Week 1: Set up an HG Labs Holiday Planning Notebook

Focus of the 12 Week Holiday Plan:

Planning

Plan your attack!

The first thing to do is to plan for the Holidays so you will not feel stressed and will be able to relax and enjoy your family and friends.  Prepare with the HG Labs Holiday Planning Notebook.  Organizing now with you own HG Labs Holiday Planning Notebook will mean a more successful and enjoyable holiday time.  The key though is to simplify and work at this daily or weekly!

The HG Labs Holiday Notebook should organize all of your holiday cleaning, decorating, travel reservations, gift lists, receipts for gifts, as well as recipes, budget, etc.  This notebook will be the one place you go when you need direction and want to stay on task!

What You Need to Set up a Holiday Planning Notebook
                  (this should last you for years)

A Large Binder- Look for a sturdy three ring binder, one with pockets on the inside covers.  Some people like to choose a red or green binder, while others choose a binder with a clear pocket on the front and print their own label for it.  Go on, make it as festive as you want and personalize it with family pictures, etc.!

Dividers & Tabs-  Use dividers with tabs and pockets to help in prioritzing.  Write out how many events and categories you think you are going to need.  Trust me... buy a few extra... you will think of more things as you go along.  Start with at least 10 dividers.

A Highlighter and Indelible Ink Pen-  Located in the front pocket of the binder or attach it with a string.

That's it!  A three ring binder, some dividers with pockets, and a pen and you are ready to transform any holiday season into a precise organized event.

Sections Within Your Holiday Planning Notebook

Calendar
I suggest you keep your calendar on your computer with a paper calendar in the front or your notebook to help jog your memory and refer back to both from time to time.  Be careful not to double book you and your family.

Budget
This may be the most important section of your holiday planning notebook.  At the beginning of the holiday season, determine a  reasonable budget based on your gift lists and ideas.  Each section of your notebook needs its own allotment of the budget.  Also keep this in front of your notebook.  Tracking your spending can help you know where to make cuts or add a few frills to your holiday spending.  You will have a great Holiday Season and no regrets!

Gift Ideas and Shopping Lists
Write down gift ideas for friends, family, or anyone you plan to gift.  I buy gifts throughout the year when I see something special or  "on sale".  This will help to spread that budget a little further and give you more time to relax and enjoy the holidays!

Christmas Card Lists
Also your computer would be the best place to organize addresses.  Keep your list up to date.  Consider sending e-cards...more eco-friendly.  If you want to send a special person a card consider one with a meaning like a seed or donation to a favorite charity!

Menus and Recipes
This would be a good section for menus:  food menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, and individual parties, will help you find everything at a glance.  Put in copies of all your favorite holiday recipes.  Include recipes for easy 20 to 30 minute meals to make during the busy holiday months.  Gift jars and mixes would fit in this section too.

Personalize
Plan your personal traditions.  The important activites that you and your family most enjoy... making cookies, caroling, Christmans tree shopping, etc.  This section is to keep those traditions on your busy calendar.

Visiting and Travel
Organize your visits to family, friends and special events.  You can keep travel arrangements, maps, directions and packing lists in this section.  Information from past visits may help you be more prepared for any traveling issues.

Parties and Entertaining
This section should be used for guest lists, menus, and activity information just to mention a few ideas.

Receipts
Receipts would be a good idea to keep.  Write information on the receipt, if it isn't already printed, include stores return policies and other info as well as the one who received the gift.  You can bet something will break, not fit, or that they just may not want it.

Cleaning Schedules
Next organize your cleaning schedule.  Extra things you may want to have tidy, maybe the glitter you will need to clean up... which is not in your regular cleaning schedule.  Check my blog for year long cleaning tips also keep a look out for my new How to Cleaning and Organizing book.

Come back each week for more tips to make you Holiday Great & Green!

Don't let this be you...get organized and prepared!

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The 12 Week Holiday Organizing Plan!

Green Clean Your Holiday Home and Enjoy Your Family & Friends!


Starting this week we will begin the "12Week Holiday Plan".  Come back each week for tips and strategies to make a successful holiday season.  Traditions, love, laughter and your sanity will be kept.


What Is the 12 Week Holiday Plan?

The 12 Week Holiday Plan breaks down all of the tasks that you have to do during the holiday season into weekly focus areas with specific tasks to complete during a week.  Instead of trying to cram all of your decorating, cleaning, organizing, buying, and planning into a few weeks before holiday events; we will work a little at a time for a worry free family/friend time!


Later this Week:   customize the Brightly Green Clean Plan just for you and your traditions.  Organize the holiday season by getting rid of clutter and getting some early planning done.

Keep watching for more holiday tips to come!

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Tips to Grow Your Buisness!

We at HG Labs and our different lines cherish our customer relationships! 

That’s why we want to pass on tips to you that not only benefit you personally, but also your business!

Brightly Green encourages you to watch the video link below to learn more about how important spending time building relationships in your community is; and how those relationships will have a profoundly positive effect on your business!

Enjoy the video from Cleaning Biz.tv and GROW!

We value YOU!... Let us know if this video was of help to you.

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A Healthier YOU!

 It is important to maintain a clean, fresh home for the health and overall well-being of your family as well as for yourself!  You can start by improving the quality of the air in your home! 

The first step toward cleaner indoor air is to replace all toxic cleaners in your home with non toxic, green cleaners.

