Holiday Prep Work

Throughout the year there are a variety of small holidays that many people decorate for and even throw celebratory parties. The Forth of July happens to be tomorrow and is one such holiday. Although some of us are prone to leaving up our winter decorations for a month or two, we tend not to leave the red, white and blue bunting up for that long. (Not that there's anything wrong with keeping your patriotism flying in the wind all year long!)

So, how to make it an easy set-up, celebrate and put-away holiday? Here are a handful of tips:

• Have a plan. Will you be entertaining this year? Or, going some place else to celebrate? Or, simply want to make the house festive?
• Be prepared. A week or so before the holiday dig out any decorations that you already own for the holiday. (Of course, that's assuming you know where they might be...). Take a look at what you have before you go buy more; save yourself some time and money. If there's something you have, but know you'll never display again, add it to your ongoing donations bag. Set aside an hour or two to get the decorations out, put things up and make a list of what to pick up on your next errands run.
• Whether entertaining or heading out for the day, know what you'll need. Will you need plates, cups, napkins and food for your guests? Will you need a dish to pass or sparklers for the kids? Make sure these things are written down so you can pick them up a day or two before the holiday.
• Day before or morning of: do whatever last minute things need doing! Prepare food, sweep the floor, wipe down the bathroom. And so on. Recruit anyone else who shares the space to help. The kids, spouse or roommate. And, because you've been preparing for a couple days, you should also have a good idea of how much time you'll need to do these tasks before you have to leave or people start arriving.
• Enjoy the celebration!
  

Have a great, safe Forth of July!