This weekend, I packed away my autumn decorations and began mentally preparing for Christmas. The thought of making the house warm and festive brings most people joy, but many people feel anxiety.
Decorating the house isn't what stresses me out...it's the upkeep of the rest of our daily life in the midst of the clutter.
Each day in December seems to be busy for everyone. In addition to shopping for gifts, wrapping and shipping them, Christmas parties, cookie exchanges and school events, I think the change in the energy surrounding the season adds a different dynamic than we're used to the rest of the year. The anticipation, excitement, even stress...there are a lot of expectations surrounding Christmas.
On top of everyone being busier and more distracted, there's all this extra stuff around. Otherwise clean(ish) counter tops are suddenly covered with snowmen and nativity scenes, making it harder to do simple tasks like cook dinner, prepare sack lunches or go through the mail.
My biggest suggestion during the holidays is to take care of clutter quickly.
One thing I like to do is to establish drop-zones for things like incoming Christmas cards and gifts that need to be wrapped. Have a basket near your computer for invitations that need RSVPs, annual newsletters to read and new addresses to update. But don't let them pile up; record the information within a few days, then toss the paperwork.
I've made it a routine in December not to open an envelope (that's obviously a Christmas card) unless I have time to read it. The ones with a family picture and short greeting are quick, but when I'm in a hurry and I open a long newsletter, I feel guilty if I toss it aside for later. If I even get to it later...
What I usually do is open the holiday mail after dinner, while the kids are getting ready for bed and Mike does the dishes. (PS - we have the "I cook, you clean" rule in our house) I show him pictures and share big announcements, then tape the card/picture on the wall with the others.
The other major contributor to holiday paper clutter is receipts for gifts. (I stole this idea from Mike's mom - thanks, Barb!) To organize gift receipts, write each person/family's name on a business-sized envelope and put their gift receipts inside. This makes it easy to track how much you spend on each person. You can also easily find a return receipt if you find a different gift you want to purchase or if the size/color is wrong and the item needs to be returned to the store altogether.
Don't get overwhelmed this Christmas: be proactive and make a plan for the upcoming clutter and chaos.
Anyone else have any holiday organizational ideas to share? Leave a comment if you do!
Decorating the house isn't what stresses me out...it's the upkeep of the rest of our daily life in the midst of the clutter.
Each day in December seems to be busy for everyone. In addition to shopping for gifts, wrapping and shipping them, Christmas parties, cookie exchanges and school events, I think the change in the energy surrounding the season adds a different dynamic than we're used to the rest of the year. The anticipation, excitement, even stress...there are a lot of expectations surrounding Christmas.
On top of everyone being busier and more distracted, there's all this extra stuff around. Otherwise clean(ish) counter tops are suddenly covered with snowmen and nativity scenes, making it harder to do simple tasks like cook dinner, prepare sack lunches or go through the mail.
My biggest suggestion during the holidays is to take care of clutter quickly.
One thing I like to do is to establish drop-zones for things like incoming Christmas cards and gifts that need to be wrapped. Have a basket near your computer for invitations that need RSVPs, annual newsletters to read and new addresses to update. But don't let them pile up; record the information within a few days, then toss the paperwork.
I've made it a routine in December not to open an envelope (that's obviously a Christmas card) unless I have time to read it. The ones with a family picture and short greeting are quick, but when I'm in a hurry and I open a long newsletter, I feel guilty if I toss it aside for later. If I even get to it later...
What I usually do is open the holiday mail after dinner, while the kids are getting ready for bed and Mike does the dishes. (PS - we have the "I cook, you clean" rule in our house) I show him pictures and share big announcements, then tape the card/picture on the wall with the others.
The other major contributor to holiday paper clutter is receipts for gifts. (I stole this idea from Mike's mom - thanks, Barb!) To organize gift receipts, write each person/family's name on a business-sized envelope and put their gift receipts inside. This makes it easy to track how much you spend on each person. You can also easily find a return receipt if you find a different gift you want to purchase or if the size/color is wrong and the item needs to be returned to the store altogether.
Don't get overwhelmed this Christmas: be proactive and make a plan for the upcoming clutter and chaos.
Anyone else have any holiday organizational ideas to share? Leave a comment if you do!
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2 comments:
Hi Katie, thanks for a great and helpful post. I've already started making lists and crossing out some things that I really don't want to do this year. I'm actually excited and can't wait till the decorations come out this weekend maybe. My table is cleaned off and ready for thanksgiving dinner. What you said about the extra clutter is perfect that's what bothers me the most so I'm not putting up everything in the boxes this year, just a few favorites and it will be simple but cozy. Thanks again.
When I organize... like to completely empty a room (much to my husband's chagrin) and then put everything back in just perfectly... it's a bad habit... but fun!
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