·         Put aside sheets you will use for your guests; bundle them together in a nice ribbon if they are not staying in a guest room, but may be using your pull out sofa or using an air mattress.

·         Put aside towel sets and bundle them with ribbon, so they know which ones are for them; try and make sure they are very different from the ones your family may use, so the family knows they are ‘guest’ towels.

·         Put sample size shampoo, soap, lotion, tissue, hair spray in a small basket and let them know that they are free to use any and all.

·         Make sure your guests have adequate space to put their clothing – even if it’s a small part of a used closet, they may have outfits that should be hung up and not left in a suitcase. 

·         If your guests are driving to your home, make sure they know where they can park to avoid tickets and bottlenecked driveways.

·         Make sure your guest sleeping area has adequate lighting – after a full day, they may want to unwind alone and read – make sure you have created a space they will feel comfortable staying up reading – or going to sleep early!

·         You may want to have an iPod docking station in the area/room with music you know they will like.  An alarm clock showing the current time zone will also be appreciated.

·         Ask in advance if there are any household allergies or food allergies so you can avoid purchasing items they cannot tolerate.

·         Find out before they arrive if there are any foods they like, fruits they like or routines you should know about.  You don’t necessarily want to get up to find Uncle Harry in his boxers doing yoga in your den!  Purchase foods they like and let them know that the food is for them and to help themselves.

·         Flowers and a welcome letter go a long way to making your guests not only feel welcome but loved.

·         Decide what you would like to stuff the stockings with, such as nuts & chocolates – and buy in bulk. 

·         Try using the stocking for items that go with other gifts, such as batteries that will go with a toy or electronic item, or a Fitness.doc for the gym membership you are giving.

·         A water bottle in a fun color is a great stuffer and helps start the year off ‘going green’

·         Use available fruit that will not get squished and add them with nuts to the stocking – such as oranges and apples.

·         Buy small items such as a toothbrush, manicure set, a yo-yo, a fun pen set – some items that you may find at the check out line in a grocery store.

·         Purchase the great small items offered at http://shopgetbuttonedup.com and enter 10OFF at check out to get 10% off! 

·         Shop fun items that are still useful, so the Holiday keeps on giving.  Try a Buttoned Up Collision.kit for that new driver or a Birthday.book and Greetings.stash for that forgetful aunt, or the Buttoned Up Coupons for Mom from the kids to show her they want to help out the family by picking up extra chores! Purchase them at http://shopgetbuttonedup.com and enter 10OFF at check out to get 10% off! 

·         Don’t forget a stocking for the pets too.  They are part of the family as well.

·         First, empty the frig and clean all of it. 

·         Put drinks in the door – like milk, soda, wine, beer, juice.  Put the drinks low enough so the kids can reach them without asking for assistance.

·         Put condiments in one area.  If you have room in your door, put them there.  You probably don’t use all of them all the time, and they usually come in smaller containers that can be grouped together.

·         Put a clear plastic shoe box or bin in your frig with all your sandwich makings for lunches such as sliced cheese, lettuce leaves, sliced tomatoes.  When you go to make lunches, just pull out the condiments you need and this box and you are set.  Plus it helps you know when you are running low on lunch items.

·         Put all veggies & fruit away in crisper drawers

·         Try to keep meats together and put on paper towels in case the package leaks you will just have to throw out the paper towel instead of cleaning out the frig

·         Keep one shelf for leftovers – this way you know what you have that needs to be used up quickly or tossed after three days.

·         Keep eggs in the carton they came in and put in a place where nothing will get set down on them.  We suggest you keep a shelf under a meat or cheese drawer that is not real high and will just fit the egg carton and butter cartons.

·         Reward your child for their help.  This could be monetary, but we encourage more creative rewards, like let the kids pick the game to play on game night, or the show to watch, or stay up an hour later on Wed, or money toward a special toy or digital game they want to buy.

·         Make it a game and fun. Kids are more likely to do something if it’s fun.  So make it fun.  Crank up the music, turn off the TV and video games and give them assignments based on age and ability.  The first one done wins choice of dessert, or family night out destination, etc.  Have a job jar with quick easy chores that they can choose that can be done during a commercial during their favorite show.

Thank the kids for the help.  Appreciation goes a long way. It will help reinforce the belief that they are contributing members of your family and as such must participate in sometimes

·         FIFO – Remember to do First In;  First Out.  When you get something new, put it behind the older cans, jars etc.. so you use the oldest stuff first

·         Lazy Susans are a great way to organize a pantry and be able to fully utilize all of the shelf space.

·         If you have shallow shelves, we suggest investing in risers so you can see canned goods, spices, etc. that are in the back of the shelf.  This way you will not have to unload the entire shelf to find what you need.

·         We also suggest you keep the Shopping.pad (www.getbuttonedup.com)with pen in your pantry so as you take the last item of a category out, you can write down immediately that you need to buy more.