While it’s not unusual for me to cross streams here in my Monday epiphany, that crossing typically involves a meld of the blog and the podcast. Don’t worry, you’ll get that next week. Today? Today, the streams that are crossing are those that trickle through my life as a freelance writer and those that sit among the boxes of Christmas stuff sitting in my garage, awaiting display. I swear, that tree will get up eventually.
A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned being in a pre-holiday panic. I immediately blurted out, “Oh, I just wrote an article for one of my clients about organizing the holiday chaos.” Then she immediately blurted out, “CAN YOU SEND IT TO ME???” In an ode to you, Jennifer, I give you my less-professional 12 Days of Organization, reworked just a touch because this space is not quite as formal as the ones I get paid to fill.
This is a season filled with beautiful decor, family gatherings, and cozy nights, but it is also filled with tangled lights that never make it out of storage, arguments around the dining table, and canceled cozy nights derailed by last-minute mayhem. With an endless stream of invites, school events, guests, and surprise guests who can’t read the pajama-clad room, heading into the season strong will take the edge off. Well, maybe.
While I can’t fix everything, I can offer a few hints to decrease the chaos. Think of this as a festive roadmap that will steer you away from the stress. OR, think of it as a completely unachievable list that you’d rather throw into the fireplace to serve as kindling when the holiday hustle ends and you finally have a chance to sit down.
On the 1st Day of Christmas, Reset Your Entryway:
Your home’s entryway sets the tone. It’s also the spot where most of your family’s items land because putting them away is, well, challenging.
- Clear the forty-seven stray shoes from your traffic zones.
- Add hooks at multiple heights to make it easy for guests of all sizes to hang their coats.
- Consider a collapsible coat rack that you can pull-out for the “busy season.”
- Add a bin or basket for guests to drop their gloves, hats, and scarves. When they call later because they lost something, you’ll be a hero.
- Place a boot tray near your main doors so visitors can shed wet shoes and, if you’re feeling bougie, buy a pile of inexpensive slippers for guests to slide into.
On the 2nd Day of Christmas, Declutter Kitchen Counters:
The kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s also the heart of your messes and of empty boxes returned to the pantry and of cabinet doors that someone couldn’t be bothered to close. You’ll be spending a lot of time in your kitchen this season; give it some love.
- If you store every small appliance ever made on your counters, stop. Put away the ones that aren’t used daily and give yourself back some great real estate.
- Buy a basket and label it “MAIL.” With a bit of nagging, your mail may start landing in this basket instead of becoming part of a scavenger hunt.
- Add a festive candle or a miniature tree to the kitchen for a little extra cheer. Not really. I wrote that for a builder. I mean, the candle–yes. A tree? Who does that?
- If you will be prepping food with a crowd, create specific zones for your helpers. It’s not that you don’t appreciate the help, after all, it’s that you want your space to be your space and, well, put them over there…away from it.
On the 3rd Day of Christmas, Confront Your Refrigerator:
Your refrigerator is about to be filled with leftovers and culinary gifts. Make space now!
- Toss anything and everything that is expired. Be ruthless. Those questionable condiments are just taking up room, and no, you are never going to need sun-dried tomatoes again.
- Wipe down each refrigerator shelf to remove the stained ghosts of spills past. You don’t have to do this often, but once a year doesn’t hurt.
- If you’ll be buying or building party platters, design their home now rather than the second that home is needed.
- Invest in a few plastic bins for kid-friendly snacks. Theoretically, this will keep your charges from rummaging and re-cluttering your work. Theoretically.
On the 4th Day of Christmas, Prepare the Guest Room:
Even if you don’t have plans for overnight guests, well, sometimes the eggnog gets away from us. Whether you have a dedicated guest room or use a flexible space for visitors, a few touches will give the space a “We totally planned for this” feeling. It’s also a great space for you to sneak away to if someone’s holiday snoring gets a little too musical.
- Keep a spare set of clean sheets in the linen closet, ready to go at a moment’s notice.
- Set out your home’s Wi-Fi information, a few bottles of water, and a small basket of toiletries to amp up that welcoming feel.
- Adding a candle or cute door hanging can give your guest room a touch of year-round, southern charm.
On the 5th Day of Christmas, Make Space in the Pantry:
If you haven’t already, you will soon be stocking up on flour, sugar, spices, snacks, and party foods. Organizing your pantry now to reduce stress later. This will also make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for quickly and without interrupting you.
- Group “like” items together. Keep baking items in one area, snacks in another, breakfast items in another, etc.
- Make a dedicated area for disposal serving items and put that area at eye level.
- Are you a giver? Great. If homemade holiday treats are your favorite gift, create a bin specific to each project that includes needed ingredients and the packaging they’ll travel in.
