Do you have projects you’ve been putting off all year?
Are you feeling the stress of the holidays creeping in?
Do you want to actually ENJOY the season this year?
We are here to help!
We know that the holidays are hectic. This busy time of year fills our lives with even more events, commitments and tasks that can cause overwhelm. Sometimes the joy of the season can get buried in the clutter of our lives. Our professional organizing consultants can help in a variety of ways to free you up this holiday season.
We are more than organizers. We help you put first-things-first and arrange your life so you can enjoy your true priorities; to live in good stewardship and without regret. As of 2014, we’ve been helping people restore order to their lives for 15 years! To celebrate 15 years, below are 15 ways we can help relieve holiday stress so you can enjoy what matters most:
If you are ready for hands-on help, call Pattianne, our Client Services Manager, at 503-625-5774.
If you are looking for a do-it-yourself way to reclaim your holidays, a great place to start is with our Ending Holiday Overwhelm FREE ebook download! This resource covers 5 common “overs” (over-achieving, over-spending, over-committing, over-consuming, over-looking) that spoil the season. Download the ebook here. We have also created a free printable worksheet that will help you be intentional during the holiday season this year. Also, watch the Holiday Survival Guide YouTube video!
So here they are. 15 ways to reclaim your holidays!
1) Clear Out Kitchen: Need to get your kitchen ready for holiday meal preparations? Watch this YouTube video where Vicki shares some helpful ideas and strategies for organizing your kitchen based on how YOU use it.
2) Declutter Dining Room: Our professional organizer Colette helped a client reclaim her dining room just in time for the holidays. Click here to see the transformation and hear the story of how this client took back her dining room!
3) Acquire or Wrap Gifts: That’s right! Our professional organizers can help you shop for and wrap gifts for everyone on your list. Make sure you read through the FREE Ending Holiday Overwhelm ebook to get a fresh perspective on gift giving, including giving to charity in your loved one’s honor. Another idea is to visit our webstore. We have gifts that will help your friends and family reduce clutter rather than adding to it!
{Here is a helpful hint for avoiding after holiday clutter in your own home}
4) Prepare Guest Room: Whether you are anticipating guests over the holidays or just would like to be able to invite guests in the future, here are a couple blog posts that will help. Read our [Restore] ENews article REenvision: Remove Limits & Discover Possibilities and see how Vicki thought outside of the floor plan to make her home work for her family. And, as you clear out those spaces and get rid of unwanted or unused items, make sure you are giving well!
5) Create Wrapping Station: As you go through your home and gather all of your gift wrapping supplies, consider creating a wrapping station. Whether you have an unused dresser, a closet, or part of a room to devote to gift wrapping, this will remove some of the stress of gift giving! Read our Create a Gift Center blog from our 15 Summer Organizing Projects series.
6) Mail Packages: Our organizers can run errands for you! You can also avoid a trip to the post office by utilizing a home pick-up service like UPS On-Call Pick Up.
7) Holiday Meal Planning: From creating a menu, planning a grocery list, or performing inventory of servingware to helping you actually get the groceries into your kitchen, our consultants can help! We are life managers. We do much more than just organize! Having an organized meal plan can de-stress your holiday gatherings and allow you to be more present with your loved ones.
8) Organize Decor: As you pull out your holiday decorations, it might become obvious that it’s time to get organized! If you are having to go to multiple rooms, closets, and storage areas to pull out your treasures, take this opportunity to establish an organization system for your decor! Watch this YouTube video and this video where Vicki shares some helpful ideas on organizing holiday decorations.
9) Address Christmas Cards: The time-honored tradition of sending yearly Christmas cards brings thoughts of joy for some and dread for others. In our ebook Ending Holiday Overwhelm we recommend you closely examine this tradition to see if it is something that is really important to you or if it occurs more as an obligation. If reading this made you cringe – skip it! Opt for a few hand-written notes to close family or friends, or choose a different time of year to express your sentiments to those you care about. If this tradition is meaningful to you, but you feel overwhelmed with the task, this is something our professional organizers can help with! From gathering and organizing addresses, to purchasing cards and stamps, to addressing the envelopes and mailing, we can take the pain out of the process!
10) Decorate Your Home or Office: Our consultants have an eye for the aesthetic and can help make your spaces festive! Check out our Pinterest Boards for holiday decoration ideas we love.
11) Party Preparation: Whether it is planning out the details or actually being there to help you set up, our organizers can help and can keep you from becoming overwhelmed! Even if you don’t call in reinforcements, make sure you avoid the over-achieving pitfall! (Read about that in our ebook Ending Holiday Overwhelm.) Embrace mistakes and remember the purpose of hosting a holiday party – to spend time with those you care about!
12) Create Gift Closet: If hospitality or gift giving are important to you, you may want to have a designated spot in your home where you keep small gifts to always have something on hand. Another great use for a gift closet is to spread out Christmas spending. Have you ever purchased the perfect gift for someone and stashed it away only to forget where you put it? Establishing a gift closet allows you to purchase gifts throughout the year when you find a good sale or come across that perfect gift AND be able to find the gifts when the time is right!
13) Swap Out Winter Clothes: If you have enough space in your closets for all your clothes, we recommend you keep them all in the same place. However, if your space restrictions require you to change your clothes out seasonally, now is the time to tackle that task! Watch this video where Vicki walks through this process!
14) Create Christmas Budget: We are in the business of helping families and businesses reclaim their whole lives – including their finances! Before you over-spend this holiday season (read about avoiding this pitfall in our ebook Ending Holiday Overwhelm) make sure you take time to really look at your budget! Our professional organizers can help if this is an area that you avoid at all costs! The purpose of being intentional with your Christmas budget is to avoid the “buyers remorse,” pain, and clean up that follows over-spending. It’s worth it!
15) Schedule Holiday Calendar: This time of year you will receive multiple invitations to parties, charities, bazaars, and more. It is tempting to say “yes” to everything. However, over-committing during the holiday season can turn joy into overwhelm and dread. Read Ending Holiday Overwhelm to keep from over-booking yourself this year. Say “no” so you can say “yes” to the important things.
We hope these resources help you achieve a joyous and fulfilling holiday season. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
– Vicki Norris & the Restoring Order Team
Related:
- Want help getting organized this holiday season? Learn more about our professional organizer services.
