10 Holiday Stress Relieving Organizational Tips!
November 13, 2010
The Holidays Are Here!
How would you like to strive for a less stressful holiday season? Are you already busy and dread the upcoming holidays and all of the chaos it brings? Do your self and your family a favor by cutting back on your holiday “have-to’s” and put those energies into being more organized. You don’t have to wait until the 1st of the year to make your New Year’s Resolution to become organized, you can start NOW!
Here are 10 top tips that you can work on now to have an enjoyable holiday season later.
1) If you are planning on hosting a meal at your house, grab a file folder and get started! Begin by jotting down notes, decorating ideas and menu options. If you see something in a magazine that you like, pull it out and put it in your file folder. Label it “Holiday Season 2010” or something that makes sense to you (maybe you can even keep adding to it every year so that it is a compilation of your best ideas ever). This is your “go-to” file for everything holiday related!
2) Plan on nailing down your menu at least 2 weeks before your meal and start writing up your grocery list. This way it is ready to go in a crunch and you can grab it and go!
3) If you are baking cookies, start baking NOW and start freezing them. This is a huge time saver and no one will know the difference. I promise…I have done it for years.
4) Make a list for Santa and stick to it. This provides a road map and makes shopping a lot less stressful if you know what you are looking for and what stores to visit. If you have young kids and you are still doing stockings, stick to the staples. This is the time of year that I stock up on underwear, batteries, socks and their annual ornament and I am done. Remember, keep it simple!
5) Start wrapping presents NOW (this means as soon as possible). Absolutely do no wait until Christmas Eve after the kids go to bed to start this escapade. Start wrapping a little bit every chance that you get and before you know it, you are almost done. I like to have one type of wrapping paper/theme every year. This way I can buy it in bulk and it takes the guess-work out of whom to wrap with what paper. I also shop the year before when everything goes on sale and I stock up so that I don’t even need to worry about wrapping supplies.
6) Do not wait until 1:30 am Christmas morning to start putting together “assembly-required” toys! You want to get a good night sleep just like your kids so that you are refreshed and you can enjoy the day also. Make every effort to get these assembled prior and stash them at a friend’s house!
7) Don’t let these holiday “grumpy” people spoil your holiday spirit. It is a stressful time already and remember you priorities for an enjoyable and less stressed holiday. Maybe your can spread some cheer around yourself and put a smile on someone else’s face!
8) Build some buffer time into your schedule. If you think something is going to take 45 minutes to do, plan on an hour. You will be very thankful that you did!
9) Don’t schedule any appointments that can wait until after the first of the year. Why attempt fate if you don’t have to?
10) Finally, focus on the holiday traditions that are important to you and your family. They could be old traditions that you have been doing for many years or they could be ones that you want to start. Either way, work on creating those “mental memories” that you want to pass down to your kids! That is what the holiday season is all about!
Happy Organizing! Bridges
