Santa Already?

It's November 1st, just one day after Halloween. News headlines declare that the Detroit Christmas Tree has arrived to Campus Martius, Christmas songs and commercials have begun, stores are cluttered with Christmas decorations... Christmas is around the corner! I know the majority of people don’t start thinking about shopping until the Black Friday kick-off, but I cannot stand shopping in crowded stores or trekking out in the snow storms, so I have had all my shopping done since September. I shop year-round for gifts so I can get the best deals. Here's a tip: making lists and labels in chronological order will save you time! 

Lists involve writing things down in order to reduce forgetfulness; whether it be carrying around a pad or an app on your phone. I find that going paperless works best as it prevents more junk (little scrap sheets of paper, post-it’s, etc.) from laying around.

• To-do lists or schedules: Schedules lay out tasks that need to be done in chronological order according to the time of day.
• Checklists: Checklists help to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task.
• Grocery/shopping lists: I organize my grocery lists by department in order to save me both time and money. I try to avoid backtracking in a grocery store to prevent me from tossing unplanned items in the cart.
• I do a lot of my shopping at my local Meijer so my shopping lists are organized on my phone based on the layout of the store... it starts at the first door in health and beauty, then goes back to school supplies, then electronics, then home, then kitchen, then to grocery. In grocery, I start in the back at dairy (I make note that the bottle return machines are in this corner of the store), then move to meat and cheese, then grocery, then frozen, and finally produce. My coupon book follows this same order! 

Labels are name tags used for product identification. They are used to maintain organization. If you are forever misplacing your keys, create a home for them; then hang hooks near the door in order to establish a routine of always placing the keys in the designated spot. Use well-labeled containers to create a storage system, labels let others know where things are located.

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