The Ultimate Holiday Essentials Bag for Holiday Concierges and Professional Organizers

We help clients year round with all of their concierge and professional organizing needs, but we are experts in all things holiday related and it is one of our busiest times of year. We do everything from decorating to shopping to gift wrapping to getting organized before guests come and the list goes on and on and on. We are located in Houston, TX, so we often get a lot of requests. Below is a list of products and essentials we like to keep on hand during the holiday season for every little thing that we may need when it comes to decorating and random other little things.  We hope you find this list helpful. What are things that you like to keep on hand during the holiday season? You can shop all of these items on the Eco Modern Concierge Shop page as well. 

Gardening bag: This is the bag I currently use to store everything because it has lots of pockets. 

Gloves: A necessary to not cut your hands and arms up when decorating especially with live tress, garlands and wreaths.

Double sided tape: A gift wrapping essential.

Regular tape: Another gift wrapping essential.

Glue Dot roller: Perfect for gift wrapping and helping various things stay in place. 

Super sticky tape: Great for glitter wrapping paper or things that really need to be stuck down. 

Super glue: To fix broken items.

Scissors: I have talked about these scissors for a long time and really like them.

Fabric scissors: To only be used used on fabric. 

Velcro: Perfect to wrap cords and hold various things in place.

Command hooks in varying sizes: We use command hooks ALL the time with various holiday projects. We love using the small, regular, gold / silver, cord wraps, etc. 

Nails: You never know what you will need to nail down. They are great for hanging various things like garland, wreaths, etc. 

Tacks: We use tacks for all kinds of things like securing ribbon to windows, securing wreaths to doors, etc. We use various colors like white, green, silver and gold.

Floral wire: This is a MUST in our bag because we use it to tie garland on banisters, rails, hang wreaths, etc. We usually carry green and silver wire.

Zip ties: These are necessary for your holiday bag and we use them most often to tie garland to banisters and securing lots of garland parts together.

Clear twist ties: perfect to secure various things like bows on decor, gifts, etc.

Beaded flexible ties: I like that these have notches and you can use them for various things like lights, garland, etc.

Flexible twist ties: These come in green and white and perfect to secure cords or various things that need to stay together.

Twist ties: 

Garland ties: These green pine ties are also great for tying garland in various places. 

Fishing wire: Perfect for hanging things like wreaths when you don't want string to show from afar or to use to hang other decor items.

Banister clips: Great for securing various things to the banister

Wreath picks: These are wonderful to have on hand because they help fill in areas of wreaths & garland that have fallen off through the years, great to add to presents, etc. Here are pinecone picks and berry picks.

Mallet: We always keep a mallet on hand to secure nails, put stakes in the ground, fix things, etc.

Ornament hooks: You can get standard in expensive ones or we love these decorative ones we saw at Target this year that come in gold and silver. 

DW40: A necessary to have on hand always.

Batteries: A necessary to have on hand during the holidays because you never know what remote, decor item, toy, etc will need a battery.

Wreath suction hangers: Great when putting wreaths or hanging items on glass windows, doors and mirrors. They come in various weight holds 10lbs and 20lbs.

Wreath hangers: We keep these on hand because we never know when a client may need one.

Magnetic wreath hangers: These are wonderful for hanging wreath and other items. Please the magnets are usually pretty strong.

Slap bracelets: Helps keep wrapping paper and various ribbon rolls together. 

Beeswax lubricating compound: Great for using with scores, 

Stick um: Candle adhesive, which is great for keeping candles in place inside of holders.

Straightening iron: To unwrinkle ribbon and various holiday decor. 

Hot glue gun: Great for putting embellishments on presents, wreaths, garlands, and various other holiday decor. 

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Tips on How to Organize Your Pantry Before Thanksgiving and the Holidays

Thanksgiving is next week and the holidays are basically here at this point this year. Being a professional organizer and holiday concierge in Houston, we have organized and planned our fair share of pantries and all things holidays through the years. Here are some tips to get your pantry organized for Thanksgiving and the Holidays.

Purge. We often don't think that we have that many expired items and more times than not we see that clients do have more expired items than they think. Purge these items to make room for new pantry items.

Sort like items together. So things are not scattered everywhere throughout the pantry, sort like items together like all canned goods, baking, pasta, etc.

Take inventory. Take inventory of what you got rid and see what you need to restock. 

Organize. Once items are sorted together, organize in a way that works and makes sense to you. As you have seen in many of our projects, we use baskets and bins to contain items, give them a cohesive look and keep the items organized. 

Label. Label your bins, baskets or shelves so you know exactly where everything is. 

Make a list & use sticky notes or sticker dots. Make a list and use sticky notes or sticker dots to mark which items you know you will need for Thanksgiving if you do not want to take those items out of the pantry or put in a designated area. By making a list and using sticky notes /dots will insure you know exactly what you will need.

