Organizing Greeting Cards

 

I love when I receive cards in the mail as opposed to junk flyers and (ugh) bills. A friend of mine calls cards and notes 'real mail'. I think I agree!
Because I like getting 'real mail', I try to send it as much as I can to others. We have a decent sized extended family most of whom live too far away to see regularly. Other than the usual Facebook greetings on special occasions, I like to send cards.

Real Mail! :)

I probably send around 80 cards a year (not including Christmas) so I need to be organized. Or else I'll miss somebody! (Like my poor nephew Noah on his birthday last year!) He was too young to notice, I'm sure, but I felt terrible. This year I've got a plan in place to be sure not to miss a single important occasion.

I started with my calendar. I found this frame at Goodwill for a couple of dollars. It dresses up our 'command central' area but it's made specifically for Lang calendars. They can be a bit pricey but the artwork is gorgeous so I try to wait for a sale or get one with a coupon somewhere each year.

After I have my calendar (preferably by the end of October the previous year), I sit down with the previous year and work through each month writing down birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions that need cards.
I also have learned to write down whenever someone gets married or has a baby on the calendar so that come next year, I can write in that new little person's first birthday. For younger kids, I write in how old they'll be on their birthday too so I can mention it in their card. Note to self: when writing in all the dates each month be sure to check for babies born! I forgot last year which is how I missed Noah! (There goes my Aunt of the Year Award.)

After I have all the names and occasions written in, I go back to January and start tallying up how many cards I'll need. Women's birthdays, men's birthdays, girl birthdays, boy birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. Then it's off to my card stash.

As I make cards, I file them in a stationery box that came home from Bass's work. To prep for the new year, I pull out my stash a box of envelopes and start choosing cards for each event. As I pick a card, I write in teeny-tiny pencil under the flap of the envelope who it's for and when it's due.

Then all the picked cards go into the 'to be mailed' box. This also helps me know if I need to sit down and make cards for particular occasions.

Almost all my cards for 2012 - I need to make just a few

As the days go by, I try to check my calendar each week to see what upcoming cards need to be sent out and then stamp sentiments inside and bring them upstairs to be addressed and stamped (postage).

Ready and waiting to be sent

Picking the cards is the hard part. Once they're ready to go, I'm all set. And less likely to forget anyone! (Sorry, Noah!)

Linking up to some or all of these great blog parties:

Sunday: Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming;
Monday: Amaze Me Monday at Dittle Dattle;
Tuesday: One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons; Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia; Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife;
Wednesday: Wicked Awesome Wednesday at Handy Man, Crafty Woman; It's Overflowing at Overflowing with Creativity; Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts;
Home Decor & Organizing at Organize and Decorate Everything;
Thursday: Delightfully Inspiring Thursday at Delightful Order; Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty and Fabuless;  Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Creek Cottage;
Friday: Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest; Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring;