From now until the end of the year, holiday clutter and chaos will try to sneak into your home. Now is a great time to get ahead of it. Hosting holiday parties and family dinners, stockpiling gifts and stocking stuffers, and putting out your favorite decorations can end up overwhelming our home’s spaces.
You can set yourself up for organizational success if you get started right now.
RUTHLESSLY DECLUTTER
If you want to get your home ship-shape before the holidays, you’ll want to take the “all at once” approach to decluttering. Carve out several hours and arm yourself with garbage bags, boxes, and totes. Put on some energizing tunes and hit one room at a time. Get ruthless with the things that are no longer needed or wanted to give your home (and your mind) some breathing space. Donate good items and trash the rest.
EVERY SQUARE INCH
Hit every nook and cranny of your home to get it sparkling clean. You can do it yourself or you can hire a company to do it for you. Tackle baseboards, light fixtures, handprints on walls, doors & light switches. Dust the grooves in all your indoor doors. Take the edger on your vacuum to the edges of the rooms. Give your pantry and refrigerator a good scrubbing. Get the floors cleaned. These details will help you stay ahead during this busy season.
PREPARE A SPACE FOR FOOD
If you’ll be hosting parties or the holiday dinner, you’ll be bringing a surplus of extra food and ingredients you don’t normally stock. Designate a space where you can keep all these items organized and out of the way from your regular cooking and baking routines.
PREPARE A SPACE FOR GIFTS
As you hit up the local sales and your online orders arrive, you need a designated space for your gifts. Make sure you find some ultra-secret spots to keep gifts hidden from nosy family members. Make a shopping list of all the supplies you will need for gift wrapping and keep it organized in one place.
TAKE SOME TIME OUT
Our calendars tend to fill up quickly during the holiday season. Maintain your sanity by making space in your calendar for you. It can be as simple as lighting a fire and reading a Christmas story with a mug of hot chocolate (or wine, if we’re honest).
The holidays don’t have to be a wild ride that you can’t control. When you get ahead of it by preparing your home, you can sail through on your magical sleigh of organization. Cheers!