History of the Grand Plans

onded on the Prodigy online service. Writing to one another under the Prodigy message board heading, "Homelife-Get O", the Get O Group coalesced early in 1991.

Get O, short for Get Organized, was one of the first and most intense online support groups for home organization. Old-timers like Goldie and Ellen in MN, ML in Midlife and Gail Drinkard, Pink Kitty and toGail built a friendship network to encourage one another as they got organized at home.

Katie Leckey was one of the more prolific and creative members of the group. She authored the Grand Plan: a 13-week whole-house cleaning plan. Other members of the group added ruffles and flourishes, but Katie was the author, spirit and inspiration behind the original Grand Plan.

Soon, Katie wrote the Holiday Grand Plan that is presented here. The Holiday Grand Plan encompasses the 13-week Grand Plan for deep cleaning and organizing, and dovetails it with holiday prep and extends it to 18 weeks. Beginning the last week in August, the Holiday Grand Plan is designed to clean, organize and prepare a home for Christmas.

With the rise of the World Wide Web in 1994, Get O members began to scatter. Some, like CEO, have gone on to help others learn the organizing skills she honed with the original Get O group. Other Get-O participants have moved on to new jobs, new lives, new challenges.

The original Grand Plan and Holiday Grand Plan became available on the Web, but the history behind these works was lost. Some Web sites published the plans without acknowledging their author, or suggested authorship elsewhere.

Time for a clarification! To that end, a public and hearty "Thanks, Katie!" to Holiday Grand Plan author Katie Leckey. Thousands of Holiday Grand Planners the world over have enjoyed your hard work as they prepare for Christmas.

• Cynthia Townley Ewer, Get O Member "CEO"