10 things to do in January (continued)

6 Inspect your seasonal decorations
When you put them away, look for missing hooks or broken bits on balls and wreaths. You can probably fix them yourself, but if you can't, get rid of them now and use this as an excuse to go shopping again. There will no doubt be serious bargains to be had.

7 Restock the liquor cabinet
You may have used up a lot of your mix and stand-by offerings like vodka, rum or scotch. It's always nice to have a few sweet after-dinner bottles as well, and they may also be close to empty now that the guests have gone.

8 Take care of your dinner party accessories
Polish the silver and pack it away carefully. Check table linens for small holes before washing them and putting them away. Don't bother putting them away if they need to be mended. It's easier to take care of this stuff now, rather than adding it to your to-do list when you're in the throes of getting ready for the next holiday.

9 Deal with your pictures
Take that film in if you used a traditional camera or download the precious ones if you've gone digital. If you wait till after the next celebration, you'll feel overwhelmed by them all. Sit down now and edit the great ones from the less-than-stellar and make a plan for them all. As you create a file, e-mail them to people who were in the shots, as a way of saying thank you for celebrating with us. (You'll kill two birds, as they say; see number 10.) And if you're going to hang on to all the shots yourself, pick up a few photo albums now.

10 Send thank-you cards
Keeping on top of holiday notes can be tough when you're in the middle of planning, celebrating and shopping. But now that things have slowed down, there's more time to draft short missives of gratitude. Do it -- you'll feel good about it.