I personally am of the mind that being prepared and organized can help you in just about every possible way. So before I bore you with the "ins and outs" of holiday excess, I want to give you some very important information: ways to survive your family during the holidays.Let's face it, by the time we see our families for the actual celebration, our fingers are covered in Band-Aids because they are so burnt up from the obligatory cooking, our backs hurt from all of the gift wrapping, our bank accounts are empty and our credit limits are full. If that weren't enough, we have to put on the happiest of happy faces for the holiday party.
This time of year is frequently associated with gift giving with good reason, and gift giving means gift receiving, which almost always means new things coming into your home. It makes perfect sense that now is a great time to declutter. If you are welcoming guests for the holidays, your motivation to declutter is even greater, especially if you've been using the guest room as a storage space.Here are a few ways to declutter right now instead of Christmas Eve.Holiday DecorationsDo you have holiday decorations that you are simply tired of using?
Like it or not, the holidays are officially upon us, and like so many things, we all feel differently about everything that entails. Regardless of how you feel about the holidays, it is the time of the year when we are all running at full speed. To make the most of this "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" we need to slow down and be intentional about how we spend our time and money. This means doing only the things that are important to our family and to us, and eliminating the to-do's that are not any personal joy. That means, for me, watching the fun Christmas shows with my kids and not trying to make hand-made Christmas cards. To be intentional about anything first requires a plan. Ask your family and yourself what is most important to each of them and work from there. I have always wrapped the gifts for my husband and boys in their own paper pattern. By doing this I do not have to tag or bow these gifts simply because my guys don't care about that. Last year, I decided to buy all craft gift bags and green tissue paper and all of the gifts – for everyone – were wrapped this way. The week before Christmas my husband shared how sad it made him not to have his own paper. My boys agreed so I then had to re-wrap all of their gifts. I never dreamed this would be so meaningful to them, but it is.
I'm often asked for suggestions on how to prevent items from disappearing from shared home spaces like kitchens or family rooms – even on the job. The British Medical Journal published the results of a study documenting the disappearance of teaspoons from their cafeteria. They purchased both high and low quality teaspoons and distributed them throughout the cafeterias of their research center. They also examined teaspoon disappearance in common private dining rooms.
We are all busy, right? Even if there isn't enough time in your day to actually clean your house, you would be surprised at how nice it looks by simply putting things away, clearing the clutter. You may not want to eat off the kitchen floor but you will know where to find what you need and your life will be much simpler. Here are a few ways that I recommend clutter at bay. This is a genius trick used by waiters and waitresses. The rule is no one could go in or out of the kitchen without full hands. Use the same rule in your home. Establish areas of items that need to go downstairs or upstairs and items that belong somewhere else. No one can pass by the area without taking some of the items. I would like to add that I am not talking about laundry baskets here, I'm talking about baskets, buckets or containers that suit your tastes and décor.
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