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Parenting - Organize Your Seasonal Home Decorations

Organize Your Seasonal Home Decorating
by Rachel Paxton - rachel@Organized-Mom.com

I don't spend a lot of money decorating my home.  Many people
don't want to spend the time or money to decorate with the
seasons, but over the years I have learned some ways to
creatively seasonally decorate that have cost little or next to
nothing.

Because I work a lot, I don't spend very much time decorating my
home.  When I'm updating my home to a new seasonal theme, I don't
spend more than a couple of hours arranging and rearranging to
get a nice seasonal effect.  Here are some of the ways I've
learned to organize my seasonal accessories:

- I store my seasonal decorations in several large stackable
Rubbermaid containers: two for Christmas, one for Easter/spring,
and one for autumn/Thanksgiving.  When I'm ready to change
themes, I get out the one(s) to put things away in, dust or
otherwise clean the area(s) where the new decorations will sit,
and then get out the new decorations.  The storage containers get
put back away, and everything is still organized for next season.
Make sure you mark the containers in some way to know which one
is which.  Color coding them buy buying different colored
containers works well.

- You will inevitably forget to put something away and stumble
across it when you're cleaning another day.  In each bathroom I
have a corner of a closet shelf reserved for miscellaneous
seasonal decorations.  Or if someone gives you a seasonal gift
you don't have anywhere else to put at the moment, this is a good
place to put it.

If you find the task of re-decorating your entire home
overwhelming, look for certain areas of your home that would be
good for displaying seasonal decorations.  In my home the
kitchen, dining room, and living room are the focal areas of our
home.  There are certain areas where I concentrate when
decorating for the seasons:

- Kitchen: I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating in the
kitchen, but there are a couple of easy things you can do to
liven it up a little.  Seasonal dish cloths and hand towels are
really cute, as well as seasonal floor mats.  If you use the
towels for decoration only, like hanging from your oven door
handle, they will still be nice for the next year.  Seasonal
refrigerator magnets are also easy to update. 

- Dining Area: Our dining room table is the focal point of our
dining room.  We have a long oak table that is great for seasonal
decorating.  A table runner makes a nice seasonal addition.  I
have one made out of Easter fabric for spring, a floral one for
summer, and one of Christmas fabric.  I just need to get one for
autumn.  You can accessorize with seasonal place mats, napkins,
and napkin rings.  These you can make yourself or pick up at yard
sales or clearance sales off-season.  I also like to decorate the
center of the table for the season.  A lot of times I will use a
vase of seasonal flowers.  For autumn I have a vase of artificial
fall foliage.  I accent the vase with Indian corn, gourds, and
artificial fall leaves. 

- Living Room: The main areas of the living room I concentrate on
are the fireplace mantel and hearth, a corner curio shelf, and
the entertainment center.  I lay a garland across the top of the
entertainment center that can be changed with the seasons: fall
foliage for autumn, flowers for spring and summer, and evergreens
for winter.  On the shelves of the entertainment center and the
curio shelves I rotate my seasonal knickknacks.  The last place
I decorate is the top of the piano.  Sometimes I just decorate
with houseplants and photographs, but it is also a great place to
showcase collections, like my angels at Christmas or my bunny
village in the spring.  I also have a piece of fabric draped over
the piano that I can change with the seasons.

- Other: Window clings are great for any season.  Door wreaths
can also be rotated any time of year.  My grapevine wreath goes
up in the autumn and is soon replaced by my Christmas wreath.
You could have one for every season.  Although I don't have one
yet, a lot of people have seasonal flags or banners displayed
outside of the house.  These you could buy or make yourself. 

These are just ideas to get in the mood of seasonal decorating.
Learning to bring the outdoors indoors can be fun--there are many
easy, inexpensive ways you can change the look of your home to
get in tune with the seasons.

Copyright 2002. Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom
helping other moms to organize their families and their lives.
For other organizing hints visit http://www.Organized-Mom.com or
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Organized-Mom-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.