Around the holidays, it is easy for unorganized piles of gifts and decorations to take over your house. It is time to get organized! You can use these holiday storage tips to help your entire family cut the clutter in your home. Tip #1: Ask everyone to pitch in with the organization and cleaning. While your kids and spouse are still at home, hand them, some dust spray, brooms, and put them to work. As you organize, make sure that you label everything, and remember – even the smallest children can get involved. Start them with an organizing routine when they are just two or three, and it should stick with them as they grow. Do not be afraid to ask your family for help organizing, especially around the holidays, and you might even want to hire some help if you are feeling especially overwhelmed. Tip #2: Keep the bathroom organized! This year, invest in some storage for your bathroom drawers and walls. A Mounted Hair Care Holder can help you keep curling irons and blow dryers off the countertops, and a Cosmetics Tray can keep your drawers from looking like a colorful cream and powder explosion. Plan enough time so that before you leave for the night, you can clean up the bathroom. That way, it will be organized for the next day! Tip #3: Organize your fridge. With Fridge Roll Out Trays that can be installed in just a few minutes, you can see what is in your fridge – even in the back. This saves you time when you are looking for a specific ingredient, and it can also save you money – no more buying duplicates or throwing out spoiled food that you forgot in the very back. You will also save energy. Tip #4: Do not store items under the tree after Christmas. While in the days leading up to Christmas you will probably keep your wrapped boxes under the tree, when the big day is over, do not use this as a storage location. Throw away any packaging, paper, or other trash items you missed that morning. Give every item a place in your home so that it can be put away when not in use. Otherwise, things may pile up in your living room or family room long after you take down your tree. Tip #5: Store your ornaments in special boxes. It is easy to become complacent and simply throw your tree ornaments together in a big box when you are taking down the tree. If you do not use special ornament storage, your tree decorations could be broken when you go to use them next year. Look for a Christmas Ornament Storage Container instead that is made up of little compartments where you can place each individual ornament to prevent it from being broken and tangled with other ornaments. Along with that, keep your lights and garland rolled nicely with a Light Reel to prevent tangling during the months it is in storage.

If your kitchen is not properly organized you could easily be wasting hundreds of dollars worth of food every single year, not to mention the possibility of harboring pests and bacteria in the very place where you cook and your family eats. Here are some tips on how organizing you kitchen can save you money. Fresh Foods The most obvious problem is simply that poor organization leads to food wastage because the food you buy isn’t stored to preserve its freshness. Fresh vegetables and fruit, if not properly stored, are particularly vulnerable to spoilage. Anything in your pantry is vulnerable to pests if not stored in an air-tight container. Open bags in the pantry can easily be knocked over and spilled, leading to yet more wastage. There is also the problem of knowing what is in your kitchen. Without proper organization, it’s simply impossible to know what food you have at any given time. So you take a quick look in the pantry. You might already have bags of flour hiding in a dark corner, and put flour on your shopping list. So there is yet another bag you will use half of and then forget about! Fortunately, it is easy to eliminate all of these problems by using clear, accurately labeled storage containers. Choose sturdy air-tight containers, such as the Stay Fresh Containers, to prevent entry of pests, and to make sure the food you are storing stays fresher for longer. Make sure everything you store is labeled with the name of the item, and the date you bought it. Frozen Foods Proper organization in the freezer is important, especially if you buy in bulk. If you have bought several pounds of ground beef, for example, you will need to know, when you use it in the future, when it was frozen, so that you know how long you have the use the meat before you risk spoilage. Everything stored in the freezer should, ideally, be stored in an air-tight bag or container, and should also have the date the item was stored clearly written on the side. As with your fresh foods, this is important for freezer storage both so that you know what you have stored, and also so that you know for how long it will remain fresh. Cooking in the Kitchen Food wastage is not the only issue of course. How many times have you “lost” an important cooking implement, and bought another one, only to find that implement stuck behind the fridge or lodged between the wall and the cupboard? Proper storage of all of your cooking tools would save you from these problems and save you money, too! An organized, well-kept kitchen is a joy to cook in, and if you make the effort to stay organized in the kitchen, you will be far more likely to want to cook food at home, instead of ordering in or going out to eat. There are many reasons to keep your kitchen properly organized and clean. Hygiene aside, the problem of food wastage is easily the best reason to put some time and effort into getting your kitchen properly organized with some space-saving containers and other tools which will keep your food fresh, pest-free, and tasting great for longer, and save you money into the bargain!

