Ask the Organizer: Holiday Stress

I saw something online today announcing that there was only 51 days left until Christmas.

Does that give anyone else a mild panic attack!?

 

 

So, to alleviate some holiday stress, I will be discussing ways to be more organized for the holiday season.... for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

What stresses you out the most about the holiday season?

 

-Getting your guest room ready for the in-laws?

-Clearing out playrooms to make room for new Christmas toys?

-Planning a Thanksgiving meal for 12 people?

-Organizing your Fall or Christmas décor?

-Traveling for the holidays?

-Sending out Christmas cards?

-Shopping for gifts?

 

I'd like to help, so here's your chance to "Ask the Organizer." Comment below and let me know what organizational dilemmas and frustrations you face this holiday season.

 

**And stay tuned for a giveaway!!**

Storing Holiday Decor

Let's hear a round of applause.....I finally put away our Christmas decorations today!!

 

We have been out of town for almost 2 weeks, and today was the first chance I've had to get our house back in order. And since both of my kids have felt a bit under the weather today, it was the perfect excuse to let them have a movie marathon.

(Yes, not only am I organizer extraordinaire, I am mother-of-the-year too! :)

 

I decided to try a different tactic today, and stored every decoration for a single room in one tub. (Ex. all the decorations that were in the dining room, went in a tub labeled "dining room.") Now, I know that's not rocket science, but for some reason, I've never done that. In past years, I just put things away in tubs where they fit best, according to size. And then I took inventory of each tub and wrote it on the outside.

 

So, although it took a little extra time today, I must say...I love my new system!

 

Here's what I did:

1. Used MS Word to create a sheet that said "Christmas Decorations" with 10 lines underneath, and printed 14 copies (2 copies for each tub).

 

2. Took down decorations room-by-room and placed in one single tub if at all possible.

 

3. Wrote the contents of each tub on 2 copies of inventory sheets with a sharpie, and used packing tape to attach a copy to the front & side of the tub.

 

4. Repeated for each room with holiday décor!

 

 

How do you store your holiday décor?!

Holiday Decor Storage

When it comes to storing holiday décor, my philosophy is "the simpler, the better." Because let's face it, we can't all have garages that look like this:

 Instead, a more realistic example may be my basement:

 It contains mismatched colors/sizes of tubs, a random cord hanging from the ceiling, and some extra light fixtures and boards to throw in as well. It's still pretty organized in my opinion, though it may  not be the "prettiest" space! :)

 

I have one tub for Halloween/Fall décor.....

 .....two tubs for Easter/Spring décor, and then about 10 tubs for Christmas decorations. I used a simple label-maker to mark each tub, and for now, that is good enough.

 

I'll be honest though, I'd love for my storage space to look like this, with all matching clear tubs so you can see the contents:

I can blame my OCD for that!

 However, I have stumbled upon this idea as a better way to label your holiday décor tubs, and I can't wait to implement it this Christmas! Simply create a Word document that can serve as an inventory sheet for each tub. Then laminate the label, and list each tub's contents with a dry erase marker, as shown here:

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I would even add a little section at the bottom called "Need for Next Year," as a quick reference if something broke or you didn't use it to decorate that year. For example when stores - Hobby Lobby, I'm talking to you! - put their Christmas décor out in September, you can see at a moment's glance if you need something new for the upcoming holiday.

 

Another great idea: hanging wreath storage. Now, I only own about 3 wreaths, because like I said, I'm a minimalist. But I realize that some people - especially for Christmas - hang wreaths on multiple windows and door. If that sounds like you, here ya go!

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 I've had my fall decorations out for about a week now, and nothing make me happier than walking into my living room and seeing this!!

 And here is some of my favorite décor around the house:

One more tip concerning holiday décor.... as I was decorating last week, I realized I couldn't remember where I had put certain things the previous year. So, I decided to pictures of my house fully decorated, and can easily refer back to them in the future.

 

Let me know if you have any tips for storing holiday décor!

 

Happy Decorating!!