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You better watch out, you better not cry, and you certainly better not pout…and I’ll tell you why! The holidays are here, and all of your family and friends are coming to town! If you’re lucky enough to be hosting a crowd in your home this season, this one is for you. 😉
I’ve been there before. Slightly stressed, making lists, checking them twice, frantically cleaning my home to give off the illusion that I am, in fact, a clean and tidy person- and all because company was coming “home” for the holidays! But stress is not something that I really like to keep around during this time of year, so this time around I’ve got my head in the game and came up with a few tips that have proven to help me make my home holiday-ready without the stress!
One of the very first things that I do is make sure that my budget isn’t going to suffer while I’m out and about buying things I’ll need around the home when company comes over. As much as I love to hunt down a good deal and shop around for the best prices on household essentials, I feel that my time is way too valuable to be spending my energy doing that. Because this season is SO busy (and harsh on my pocket book,) I depend on Family Dollar to be my one-stop shop to get the best deals on the things I need to get ready for the holidays.
I love checking things off of my shopping list, and two of my must-have items on my list (Angel Soft® bath tissue and Sparkle® paper towels) were even on sale!
After making my stop at Family Dollar to pick up a few supplies, I started making my plan as to how to tackle the notion of making sure all of the guests in my home have a wonderful holiday experience. To avoid completely losing my marbles, I like to start this process a little early so as to not be completely loco come Christmas time. Here are a few tips that I’ve found to be super helpful for me, and hopefully they’ll help keep your home full of cheer this year, too!
Set a Cleaning Schedule
There is absolutely nothing fun about running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off moments before guests come over trying to clean and tidy everything up. Been there, done that. One way that I helped combat that hopeless feeling of not getting everything clean before company arrives is to start breaking down all of the tasks into smaller portions throughout the week leading up to people actually having to see and be inside my house. Who’da thunk something like planning ahead and getting things done early would work?! 😉 It totally does, and it helps me keep my sanity in check during this time of year!
To help me get all of my cleaning done, I print out a weekly cleaning schedule (there’s tons available to print for free online) and start breaking down big cleaning tasks into short 10-15 minute cleaning sessions per day. To make sure I tackle all of my cleaning with ease, I keep a roll of Sparkle® paper towels in my basket along with all of my other cleaning supplies. I can always depend on Sparkle® to get the job done when I’ve got a mess on my hands, and their price point is great for my budget. They’re also the perfect paper towel to keep on hand when you’ve got a house full of friends and family over to celebrate the holidays with!
Stock up on Disposables
A few years ago my entire immediate family (on my side) took up residence in my home for a few days during Christmas. As much as I love hosting, this particular year was hard. Like, really hard. My home is approximately 1100 sq feet and has 2 bedrooms and 1 tiny bathroom. It’s already cramped for my own family of 3, but adding 10 more people to the mix was rather…interesting. And I kid you not, y’all, it felt like we were blowing through a roll of toilet paper every other hour. The dishwasher could not keep up with the amount of dishes we were using, and spills were happening left and right.
Stocking up on disposable goods like toilet tissue and paper towels wasn’t something I really thought of. Luckily we made it through without any catastrophes or having to use leaves to wipe our behinds, but it’s a miracle! Making sure I’m thoroughly stocked up on Angel Soft® bath tissue and Sparkle® paper towels is a high priority on my radar from here on out!
Save those Toilet Paper Tubes
Say what?! I know what you’re thinking. What in the WORLD do toilet paper tubes have to do with anything at all? Why in the world should I be hanging on to those things when I’m trying to clean and declutter my house? Trust me, I hear you. But you know that mile-long Christmas shopping list that you’ve got that seems to have everyone in the world written on it? Toilet paper tubes can actually help you out with that! I’m not saying you should wrap them up and give them as gifts to people. No one would want that! But you CAN turn them into something really cute to put your smaller gifts in! Think along the lines of stocking stuffers, candies, money, gift cards, small toys and trinkets, etc.
Saving your bath tissue or paper towel rolls from your Angel Soft® toilet paper or Sparkle® paper towels is a really inventive and frugal way to plan ahead for the holidays. There’s little guesswork in how to wrap up a small gift for your friends or family – just stick the gift down inside the tube, wrap a layer of tissue paper around it, tie off the ends with ribbon and stick a gift tag on it! Voila – you’re done! I love that they look like little candies once they’re wrapped. I think it’s a really cute touch!
By the way, you can find a sheet of free printable gift tags (pictured below) that are already sized perfectly for a toilet paper roll by clicking right here. Think of it as my gift to you! 😉
Shop Smarter this Season at Family Dollar:
For a limited time, you can snag some sweet savings at Family Dollar on several of your favorite brands (including Angel Soft® bath tissue and Sparkle® paper towels) by using their digital coupons! They’re a great time-saving perk that lets you skip right over physically clipping out and keeping up with coupons. Just visit their website here and save them to the account that you create. Redeeming is as easy as entering your phone number on the keypad at checkout! Here’s a look at what I redeemed during my shopping trip:
Save 50¢ off ONE (1) Angel Soft® Bath Tissue, 12 Family Roll or 12 Big Lavender Roll
Offer: Save 50¢ off ONE (1) Sparkle® Paper Towel, 6 Roll
I saved $1.00 off of two of my favorite brands just by using Family Dollar’s digital coupons! These particular deals are valid from 10/20 – 12/27/16, so stop by and pick up these household necessities today!
Do you have any tips that help you stay sane and keep your home holiday ready during this time of year? If so, drop a comment below and share the love!