A spot of holiday housekeeping

Whenever Mr. Speedy and I return home after a few days away, I'm always struck by how much there is to do around the house.

And at no time of year does my "Welcome Home!" to do list include more than at the holidays.

Bursting inboxes and voice mails are compounded by new presents to put away, laundry to do, holiday decorations that suddenly seem a tad out of place and a pile of cards that have inevitably fallen from the console to the floor.

Dust bunnies gather in corners - even though we were away for a mere five days - and the fridge is empty, just begging for a trip to the grocery store.

Plus, I feel a little bit of pressure to get everything clean and shiny in time to welcome in the new year, and new decade, that is approaching all too quickly!

So my dust buster has been working overtime and I'm hoping that I'll get our decorations all boxed away before the weekend.

And, this year, I fully intend to make a note on the front of the boxes listing what I've stowed away, to prevent buying multiples (again) or having to sort through everything in storage (again) when I want to start decorating.

In addition to tidying, if I'm feeling particularly productive, I'll try to update my mailing list, clip cards for use for gift tags next year and hopefully get all of my 2009 files organized and stowed away before we ring in the New Year on Thursday night.

What household tasks are on your list before 2010?