Stress Less: Home Organizing Tips for the Holidays Part 2
In our last blog post, we shared home organizing tips and tricks from our NYC Professional Organizer for making the busiest of holiday seasons less overwhelming and hectic. With all those festive gatherings of family and friends comes extra food preparations, gift buying, preparing overnight accommodations, and so much more – the list can be a mile long! Today, we dive into holiday home organizing tips in greater detail so that you can stress less and spend more time basking in the moments with your friends and family.
Behold the power of printable checklists. Having all the tasks that need to be done captured in one place is optimal. You can always create your own checklist…however, with so much to do and so little time, tapping into one of the many resources that already exist is the way to go. You can find many resources on Pinterest with links and photos leading to blogs, printable lists and recipes as well as on other sites.
Plan ahead. When it comes to holidays, the best way to combat the stress of the season is to prepare for every part of it far in advance.
Budget: If you haven’t already created a budget for all of your holiday entertaining and shopping, this should be your top priority. As there are many spontaneous gatherings during this time, including a contingency to cover these unexpected costs will keep you calm and focused. With your menu plans set, you will know exactly which items to keep an eye out for when perusing the weekly supermarket flyer and visiting online coupon sites. The added bonus… you will avoid the panic attack that will otherwise set in as you eye that pile of post holiday bills cluttering up your desk in January.
Food Preparation: Take a look at the menu: what can be done before the holiday itself? What can be cut, chopped, or diced? What can be prepared to be presented for guests the day before? Balancing your menu with dishes that can be prepared in advance with those that require day of cooking is one of our favorite home organizing tips. Don’t be reluctant to add in some store prepared appetizers and side dishes to round out the selections.
Don’t be afraid to delegate. Many times the host or hostess wants to do it all themselves. We all have that one relative or family member who insists on doing everything for the holiday themselves. Ask yourself, what task can you “pass on” to another member in your family? Is it having your youngest assist in setting the table? Is it asking your newly married daughter to bring the dinner rolls? Can your husband pick up the turkey earlier in the week? Share the work, share the holiday joy!
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Many times hosts or hostesses find themselves obsessing over the perfect menu, the most picturesque table setting or the placement of all the decorations.With all that needs your time and attention, our NYC Professional Organizer urges you to focus your energies on checking a specific number of tasks off of your list each day. By doing so, all your advance preparations will get done and you can enjoy spending time with your guests at each planned gathering.