. Around this time of year, they are at rock bottom prices. They are even available in various colors to coordinate with the seasons and holidays of the year so Christmas will get its very own red and green set of totes. Pick up some extra totes and make sure to label them, identifying what you put into them. Few things are more frustrating than pulling down a tote from up in the rafters of the garage only to find out it was the wrong one!

While you’re at it, why not organize the rest of the garage? Go ahead and tackle that one closet that is so chocked full of stuff that it’s a danger to anyone who opens the door. You might as well get into your closet as well. Donate to Goodwill anything you haven’t used in the past six months. Let someone else get some use out of it instead of just letting it take up space in your closet.

You will be very proud of yourself and your accomplishment after rearranging things and putting everything in its proper place. A few months ago at our church, we had a special cleaning day. Many families and individuals came down on a Saturday and volunteered their time to clean out classrooms and closets, paint walls, and whatever else was necessary to make the church shine. The next day, it was very rewarding to walk into the church building and see the results of all the hard work that had been done. Our church sparkled! So grab some family members and put that touch into your home this New Year. You’ll be so glad you did. It will set the stage for a productive and prosperous 2008.

Happy New Year! Next month I’ll be back with some great ideas for Valentine’s Day fun.