Have you seen this new product? It is a hot pink keyboard called Keyboard for Blondes. The keyboard looks like a typical computer keyboard, however, take a closer look. You’ll notice that some of they keys are different than what we are used to seeing. The backspace button no longer erases the typo, but has become an “Ooops!” button. There is even an XOXO key and an IDK (I Don’t Know) key. Not only is there a “Useless Key” which was once the Alt key, but the row of function keys spells out “USELESS”. The most exciting feature about the Keyboard for Blondes is that it will speak when some keys are pressed. The slogan for the hot pink Keyboard for Blondes is “A very important and glamorous thing to have,” I just think it is fun. What do you think? If you like the Keyboard for Blondes, and you are interested in other different types of keyboards for yourself or for people in your life, check out the Oversized Keyboard. The Oversized Letter Keyboard looks just like a regular computer keyboard, but with larger letters to help those with vision problems.

As the holidays approach we all need to begin to think about the gifts we will give to our families and friends. Some of us also like to take this time to buy ourselves some gifts…perhaps as a reward for finding the perfect gift for someone else. No matter who the gift is for, I personally always like to find the perfect gift for everyone on my holiday gift list. With that said, I came up with some of my favorite gift ideas that we have at Taylor Gifts. I’ll tell you the products (in no particular order) and why I think it’s great. - Pajama Warmer: For the person who is always cold, this is the perfect gift. Just put pajamas, or socks, gloves, or scarves into the pajama warmer, and it warms up before putting the article of clothing on! My friend Joe at Book of Joe has found another use for the pajama warmer - give it to your friend who loves his/her Mac Book Air as a Mac Book Air case; as it is small enough to protect the laptop. - Iron Gym: A great gift for the tough guy/girl in your life; or for the person who wants to become tough. The Iron Gym is a multi-functional bar that can be used to do pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, and dips. It’s functional and practical, and is small enough to fit in any size apartment or house. - The Cash Shirt: What kid, or big kid doesn’t like to get cash? The Cash Shirt is a creative way to give the person on your list who needs some money the cash they are looking for. - Arm Carpal Massager: The friend or family member who sits at the computer all day with wrists that hurt (with or without Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) will love you forever if they receive the Arm Carpal Massager from you this holiday season. While it may look like a scary device, Luke Anderson at OhGizmo believes it may feel good on the pain. - Snuggie Fleece: For the person who likes to cuddle up in blankets while watching TV, reading, or working. The Snuggie Fleece has sleeves, just like a robe, so when you give this blanket as a gift you’re giving the gift of warmth and freedom to stay warm no matter what this person on your list needs to do. - Counting Sorting Money Jar: Who doesn’t have the disorganized person on their list? Who doesn’t have the money saver (or the person who needs to start saving their money) on their list this year? Whichever type of person you need to buy a gift for this year, the EZ Counting Sorting Money Jar is a perfect gift. It allows your saver to save coins, the organized (or the one who needs to organize) to keep coins sorted, and the lazy to just listen to the bank tell him/her how much money is in the jar. - Sushezi Sushi Tube: Don’t forget about the exotic food-lover on your list this year! People like sushi, and people want to make their own, but it is a difficult task. The Sushezi Sushi Tube makes the sushi-making process easy, and will make your sushi-lover friend very happy this holiday season. - Last but not least is the GPS Cup Holder Mount: For the avid traveler (or anyone with a GPS). This is a perfect gift that your friends and family will keep forever and will use every day. It will hold the GPS so it is easy to see, without having to suction a mount to the windshield or dashboard. These are some of my favorite gifts to give this year for the holidays, what are some of your favorites?