MUST-DOs
I actually had a little bit of a hard time thinking of Must-dos for this month, which I will count as a win! It’s better to have fewer things to do, than more things!
CLEAN DOWNSTAIRS
Before this was to host book club, now this is to maintain my sanity.
- Pick up main space
- Pick up kitchen
- Clear surfaces in bathroom
- Clean all floors
- Dust/wipe surfaces
- Clean shower
- change sheets
FINALIZE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
- Inventory what we have for kids
- Inventory what grandparents have for kids
- Identify outstanding (what we still want to get)
- Purchase outstanding
- wrap and label
- Sort by house (we spend Christmas morning at the in-laws’ and Christmas afternoon at my parents’ so I have to be strategic about which presents get opened at each house).
ORDER MOM’S STORYWORTH BOOK
Oh my god I have been putting this off for MONTHS! I need to get this shit done this month! The good news is my mom’s birthday is mid-January, so I can shoot for that when the Xmas ordering deadline inevitably passes me by. As you can see below, I have divided this into chunks so it feels more manageable.
- Edit stories 1-10
- Edit stories 11-20
- Edit stories 21-33
- Final edit + finalize book
- Order book
FINAL DEPENDENT CARE ACCOUNT REIMBURSEMENT
Now that we’re not paying for aftercare, I won’t be putting money away into a tax-free Dependent Child Care Account. This is kind of a big deal – I’ve been doing it for 12 years! – so putting together the receipts for this is a little bitter sweet. I’m so glad I’m not paying so much for child care anymore, but I liked getting those big checks in June (to help pay for summer travel) and December (to help pay for presents).
- April-May YMCA Aftercare receipt
- Rec & Park camp receipt
- Legarza camp receipt
- Submit paperwork + receipts
HALLWAY CLEAN OUT
This is really a “hope-to,” as there is not external deadline for getting this done, but I REALLY to get all this shit out of my hallway before the Christmas presents come in. It’s driving me crazy.
- Find out what we can do with fridge (will Recology take it?)
- Schedule pick up
- Get it outside
- Bring clothing donation to Salvation Army
- Clean out whatever else is behind the fridge
- Put it out with fridge pick up
- Add other items from house to pick up
PLAN JANUARY FOR 1A & 1B CLASSES
- Print planning calendars
- Look at last year’s plans
- Write out 1A plans
- Write out 1B plans
- Put Nov/Dec/Jan on Tri 2 planning document? (I really hope to do this, but it’s not necessary)
HOPE-TOs
Some of these are fully self-indulgent because it’s December and I want to enjoy one of my favorite months a little.
- Watch all of Silo with 14yo
- Watch Elf and Home Alone with the 11yo
- Rewatch Severance (2nd season comes out in January I think?)
- Clean out 11yo’s room and donate old toys
- Clean out 14yo’s room and donate old stuff
- Hang all clothes on new non-slip hangers (and get rid of a ton of it!)
- Organize closet drawers
- Organize garage shelves
Okay, now that I wrote all this down, I’ll definitely get it done! {Insert evil laugh or face palm emoji here}
What are your Must-dos and Hope-tos for December?
Thank you.
Helpful in grounding and reality connecting.
Wonderfully concrete.
Beyond holiday stuff need ‘anti-moth closet clean outs’.
When you ask Recology re refrigerator~ check on need to remove refrigerator door before putting out for pick-up. I think Refrigerators/washers/dryers may still have some safety requirements about that.
I actually hope they require the doors off because they are off! And I don’t want to put them back on. We couldn’t get it out of the kitchen without taking the doors off. Refrigerators are big!
Don’t really have must-dos… All want-tos: host Christmas Eve dinner, go to Cirque play, go to NYC with L overnight (her birthday present). We do not over gift so the kids already have 3-4 presents each and that’s plenty! I will go through their rooms and eliminate the excess while they are at school. Also! My want to is to enjoy the 12 long days we have off! That’s a long time to be home with small kids.
3-4 presents is PLENTY! And I wish I could convince other people in my life that is the case. Also, 12 days off is soooo long with small kids. I’m already having panicked thoughts about my two weeks off with my two much older kids. That is to say, I feeeeeel you.