The holidays are a hectic time of year, what with all the family gatherings, the gift purchasing, and the big dinners. Make things easier for yourself this season by doing a little pre-holiday organization. Here are our top five tips to help make things run as smooth as eggnog.
1. Create a To-Do List
This is good general advice but applies even more so during the holidays. You should jot down all of your tasks in a calendar, a notebook, a smartphone app, or whatever place works best for you. Do it the night before or the morning of and you’ll be surprised with how much you accomplish. Nothing feels better than crossing an item off your list.
2. Check Up On Your Supplies
Before you buy anything new for your home, like a life-size Rudolph (complete with the glowing nose), make sure you don’t already have him (or one of his brothers) in your garage.
You’d be surprised how often people buy things they already own. There’s no worse feeling than throwing good money on something you already have, particularly when holiday budgets are so tight.
3. Sort Your Decorations
We all have that giant box of decorations full of tangled Christmas lights and ugly, broken ornaments from the 90s. Not only are they eye-sores, but they’re also potential fire hazards. Identify what you need and throw out the rest. Trust us, you won’t miss them.
4. Declutter
You need to make space for the all the fun gifts you’re going to get. Collect any clothes and items you don’t need and make a Good Will run. Not only will your home be clearer and cleaner, but it’ll also feel good to give to the less fortunate.
5. Hire a Housekeeper
If there’s a time to call a housekeeper, it’s the holiday season. You simply don’t have the time to do a full house cleaning while juggling planning, shopping, and cooking. And your judgmental in-laws will be looking for figurative and literal dirt, so hire a professional that’ll clean ALL your hard to reach spots. Rates can be surprisingly reasonable, and you only need to hire them for a few hours each year.
There you have it. Five tips to get everything in order for the holidays. Get all this stuff out of the way early and you’ll have more time to spend with your family.
All credit goes to Toronto Pro Moving and Storage
