How are you? Can you believe it is already the end of October? Summer has come and gone, and once again we are gearing up for a cold, snowy New England winter. Time marches on and with winter comes the gift-giving-season. Are you ready? Would you like to do things a bit differently this year? If so, I have a few organizer friendly shopping guidelines.

1. Make a list and check it twice (like Santa).
2. Set limits on number of gifts to give each person and dollars to spend per person.
3. Always shop with your list and have a specific purpose for each purchase.
4. Buy gifts that get used up instead of things that take up space. A few examples are bubble bath, art and craft supplies, and sweet treats.
5. Use technology as a gift-giving inspiration and acquire downloads of books, movies, and games.
6. Purchase gifts of experience like movie passes, sporting event tickets, zoo memberships, concert tickets, and ice cream shoppe gift cards.
7. Check out my list of clutter-free gift giving ideas.
8. Store gifts in one spot, so you can easily see what has been purchased.
9. Update your list each time you make a purchase.
10. Schedule time to wrap gifts so you don’t have to stay up till 3:00AM the night before the big holiday.