Day 3 : Cards
What: Greeting Cards
Why: When birthdays and anniversaries roll around, do you go into panic and think “oh, I have to go buy a card” or do you even forget about that special someone’s special day? Is sending a card more of a burden than a joy?
Panic and dread no more!
Time to organize those cards and get rid of the ones you don’t need. Think about these questions:
Why do you send someone a card? Because it’s the “Hallmark” thing to do?
Do you have greeting cards, boxed cards, Christmas cards, all over the place?
Do you have cards that you know you are never going to use?
Then why do we continue to hang onto them?
How:
1. Get all of your cards. ALL of them.
2. Go through each one (Make sure they have an envelope to match).
3. Put them into 2 piles – keep and throw away (donate)
4. Organize them: I had a photo box sitting around the house and still had dividers from a boxed card set my mom had gotten me. (You could make your own out of cardstock). By having those dividers, I know what types of cards I am low on and what cards I have too many of. I also keep spare envelopes in the back, just in case I mess up writing the address (it’s been known to happen).
*A difference to note, is that I also make a lot of my own cards. I still buy some cards, but I try to make my own. So having these dividers, has done wonders! .
One other organizing tool I use may be a stretch, but something I have learned to appreciate:
5. Write down all of the birthdays and anniversaries you need cards for. In January (or December), make or find cards for ALL of them. (Start NOW!)
6. For each card, I put a little tab on it with the person’s name.
7. Now you are SET for the WHOLE YEAR! Those panic moments will never happen AND you have cleaned out the cards you will NEVER use!
Isn’t it nice to just grab the box, grab the card, and send it, instead of going through all of your cards, wondering which one to send? Obviously there are occasions you can’t necessarily plan for, like thank yous, sympathy cards, etc. Just keep those “areas” stocked and you’ll be set.
ENJOY sending a card to someone! Think about WHY you send a card and it will make the process MUCH more enjoyable!
Confession of the Day: I used to keep cards that I THOUGHT I would use, but never have. But then I felt guilty hanging onto them. Find a local charity or donate them if you feel guilty throwing them away!
Awesome idea, Kristin! I tried taking a day at the beginning of the year and making all of the cards that I thought I would need for the year, but I never finished. But at least I got some done so I'm slightly ahead of the game!
Very clever idea!
Thanks Carol! It took me all too long to figure out a good system for cards, but I would say I now found it!
Clever idea!!The gang over at My Personal Accent think your post about Card Organization is very creative. We would like to invite you to party with us at starting at 5:00 Thursday nights at our new Blog Strut Peacock Style Link Party to share your creative ideas. Come on over!! http://wp.me/P2Vf55-1K
I love this idea and will be doing it soon!
I go to the dollar store about every 2-3 months and buy for the upcoming Special Days, Sympathy and Thinking of You cards. I place them in my box and just pull them out when the time comes. I set the birthdays and appointments up on the calendar located on my PC. I place the birthdays on 4 days in advance and receive a reminder in my e-mail box. This gives me time to mail the cards. Works out great.
What a great idea to put the dates in a calendar on your computer and then have an email reminder! Then you are bound to never forget :)! The dollar store truly has some good cards – you just have to take the time to look. Love it! Thank you for sharing!
Great idea! I would love it if you joined and contribute your awesome posts at my link party at City of Creative Dreams on Fridays 😀 Hope to see you there at City of Creative Dreams Link Party.