*New!* Works for Me Wednesday...

I've been inspired by the Rocks In My Dryer ("RIMD") mommy blog to join in its "Works for Me Wednesday" ("WFMW") blog carnival. Basically, the idea behind WFMW is that you share little tips (parenting, organizing, cleaning, cooking, travel, you name it) that have helped you and the collection of links to everyone's little tips are posted on the RIMD blog every Wednesday. Cute idea!

So here is our first WFMW tip:

*Keep a box of "quick gifts" in a closet at home for emergency gift giving.

I started this last year after the holidays when I repeatedly was caught in a situation where I needed a little gift but didn't have the time to go out and buy one (i.e. a neighbor stops by unexpectedly; you forget to give your mail carrier a little token of appreciation; you're invited to a party and forget to pick up a hostess gift, etc). So, what I did was get out a medium-sized plastic bin that I wasn't using, make a space for it at the top of my coat closet, and over time, put items in it that I saw in the store that I thought were cute or were on sale or whatever. [This is a great use for items that you may want to re-gift too!] If you're feeling really ambitious, you can keep a running list of what's in the box so that you can keep track. Also, to avoid any gift wrapping debacles, I found this great Gift Bag Organizer at the Home Depot (for like $4), that hangs right in the closet. Voila! You're all ready to get your gift-giving on.