Tips From Tonia – October 2023

It’s that time of the year and I’m ready to purge some areas in my house! Who’s with me?? It’s hard to find the time to go through all the holiday decor, candles, linens, etc. to get your home ready for the holidays. Where does the time go, anyways?

This month, I wanted to focus on getting my entertainment supplies more organized and culled through. I find myself using the same things over and over again. Since I have been addressing this area of my home, I was surprised at how much I needed to replace. I was able to take a good inventory and I have a clear idea of what is needed. I can replace the necessary items and feel good about entertaining in my home this holiday season. I even went through my table décor, linens and decided to purge that. In doing this, it will help me get organized for Thanksgiving and dinner parties that are just around the corner. We always host every Thanksgiving and the day after, so I want to make sure I have the proper entertainment items!

Here are a couple of tips that I used when purging my own items:

1. I asked myself: “Have I used these items in the last three years?” If I haven’t, then I was OK with getting rid of these items.
2. For my linens, if the tablecloths had stains or the napkins had stains, then I threw those out and made a list to replace them.
3. For all the candles, I decided to make sure all the batteries were replaced, and if anything was discolored, I tossed them.
4. Vases…. This one is a tough one. I love floral arranging, so this was a difficult purge for me. I decided to get rid of any of the vases I hadn’t used in the last year. I have fresh flowers in my house every week, so it was easy for me to assess what I have used and what I didn’t use.
5. Placement Tip: select a location that is easy to get to your items. I decided to designate an area in which will be easily accessible. Plan on using a sideboard, or hutch is a great place to store these items.
6. Last but not least, assess your décor. Do you really put out ALLL those pumpkins every season? If you pass up that said pumpkin, chances are he’s probably had better days, and it’s time to part with him. LOL It’s ok to replace a few things here and there to make it more exciting to build your tables and have fun with it! Get rid of anything you haven’t put out in 3 years.

In going through the final items of my home for entertaining for the holidays, I needed to assess my dishes. I have an old set of dishes I always use, and decided to buy more regular dishes because the China won’t be enough for the amount of people I am going to have at Thanksgiving. By taking inventory and going through my items EARLY, I am able to have an easy, fun experience while getting ready to entertain family and friends.

How are you spending your time getting ready for the entertaining season? Let me know! I’d love to hear what you’re doing, and maybe even get ideas for myself for future holiday seasons 🙂