On the 6th Day of Christmas, Designate a Gift-Wrapping Zone:
If you haven’t had at least one meltdown sparked by disappearing scissors, are you even part of a family? Diffuse disasters by designating a gift wrapping station. This can be a desk, a rolling cart, or that collapsible table in your garage (wipe off the cobwebs). Keep all of your wrapping supplies in this spot and threaten death to anyone who walks away with its essentials. Stock it with scissors, tape, wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbons, and gift tags. Pro-tip: There is never enough of any of those items, so really, really, really stock it well. Like, overstock it.
On the 7th Day of Christmas, Prep Your Living Spaces:
No matter what your home looks like or where you think people will mingle, the living room will likely be where everyone gathers. Make it even more welcoming by:
- Adding a few cozy blankets to seating areas.
- Spot checking pillows, literally. Wipe off evidence of previous spills.
- Clear side or coffee tables of magazines, socks, toenail clippers, toenail shards, and remotes to make room for drinks and snacks.
- Build a “kiddie basket” with quiet toys, crayons, or blocks to keep younger visitors occupied while you mingle with friends.
On the 8th Day of Christmas, Refresh Your Bathrooms:
Bathrooms do a lot of extra work during the holidays. A lot. From extra users to, well, holiday diets, sprucing up your bathrooms now is a gift that keeps on giving.
- Declutter counters and give them a good wipe down.
- Add a stack of hand towels so guests don’t have to dig for a way to dry their hands.
- Stock plenty of toilet paper and tissues in an easily visible basket. Why? Because then you can continue ignoring the mess that lives under the counter.
- If you’re hosting, light a subtle holiday candle in the bathroom just before guests arrive so nothing gets shared that wasn’t intentional.
On the 9th Day of Christmas, Tackle Your Drop Zones:
Many of us rely on drop zones, mudrooms, and laundry rooms as command centers. Tackle these areas now to lessen the chaos later.
- Store any out-of-season jackets, backpacks, or bags in a closet so that your drop zone only holds active items.
- Add a bin for family members to drop gloves, hats, or scarves.
- Add another, larger bin to hold “return or exchange” gifts so that, when the time comes, you can simply drop the bin into the back of your car for the mission.
- Clear a shelf for outgoing gifts to avoid a panicked dash around the house when you are running late to a shindig.
On the 10th Day of Christmas, Streamline Holiday Decor:
I know, your holiday decor is already up, but now that you’ve had a chance to look at it, pare it down.
- Keep only the decor that still sparks joy!
- Yes, it does feel weird to toss holiday decor so…don’t. Instead, pack it up and donate it.
- OR, if you’re just not sure, pack it up and store it until next year. There are no rules that say you have to display every single piece of decor that you own every single season.
- After the holidays, pack your decor away with a plan, like labeling each bin by the room its contents came from. Future-you will thank you.
On the 11th Day of Christmas, Create Escape Rooms:
As a host, organizing your escape is as important as organizing your guests. Pay attention to areas that typically get bottlenecked and get creative to reduce crowding.
- Put appetizers on your kitchen island or sideboard to draw people away from your work zone.
- Add a drink station outside to draw guests, well, away for just a few minutes. You might even add some cozy seating to encourage them to sit a spell (outside).
- Create multiple conversation zones so the chatter levels don’t shoot through the roof (and kick off a headache).
- Whether in your office, craft room, or bedroom, give yourself a timeout zone. No seriously. Let’s normalize disappearing for ten or twenty or thirty minutes, even when hosting.
On the 12th Day of Christmas, Pimp Your Timeout Room:
That host’s timeout room? It’s your escape, so pimp it for you. How? A prize basket awaiting your arrival that includes all of your favorites.
- Snacks that promise to diminish any low-blood-sugar rage.
- A candle in your favorite scent for a quick hit of aroma therapy. Don’t forget to throw a lighter in the basket.
- Single-serving bottles of your favorite wine or bubbly. You deserve not to have to share.
- Hair ties, a brush, and maybe some face wash.
- A sleep mask. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a quick siesta.
It may sound odd, running away mid-gathering, but if it makes your life better, then why not go for it? Let a few of your guests in on the secret and have them handle the hosting duties should you disappear for ten or twenty or thirty minutes. Then, when it’s their turn to host, be their break buddy.
This is a season filled with moments that bring glee, the warm fuzzies, and memories. Unfortunately, we often miss those moments while trying to be the perfect host, the perfect guest, the perfect shopper, the perfect gift wrapper, and, well, the list goes on. Screw that. Take a day (or twelve) to conquer the easily achievable. Now is not the time to channel your inner Martha Stewart, after all.
Instead, tackle only the simple items, give yourself a huge pat on the back, and settle into a cozy chair by the twinkling lights of your Christmas tree.
Even if only half of them work.