 Many cleaning products warn that they should be used in well-ventilated rooms.  Why?  --Because they really are not safe for you to inhale.  Though, you may think that your room is well-ventilated, some of those fumes are getting out and into other rooms in your home.

There are many great, green cleaners that get the job done and are safe to use. 

Clean regularly.

Weekly dusting and vacuuming will greatly help to reduce allergens and dust mites in your home.  Bathroom cleanup is essential in keeping mold and mildew out! 

Change the filters.

It is a good idea to have a set date when you will replace your furnace filter as well as your vacuum filter. 

Did you know that houseplants act as air filters?  Pretty much any broadleaf plant will do.  If you have indoor pets, you may want to check with your vet to see which plants are safe around animals!  Keep plants off the floor if small children may get into them!

 

Spice up the air.

Cozy scents such as apple pie, or baked cookies; give a sense of calm and rest.  A quick tip to add those homey scents is to boil water in a saucepan and add your favorite baking spices to the water.  Once the water comes to a boil; simply set the pan on a low temperature setting.  Be sure to check the pan every so often as you may need to add more water.  (You should be home if doing this; never leave a stove unattended.)

Make some changes today toward a healthier environment for you and your family!

Remember—more quick tips are coming soon from HG Labs Green Cleaning eBook”

If you have some quick cleaning tips, we’d love to hear from you!

Don't wait...send us you comment TODAY!

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The Ready Kit

"To me a part of being organized
is being prepared for most anything. "

(Sharron McAdams,  President/Owner
Brightly Green All-Natural Cleaners)


This year Americans have experienced earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes and tornados...just to mention a few of the natural disasters thrown at us.  You do not have to be a boy scout to think well maybe I should prepare …just in case.

For several years my husband and I have chosen to put together what we like to think of as a “ready kit”. We chose September 11th to change everything out and update it.  You can’t be ready for everything but you certainly can be ready for something. 

I’m not the camping type.  I have been known to say, “roughing it for me is when the ice machine is on the next floor.”  So, if you are the outdoor camping type you will probably be way ahead of us but just in case you’re not, here are some ideas for your “Ready Kit”.

We have enough supplies for 3 days. There are just the two of us
 and of course our dog.

Our Ready Kit consists of:

Canned tuna, canned soup, canned fruit, bottled water, & dog food

Blankets, fire starter logs, lighter, battery operated radio, two flashlights, battery operated camping light, extra batteries,  can of Fix a Flat,  candle, tarp, maps, all in one campers tool, first aid kit, pump, toilet paper, hand sanitizing wipes, garbage bags, medication information, flairs, eating utensils and a dog leash. 

We also have a fire/waterproof safe with all our important information:   insurance papers, passports, birth certificates, some important pictures, thumb drive with pictures of our home and its contents and a little cash.

To top it off we have escape routes from our home and a planned meeting place.

Not glamorous but efficient. 

Are you ready?  Send us your “ready kit” info!  We would love to get your ideas too!

 

Our heartfelt prayers and love go out to the families and friends of the victims of 9/11.

We will never forget.

A cherished picture taken of me while on a shopping trip to New York several years ago.

 When this picture was taken I never thought how special it was going to be.

 

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Brightly Green Has a New Look!

Brightly Green has a new look.

  Same great products…different look!

Check it out!

What do YOU think?.... Leave us a comment please!

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"New Affiliate Program"

Brightly Green  "New Affiliate Program"

Announcing

One Stop Shop Website

for our

Great Green Household Cleaning Products!

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To learn more visit Green Life Buys

or 

Call us toll free:  866.605.1999

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Have You Had it With Clutter?

Excerpts from the HG Labs (Nature’s Laboratory)

 Free E-book soon to be released.

Author: Sharron McAdams, President/Owner

 BrightlyGreen All-Natural Household Cleaners

Last year, I decided to take control and to purge and organize.  Much to my husband’s chagrin… he was pretty happy with the way things were.    Some friends said I was organizing my organization.  Simply because I keep my house fairly neat, they could not know what I knew…I was a “closet” hoarder! 

 I formed a plan of attack, prioritized and organized until I systematically got it done!  Projects that seemed overwhelming were accomplished with working a few minutes a day. Working hardly more than an hour at a time, I was able to whittle my clutter down to a point now that I feel really good about!  I will need to purge…one more time.  But that’s just me.  I will know this time that the things I “still” have and have not used can really go!  It’s a good feeling!

Here are some ideals to get you going so you can feel good too!

Plan – You must have an idea how you want to live and what you want your life to be like.  If you’re not good at an organizational chart…no problem. Just think about what makes sense to you and how it works with your lifestyle and space.  

Prepare – Envision what you need and have it ready.  Set aside a work space.  I cleared out a section of my garage and set up a table with boxes, envelopes, baskets, sharpies, etc.  As you are organizing have your Brightly Green cleaning supplies ready so you can clean behind and on the top of your surfaces.  That way you will know you are really deep green cleaning.   

 Prioritize – You may want to start with the project you have been dreading the most. For me it was organizing years of family pictures.  They had somehow gotten out of control and really needed some attention.  However, it may help to slip in a few easier projects from time to time to get the instant satisfaction of completing a task.

Come back for more clutter free and green cleaning tips from me.  Along with guest articles from organizational and cleaning experts, we will help you achieve the green-clean, clutter free life you need!

From our family to yours...we welcome your comments!

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