You have two reasons to save greeting cards sent to you. If these two
reasons aren't applicable to you and you save all of your greeting cards, then
you're saving clutter.
Read onward for greeting card organization tips
and greeting card organizers and ideas useful for saving greeting cards
that you're keeping and for greeting cards that you're planning to send.
Reason #1 to Save Greeting Cards
♦First, save greeting cards that have sentimental value to you.
♦That means you do
NOT have to save greeting cards from all of those other nice people who sent you
holiday greetings. Really, you don't. Most of them won't mind a bit if you trash
their greeting card after the holiday. In fact, nobody will even know except
you. Why would they ask you if you kept it?
That includes the greeting cards
with real family photos that are so popular. You don't have to keep portraits of
other people's family's and pets that have no sentimental meaning to you. (Note:
If you're keeping greeting cards, read organization tips and find greeting card
organizers further below on this page.)
♦Also, ALWAYS trash the envelopes in which the greeting cards came regardless of
whether or not you are keeping the greeting card. When you get a greeting card,
tear off the return address label portion of the envelope. Make a note on this
scrap paper of any family names that are written inside the greeting card;
sometimes it is hard to remember all of the children's names or the correct
spelling of some names. When you send your return greetings you'll need to know
for instance if the spelling of your friend's spouse name is Jon or John.
♦Then put these scraps of paper with addresses and notes in one spot, such as in
a magnetic clip attached to the side of the refrigerator or in a zip-closure
plastic baggie.
After the holidays, enter all of these addresses and family and
friend notes into your address book and then trash these scrap pieces of paper.
You also could enter the holiday card addresses ongoing as they arrive into your
address book.
But if you're able to enter the addresses at one time, that's a
timesaver for you. (Note: make a category notation in your address book by each
address that says "Christmas" or another holiday category or code. That way you
have an organized greeting card to-do list for future years.)
Reason #2 to Save Greeting Cards:
♦The second reason to save greeting cards is if you plan to use the greeting
cards in craft projects.
♦This reason may have nothing to do with sentimental
keepsakes discussed above. For instance, the card may have a great photograph or
drawing of Santa. Make it into an ornament. Clip the Santa portrait with
scissors (trash the rest of the card); use a single hole puncher to put one hole
at the top of Santa's picture; string yarn or thread through the hole; hang your
new Santa cardboard ornament on your Christmas tree. That's just one simple
ornament idea. You can probably think of lots more ideas.
♦Or give the cards to your children to cut into paper dolls, paintings for their
doll house walls or to put into collages. It's fun amusement for them. When
they're finished, trash anything they don't want to keep playing with.
♦But
whatever you do, don't keep all of those holiday greeting cards because you
MIGHT do something crafty with them one day. If you don't have a specific idea now,
don't save them.
Greeting Card Organizers:
So now what do you do with the greeting cards given to you that you saved for sentimental
value? You have several options:
1) Put these special greeting cards into
your photo albums.
2) Put these greeting cards in scrapbook
pages. Cut the card as needed so that you keep the parts you want such as a
special handwritten message, a pretty portion of the picture and/or the card
verse. Put a picture of the person who sent you the greeting card on the
scrapbook page.
3) Fill a slim binder with top loading
sheet protectors and load one greeting card into each sheet protrector.
Label the binder on the spine and front with a title such as "Greeting Cards
From Family and Friends 2005".
4) Buy a real greeting card organizer
sold by stores such as Organize-Everything. This can be used to store greeting
cards you get, greeting cards you're sending or both. This
Greeting Card Planner - Organizer
 has
12 tabbed dividers with labels for you to put titles on:
5) File the greeting cards into a file such
as an accordion pocket file folder or manila file folders. Label each
separate pocket with a person's name. An accordion pocket folder looks similar
to the greeting card organizer above accept it's usually a solid color (not
translucent) and made of paper, like sturdy cardboard, and is sold in the office
supply section of stores. The pockets on top open like an accordion (sometimes
called expandable files too).
6) Store your sentimental greeting cards in
one pile in a hat box, bin, container or basket that you can flip through
now and then when reminiscing. Keep it under the bed, on a shelf in a closet or
the garage. Label it.
7) Scan your greeting cards onto your
computer using a flatbed scanner. Learn how to use some of that nifty
photo, graphic or Powerpoint software that you have and make the cards into a
single slide presentation or electronic album. Burn the presentation or album onto a CD.
Trash the paper cards.
8) If the side of the Christmas card with
the picture on top isn't marred or written on, you might be able to use that
half of the card as a postcard. Check the US postal service website for
guidelines on minimum and appropriate sizes for postcards. It's perfectly
acceptable to create your own postcards and send them through the postal mail as
long as they meet the USPS guidelines.
(c) 2005-2006 Karen Fritscher-Porter
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