Home for the Holidays - 10 Tips to Get Organized

This holiday season may be a milestone year for our family. I’ve actually volunteered our home as the family get-together location for Thanksgiving. Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but it is more significant if you recall that my husband and I are still technically “newlyweds” (I’ve been told anything under 5 years of marriage counts). Additionally, we’re still in the process of making our house into our home.

So, you’re wondering, how am I going to make it all work? That’s a good question! Read on for 10 Tips to Get your Home Organized for the holidays.

Choose Your Goal: First off, you have to have a goal. Obviously, mine is to have the house ready by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. So, whether your goal is to get things organized so you can finally hold that Tupperware Party, or even just having a neighborhood movie night, pick something that will keep you motivated and make you want to get things done.

Set the Date: Next, if you have a goal with a specific date, great! You’ve already got your deadline. However, if you choose a goal that doesn’t have a specific date attached — you’ll need to set a date so that you can have a real deadline to work with. If you remember your school years — things always got accomplished closer to the deadline — and there was always a specific date things were due.

Survey the Situation: Now that we’ve got our target date and goal, we need to take a look and see what needs to be done. Survey the situation, take note of the disaster zones, and think of what will need to be done. In my case, my husband and I need to clean, organize and finish unpacking a few boxes remaining from our move (I’m sure there’s more). Got your mental list yet? Great!

Write it Down: One of the best ways to stay on track is to write down your list of goals and “To-Do’s.” Mine is in the form of a checklist, with easy bite-sized tasks so I can feel a sense of accomplishment about checking things off my list. One thing I just completed yesterday was laying our stepping stone front walk. What sort of things could you put on the list? Well, try some of these ideas:

• • Kitchen Desk — organize clutter, sort mail, throw away old coupons
  • Living Room — vacuum, put away toys, organize DVD collection
  • Front Closet — make room for winter coats, get hangers for guests’ coats, organize mittens
  • Mud Room — clean floor, organize tool shelf, put shoes on shoe rack
  • Guest Bedroom — vacuum, check for clean linens
  • Bathrooms — check supplies, add “holiday cheer,” organize junk drawer
  • Basement — unpack moving boxes, get out holiday decorations, check for cobwebs
  • Outside — trim grass, check welcome mats, replace flood lamp light bulbs

Hopefully that is a good list starter — remember, you can make your list as long as you want, or as short as you want. If you’re really organized you could even make a “section” for each room you want to tackle. It’s your choice!

Work on Your List: Now that your list is made — don’t think you’re stuck with it. The greatest part about lists is the fact that you can add and subtract things at will. So change things as needed. But, don’t spend so much time revising your list that you forget to get the tasks themselves accomplished!

Ask for Help: Chances are good that you share your house with others… maybe your spouse, kids, or even other relatives? If so, why not get them involved in the preparation? Your spouse may not be the most enthusiastic about helping with everything on your list, but if you’ve talk about your desire to get the house organized and explain how appreciative you will be… you might be surprised at the results. Depending on their age, kids can help put away their toys, organize their mittens, and even help decorate! Of course, it all depends on what you’re comfortable with allowing your kids to do, so keep that in mind when you’re distributing tasks from your list.

Be Willing to Compromise: When you do get help, be flexible. If your helper has a particular task they want to do (let’s say that again: something they want to do), try to be accommodating. Additionally, remember that life happens, and if you get a little behind schedule — it’s not the end of the world. Ok, so maybe that power outage prevented you from getting the entire house cleaned inside and out — but you did do the best you could given the circumstances. Life happens… and we sometimes need to just move on.

Evaluate Your Progress: As you work towards your goal, don’t forget to take a break and evaluate your progress. Are you halfway there? Have you checked XX tasks off your list? If it doesn’t seem like you’ve gotten much accomplished, just take a quick tour of your house. I bet you’ll be able to see some changes. By taking time to evaluate where things are at, you’ll be able to avoid that last-minute-panic. How? Well, chances are you’ll remember something else that needs to be done sometime during the organization process; if you remember sooner rather than later, it will give you the time to add the task to your list.

Take a Break: Yes, you do need to stop cleaning and organizing at least once in a while. Taking a break allows your mind and body to relax. When you resume work, you’ll be much more productive! Can’t think of anything to do as a break? Why not read a book, or maybe watch a movie. You could also call up a friend, or take the kids to the park. Whatever gets your mind off “work mode” — that’s a good break activity!

Countdown Cleanup: As your D-Day approaches, you can avoid mass panic by going over your list and seeing everything you’ve accomplished. Take a walk through your house and see how great it looks! Sure, you might need to do some vacuuming, and a few dust bunnies may have gathered under your guest bed, but all in all, those are simple things to fix. Take a look at how great your house looks compared to when you started; I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Just a few small chores left, and your home will be ready for your get-together!

So, there you have it. I hope these tips give you the motivation you’ve been needing to get your home cleaned and organized. Just remember, your house is a home, not a museum. Things won’t always be perfect and pristine, but they will have that feel of “home” — and that’s one of the best atmospheres your home can have.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 9:35 am and is filed under Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.