What to do with Holiday Cards (after the holiday)

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My family loves getting all those wonderful, festive, colorful and thoughtful holiday greeting cards this time of year. My daughters especially love looking through them. But, what can you do with them all after the holiday time is over? Here are a few suggestions:

Make a Flip-Book: Keep your favorites, punch a hole in the top corner of each, and, using a simple loose-leaf ring, attach them all together as a 'flip-book' to display each year.
Make Gift Tags: Cut the pictures out into a tag shape, punch a hole, and use them the following year as tags on Holiday gifts.
Donate to a worth cause: St. Jude's Ranch takes old greeting cards (any occasion), replaces the backs and then sells them on their website. The proceeds benefit St. Jude's Ranch, which houses neglected and abused children. For details on how to donate, go to this link: http://www.stjudesranch.org/help_card.php
Save as memorabilia: Put your favorite keepsake cards in a ziploc bag, write the year, and store in a memorabilia box (this approach, however, has potential to create huge volumes of cards over time, so use cautiously!)
Scan them: If you hate to toss used greeting cards because of their sentimental value, scan them into a computer. Then put on a flash-drive to display on a digital picture frame at holiday time.
Discard (recycle): This is,of course an option, and it's completely OK to do so. If you have a problem with guilt over doing this, remember that the sender sent you the card to bring you joy and a smile. If the cards become a burden to you, then the sender's intent is no longer there, so it's ok to discard them.

Linda English - Owner/Professional Organizer
Organizing With EASE, LLC
201-638-9593 www.orgwithease.com orgwithease@aol.com