Organizing for Holiday House Guests

Community Manager — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:26:00 GMT

Holidays are best celebrated with family and close friends but when loved ones are far-flung, togetherness often means hosting house guests. If your home is doing double duty as a hotel this holiday season, read our tips for creating a welcoming atmosphere (and one that preserves your sanity!)

My Home is Your Home: Signal your open-arm welcome by creating dedicated space for guests. Banish clutter from your guests' quarters, whether it's a spare bedroom or another area of your home. Use attractive bags, bins and trunks to temporarily capture odds and ends.

When quarters are tight and you don't have a dedicated guest room, create space by supplying luggage racks that help house overnight bags which lets them double as dressers. Likewise, by simply supplying hangers on the back of a door, you create a spot for guests to stash their stuff.

Ease bathroom congestion by offering your guest canvas duffel outfitted with fresh towels and travel toiletries that they can tote to and from the bathroom. For more ideas, read Good Housekeeping's Easy Organizing: Hosting Guests.

Making a List, Checking it Twice: Think through your houseguests' needs before they arrive with this handy checklist from the über-organized folks at Real Simple. Suggested items to have handy include a spare house key, maps and travel tips for your neighborhood, as well as must-have, yet often-forgotten toiletries.

The Extra Mile: Leave it to the ultimate hostess Martha Stewart to suggest special touches for visitors that bring a five-star hotel vibe to even a simple sofa-bed. Tips from Martha include leaving foil-wrapped chocolates and a carafe of chilled water bed side. Don't have a carafe lying around? Use a short water glass inverted over a tall, slim one. For more inventive Martha tips, read here.

Happy hosting!

Hollah! Four Holiday Organizing Must-Haves

Community Manager — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 14:21:00 GMT

The most wonderful time of the year is once again upon us. Get organized for the post-Thanksgiving-to-New Year hollidaze marathon with these four fun holiday organizing helpers.

Countdown Calendars

Keep track of Santa's arrival with one of these 25 creative advent calendars. Choose from DIY calendars or even one with whiskey! These calendars aren't limited to Christmas celebrations: use them to countdown to New Year's Eve or the first day of Hanukah. Or choose this Byers Choice, Menorah Calendar, to countdown to the festival of lights.

Holiday Card Apps

Does the whole "licking envelopes, buying stamps" thing stop you from sending holiday cards? This year enlist your smartphone as your holiday card elf and use it to create cards and send them by text message, e-mail or snail mail. Yep, it's that easy. Read Smartphone Apps Send Holiday Greetings to learn how.

Shopping Apps

We all wish we could delegate an elf to hit the lines at the shopping mall for us. But tech savvy shoppers know that holiday shopping apps and websites can be almost as helpful. Read 5 Money-Saving Tools, Apps and Websites for Holiday Shopping to make gift-giving easy.

No Time to Cook?

Make feeding the holiday hordes simple by outsourcing some of the cooking to others. No, we're not talking potluck, we're talking catered foods. National retailers such as Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca and Zabar's can deliver everything from apps to a stuffed turkey. Budget shoppers can find deals on fully-catered meals at Costco stores. Or ask your local supermarket for their catering menu, most have one!

What organizing must-have keeps the jolly in your holidays? Share your thoughts here and on the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Beyond Folders : holiday organization

Organizing for Holiday House Guests

Hollah! Four Holiday Organizing Must-Haves