Stock up on essentials you will need. Begin to make a list or make a list on your preferred grocery store's website for items that you know you will need and schedule a time to have the items delivered, picked up or shopped for. Tip: early mornings and evenings are some of the best times to go to the store when there are less crowds. 

Here are some common pantry items that people stock up on for Thanksgiving and the Holidays.

• Spices - cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt & pepper, etc.
• Baking items - sugars, flours, etc. 
• Broths - chicken, vegetable, beef, etc.
• Herbs - fresh or dried
• Meats
• Vegetables
• Fresh & dried fruits
• Canned goods 
• Milks - cow's, evaporated, condensed, nut milks, etc.
• Extracts
• Oils

How do you prepare for Thanksgiving and the holidays?

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Thanksgiving Must Haves: For Organized and Stress-Free Thanksgiving Hosting

When hosting Thanksgiving there a few things you want to make sure you have on hand for those just in case moments and for moments when you may need a little extra something. What do you like to keep on hand during Thanksgiving for those unexpected moments.

1. Red Wine Stain Remover: We have all been there where somebody accidentally spills something, so much suer you have red wine stain remover handy.
2. Carpet Cleaner: For all other stains from food to kids to pets. I have used this stuff for many, many years and it is all of the sudden super popular again. I think because some blogger posted about it, who knows lol. If you are local in Houston, you can get it at Bering's Hardware.
3. Goo Gone Pen: for markers, when you see a label on a new dish that you need to get off, etc. 
4. Silver Polish: If you use silver on a regular basis, this is great 
5. Something that smells good: whether that is a reed diffuser, candle or essential oils. You want people to step into your home feeling welcomed. 
6. To go containers: If you are hosting Thanksgiving there is sure to be leftovers, so make you sure you are prepped and ready to send people home with leftovers. You can find reusable containers at Sam's Club & Costco or online. As you probably saw in this post. One organizer suggested downsizing your personal storage container stash. 
7. An iron, steamer or wrinkle releaser: If you are the type that likes to have fresh, crisp linens on hand than this is especially helpful. If someone arrives super early and wants to help have them freshen up the linens for you.
8. Mints or mouthwash in the bathroom: After a full meal some feel like to have something on hand to freshen up their breath. Decant mouthwash and have a little station set up with mini cups for your guests to use. I have been to many of houses where where they have mouthwash stations and I always think it is a great idea.
9. Folding chair: It is always nice to make sure you have plenty of seating for any unexpected guest that may show up. 

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#1 Tips & Tricks for an Organized Thanksgiving from NAPO Houston Professional Organizers

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? I know it is still a little over a month away, but now is  a great time to start thinking about it in order to be prepared and ready for everything that the holiday season entails. I asked my fellow NAPO Houston professional organizers what some of their #1 tips were and here is what they had to say. 

Amy Vance of Eco Modern Concierge: "Stock up on stain removers for whatever stains may happen like red wine, food, markers / crayons from kids, etc." 

Nikki Bell of Just Organized by Nikki: "Check expiration dates on spices and pantry items. Running out to the grocery store during the rush is never fun."

Helen Schutz of HBS Organizing: "Try to get a head start on your meal planning - if ordering out, allow 2-3 weeks before Thanksgiving to place your orders early."

Laura Gunn of Strategic Hourglass Solutions: "Make and freeze ahead what you can. Lots of desserts and some side dishes fit the bill for this."

Blanka Molnar of Your Sorted Space: "Use a holiday planner and break your To-do-list (I like to use “to-achieve-list“) down. What can you do a month before Thanksgiving or 3 weeks before Thanksgiving."

Neitra Blair of Organizing Lifestyles: "The holidays are good for getting rid of unused Tupperware and Togo containers. Your guest can use those to take good home"

Ellen Delap of Professional-Organizer.com: "Buy holiday serving pieces to give away with treats."

Mary Jo Contello of Organized by MJ: "Start planning the menu and assign guest task/items to make so everyone can enjoy the day."

Tammy Atchison of The Busy Corner: "If you have family traditions and recipes, take time to write them down and keep them together for the future. Many years ago my mom was unable to prepare /host Thanksgiving dinner due to an awful case of shingles. We were clueless...lol...any way, mom was able to tell us everything from recipes to what serving dishes. Success  My admin sister typed up a word document on “How to Prepare Mom’s Thanksgiving Dinner” from that year on we use that to help her, we had no idea how much work it was, she made it look so easy."

Linda Cresswell of Shelf Genie: "Get your order in now so your glide out shelving is in for the holidays. ShelfGenie. 832-666-6391"

Nancy Devlin of Efficient Living, Inc: "In my family for Thanksgiving, we set a nice formal table. Begin 2 weeks before Thanksgiving: polish silver, clean china and crystal and iron tablecloths and napkins. Use all of your nice table settings and decor that doesn't get used often!"

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Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash