Does this describe you?
It’s that time of year when heavy bins and boxes laden with holiday décor are joyfully carried from attics and basements to add festive touches throughout the house. This tradition of decorating creates the warm and wonderful feelings of anticipation and celebration as entire families join in to share in the process. Fresh cut trees stand tall and secure, lights are strung with ease, and beautifully wrapped gifts magically appear. The process so painless and easy that you have the time and energy to bake cookies and pies for all the family and friends who visit throughout the season.
Or not?
If that doesn’t describe your holiday planning and preparation experience,
you are not alone!
There are not as many household moves during November-December as during other times of the year. Nonetheless, our clients — homeowners young and old, in places big or small — sometimes feel as if they have moved as they transform their homes with decorations and prepare for the holidays. No moving van or shipping cartons curbside, but the same exhaustion having literally done a lot of heavy lifting for this brief season. The end result? Increased pressure and stress with the distant hope that they’ll cross the holiday threshold with enough steam left to actually enjoy the special time of year.
But as many of our clients have learned, this doesn’t have to be your holiday reality! If you want to have your halls decked and bring glad tidings to your family and friends, we can help. Read on for 3 easy tips for making the holidays less stressful.
Tip #1 Make Lists
These aren’t just your naughty or nice lists…these lists are what will keep you on track and organized throughout the season, and throughout the year. Consider creating a holiday notebook with tabs for various categories and pockets for receipts and other information. Some possible sections: gift ideas + purchases, budgets, menu planning, recipes, invitations and events. Segregate the tasks, chunk them down into small steps, and track your progress. Better yet, go digital. Any list making app on your smart phone will suffice but I recommend Evernote. It can replace your paper lists keeping years of holiday planning information at hand since it’s accessible on any device and syncs automatically. Plus, it won’t ever get left behind at home or in the car!
Tip #2 Less Is More
‘Tis the season for general overdoing. This leads to being ‘over’ stressed. I believe a little bit of stress can be good for you. A deadline (how ’bout December 25th?) is highly motivating, right? It keeps you moving forward and getting things done. But if you are not enjoying it, feeling too much pressure to create the “perfect” holiday, well, then it’s time to pause. Time to consider how to make it easier on yourself. For some ideas about how to make decorating easier, revisit our post Deck The Halls from 2016 for some great tips about decorating for the holidays. Another post from the archives worth revisiting: What’s for Dinner?
Tip #3 Ask For Help
Before it all becomes too much maybe it’s time to step away and let someone else take the reins of the sleigh. Ho! Ho! Ho! No need to go it alone. Even Santa gets help! Let the “elves” at Smartly Organized handle the extra demands of the season so you can relieve your stress and make time for family fun and traditions! Click here to learn more about our current Holiday Services and don’t hesitate to call or email for more information. Make this year different by giving yourself the gift of time so you can be in the moment during the holiday season.
Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and, of course, organized holiday season!
