Card crazy, getting organized

As I mentioned last month, the Hallmark Store is one of my happy places.  I buy special cards that say "mom," "dad," "husband," "son and wife," "grandson," etc. for birthdays, anniversaries, Fathers Day, Mothers Day, St. Patrick's Day, and other card occasions.  Every once in awhile, I'll go in and buy cards for the next two or three months (allowing time for cards to reach the kids who live overseas). 

Did I mention I have a lot of people to buy cards for? Two parents, a husband, 5 kids, 3 spouses, 2 (soon to be 3) grandsons....  Yes, life is full.  And February is our "tornado alley" for cards: 5 birthdays (not counting mine), 1 anniversary, 2 Vietnamese New Year and 8 Valentines (not counting mine). 

The system usually works pretty well, until this weekend when I tried to find the Fathers Day card I know I bought for my dad.  It wasn't in the Hallmark bag with college graduation cards for my son and daughter's boyfriends.  Surely I must have bought it when I was getting May (2 birthday, 1 anniversary, 2 Mothers Day) cards.  Why would I buy cards for graduations that took place on Fathers Day weekend, and not the Fathers Day cards.  I must have put them in a safe place, but where?

I finally just made a stop at the grocery store (Hallmark not yet open) on the way to work so I could get my dad's card in the mail today.  Yes, I can drive to his house in 24 hours, but sometimes it takes a week for the Postal Service to get it there. 

The time has come, I realized, to come up with a better system for keeping track of what cards have been purchased, and which ones I still need to shop for. 

I carry a small photo album (purchased from  Dollar Tree) with a few 4x6 photos of my kids and grandsons.  I use the pockets to keep things like: the list of who drew whose name in the Secret Santa Sibling exchange; the monthly Joann's coupons; and coupons from Hallmark which can get you 25% off or $2 off your total purchase.  So I decided to make a list to go into one of the pockets, next to the Hallmark coupons. 

In Word,  I did the following:

1. Using "Page Layout," orient is landscape, and increase the bottom margin to 1 1/2 inch.
2. Make four columns.
3. Using bold ALL CAPS, type every month of the year.  
4. Under each month, put bullets with the birthdays for that month, one per line.
5. Add "Anniversaries," with bullets for the names.
6. Do the same with card-giving occasions that apply to only certain people, like Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Halloween and Veterans Day.  Put bullets for those names.
7. Now add in holidays where you'll get personalized cards for all/most people on your list: Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Bullet the names for each card recipient(s), then copy and paste for each occasion.
8. Add spaces, if needed, so each month is in the same column.
9. Print and cut into 4x6 sheets to go into the album pocket.  (I put them all in the same pocket and will just put the current sheet in back when all cards have been purchased.)
10. Cross off the cards as you buy them.  It'll save a lot of searching through bags, desks and wondering if you're going crazy.
11. SAVE the list for next year, to add new grandchildren, delete graduations, and if necessary move Easter to March.

For now, I keep the cards in the Hallmark bag.  If the family gets much bigger, I'll have to use one of the card organizers I've collected over the years.  But I found one blogger who made her own, if you'd like to try.

Now, I just have to see if I can find the cards I may or may not have bought for my husband and son before Sunday.....