If you’re planning on decorating your home for the holiday season, include a plan for organization. Leftover storage boxes, piles of holiday cards and random seasonal clutter will take away from your ability to enjoy Christmas and other holidays. Here are some ways to allow yourself to enjoy the holiday while remaining sane and organized.
Holiday Schedule
The first thing to focus on organizing is your time. Do you want to remember your holiday season as having been spent baking, making crafts, visiting friends and neighbors, or shopping for great bargains? Whatever your seasonal priorities are, get them down on paper. Use a wall calendar or your personal organizer to get important dates, holiday celebrations and other seasonal events on the calendar for the month ahead so you don’t end up missing or forgetting something really important to you! For example, write down a day to “Bake Cookies!”
Manage Holiday Stuff
When it all comes down from the attic or up from the basement, the piles of your holiday collections can seem overwhelming. Make a few piles according to projects- one pile for decorating the tree, one for other holiday collectibles, and one for miscellaneous holiday projects. This way, you can approach one pile at a time and not feel overwhelmed by the lineup of holiday season to-dos. Invest in a few new organizational storage containers (like the ornament organizer in the photo) so that when you put away this year’s holiday treasures you’ll have an easier time decorating for next year. Label everything!
Choose a Holiday Deadline
Give yourself a deadline. By which day do you want to have everything done, decorated, and storage boxes and containers put away? Mark that day on your calendar. Enlist the help of spouses, kids, neighbors, friends or other family members to help you meet your holiday deadline, Nothing will feel better than having your home completely decorated with storage items put away- so that you can relax and anjoy the holidays instead of being surrounded by clutter. When you meet your holiday decorating deadline, celebrate with a warm fire, some egg nog and a great holiday movie!
Don’t let your holidays be overshadowed by clutter and worry. It’s easy to get ‘wrapped up’ in all the running around, stress over spending and busy holiday schedules. Remember: this is a time of year you are supposed to be enjoying so decide how it is you’d like to enjoy it, and do so! Organizing your holidays will help you relax and enjoy them.
