How to Get Organized This Christmas

It’s the busiest time of year; traffic has picked up, the mall is slammed with people, your planner is full of activities and events you’ll be participating in this December. It’s so easy to find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed in the hustle and busyness of the Christmas season! I know I do! Today, it’s my mission to share some easy ideas to get organized this Christmas, so we don’t have to feel tense or overwhelmed! This holiday season can either be one of festive excitement and fun, or it can be one of exhaustion and annoyances. Let’s implement some of these ideas to have an organized Christmas so we can focus on the fun this year!

Have a designated wrapping supplies area

This is a super easy way to get organized this Christmas because it literally takes minutes to accomplish! Pick a place where you will house all the wrapping paper, tape, scissors, bags, tissue paper, cards, you name it for the entire holiday season! Then when you’re in a hurry to get to that White Elephant party, instead of having to take out a search warrant for tape, everything is right where you need it in the wrapping supply area.

Keep a locked note on your phone with all your gift lists and hiding spots

We’ve all gone on great National Treasure style searches through our house for that one gift we bought from QVC’s Christmas in July sale. Of course, we found such a great hiding spot, it’s hiding from us now that we need it! Avoid this by keeping a locked note on your phone. This is Christmas Central. List all the gifts you’ve bought or are buying for your loved ones, and where you’re hiding it throughout your house. Now, when wrapping time comes, you know exactly what you’re looking for and where to find it!

Make Christmas Clean Up a habit

Nothing makes me stressed out more than a cluttered home, especially when I’m so busy during the holiday season! Let’s literally get organized for the holidays by organizing our home! Break the tasks down by setting a 15-minute timer and choosing that time to clean each day. Run through the house and clean the clutter, dust, vacuum, or wipe the counters. Pick one task to accomplish each day and don’t spend more than 15 minutes on it so it doesn’t become overwhelming! 

Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses

It is SO easy to fall into the trap of trying to keep up with your family and friends who are participating in so many events and activities, with a perfectly decorated and clean home that looks like it came out of a Southern Living magazine. Listen to me here: you will be exhausted and miserable if you try to have the prettiest Christmas lights in the neighborhood, the most perfect Christmas card, or the best presents of all your friends. Stop this right now before it gets out of hand and keep your focus on the reason for getting organized this holiday season – to make wonderful memories with your family – NOT to have the prettiest, most intricate Christmas cookies of your friends. Let go of perfection and enjoy this festive season!

Keep your planner up to date

The Christmas season is busy, and the last thing you want to do is overcommit; this is the easiest way to make Christmas a to-do list instead of a festive time celebrating with loved ones! Make it a practice to keep your planner organized! Maybe you stick a calendar on the wall of your home office, or you use your phone; whatever you decide, keep it updated. I love to keep a physical planner for personal items and keep a digital, shared google calendar with my family so they are all up to date with the events as well! Start by filling in your favorite Christmas activities; put the things you don’t want to miss on the calendar FIRST to ensure there’s time for it! Then, anytime you say yes to an added event, make an intentional effort to get it on your planner so you don’t double book.

Delegate when you can

A few weeks ago, we chatted about How to Enjoy the Holiday Season with a Chronic Illness, and one of the items we discussed was simplifying when you can by hosting a holiday dinner as a potluck, so you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking every course. This is a wonderful example of delegating when you can! I don’t know who decided we should put this pressure on ourselves to try to accomplish everything perfectly on our own; it simply isn’t possible! Ask your husband to help out by running to the grocery store to grab the gift card for your friend’s Christmas present, have a Date Night with your husband and decorate your home or wrap presents together, or if you have the resources, pay for a meal delivery service such as Home Chef to take some of the burden of weeknight cooking off of your plate so you can focus on getting organized for the holidays.

Conclusion: give yourself grace

Christmas is busy, and the fact of the matter is, you’re not perfect, you’re not superwoman, and you simply cannot do it all. You will make mistakes, and that’s ok! Pay attention to how you’re feeling this Christmas season, and if at any point you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, stop, and take a moment to breathe. It is completely unreasonable to expect perfection, so stop beating yourself up and give yourself grace for doing the very best you can! Keep focused on the intention behind getting organized this Christmas – to focus on enjoying the festive holiday season instead of wasting time with unimportant tasks! Do you plan to implement one of these strategies for having an organized Christmas? Let me know in the comments below!