1) Start with a clean bag, wallet, and car. Do yourself a favor and empty out the contents of your bag or purse, toss the trash, return rogue items to their rightful homes, and put what you do need back in an organized manner. This might mean adding a pouch or toiletry case to contain loose items. Do the same with your wallet...and your car too. This process not only clears the clutter for an improved shopping experience, but also allows you to see what important items you don't have with you yet. To avoid crowding my wallet, I use a small coin purse to house store credit cards and rewards cards that I don't need on a daily basis. I keep it in my bag so it's there when I need it, but the items aren't cluttering my frequently used wallet.
2) Keep your gift cards and coupons at the ready! There is nothing worse than ending up at a store, ready to buy and realizing you have a coupon or gift card you could've used...at home. I prevent this problem by keeping coupons and gift cards for stores I frequent in a simple mesh envelope in my bag. It is comforting to know they're there when I need them and this slim, but durable way of storing them means they take up almost no room.
3) Get receipt ready. With shopping comes receipts, gift receipts, and returns. The only thing worse than not having a coupon or gift card with you, is not having a receipt when you need to return something. With holiday shopping, your wallet could get quickly overwhelmed with receipts, so I would recommend keeping a separate envelope (which could be similar to the one above) to house all holiday shopping receipts while you're out an about. Whether you use your wallet or a separate container, take a few minutes after each shopping outing to organize what you have. If you have a particularly long list, you may want to separate receipts by person, family, or store so it's easy to find something if you need it. You can even write the recipient's name(s) at the top. My mother-in-law uses a simple strategy for gift receipts - she tapes an envelope labeled 'gift receipt' to the box or item - you could do this right away so there are no mix-ups and no lost receipts.
4) Designate a gift zone. Before you head out, figure out where you're going to store your newly acquired gifts while they're waiting to be wrapped and delivered. This is ideally some place that's safe from pets, peeping eyes, and day to day activity. This will prevent gifts from being misplaced or damaged and they'll be ready to go when you're ready to wrap!
Bottom Line: Having a few simple systems in place and starting out with a clutter-free bag, wallet and car will help make holiday shopping a simple and stress-free endeavor this year. So turn on that holiday music and let the fun begin!
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