. Have An Easier Thanksgiving

I don’t care what anybody says, Thanksgiving is one of the most stressful days for me.  How can we relieve the stress from this gratitude day?  How about using the Thanks Bank concept.

This week before or after you get through the stresses of Thanksgiving day, prepare several lists that will help make next Thanksgiving easier.  Then bank them in your monthly housecleaning plan index card box behind the November divider, and use them next Thanksgiving to be and appear calm and controlled.

I have three of these lists and retrieved them from my Housecleaning Plan index box today.  Having these lists has saved me lots of trouble over the last several years.

- One card lists the items to do/purchase/find in order to be able to put on a nice Thanksgiving dinner.  It includes things I need to buy at the store, items to retrieve from my basement storage room, a reminder to purchase or find holiday napkins.

- The second list has everything I need to do the before Thursday like arrange the table center piece and clean the turkey platter.  We can even make/buy the pies and put them away.  And one year I made rolls early and put them in the freezer as I knew it wasn’t going to happen on Thursday morning.

- The last list is the things I will need to do on Thanksgiving Day so the meal will be served on time, such as cut the bread into cubes for the dressing, put the olives in the frig, and check a second time that I have cranberry sauce (the one item I tend to forget).

So create your own Thanks Bank by preparing 3 x 5 cards, one with the list for the grocery store, one with a list of activities to do before Thursday, and the last with a list of things to do on Thursday.  Then your mind will be free to entertain the other stresses in your life right now, rather it be your husband’s responsibilities at work, your children’s needs at school, or how to handle a particular guest graciously.

You see, I got up at six o’clock Monday morning and went to the grocery store because I had completely forgotten to buy my turkey and at noon I was hacking away to remove the insides so it would thaw by Thursday.  So this year I am adding another card to my Thanks Bank:  buy turkey ONE WEEK early to give it time to thaw properly.

Take good care now, and remember, create your own Thanks Bank card system and you’ll be more ready for next year’s successful Thanksgiving.  Happy Thanksgiving, and remember to visit www.houseoforder.com to buy Christmas gifts for your family and friends.  The gift of organization is a lifetime gift to influence and change for the better.  Take care now.

Find more helpful ideas in my House of Order Handbook.