8 Ways to have a Stress Free Holiday

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stress free holiday

 

It’s easy to be overwhelmed at holiday time. There’s so many activities, so much to accomplish and so many ways to get off track.  Added together, these take away holiday fun.  Staying focused on holiday joy requires holiday organizing.  Choose one of these 8 simple tips for less stress this holiday season.

 

 

1. Get a good night’s rest

Life is better with a good night’s sleep.  With so much to do we become bedtime procrastinators and stay up late to get more done.  We get too focused on a small part of holiday preparations.  Be sure to get in bed to get 8 hours of rest.

2. Keep it simple Santa

It’s hard to know what’s enough.  Are there enough presents under the tree? Are there enough lights on the tree?  Simplifying gifts, decorations and even the number of cookies for your exchange makes for more joy at the holidays.

3. Holiday happenings

The holiday season can be when we are really over committed.    Add all your events and your family events to one calendar to be sure you can attend what is most important to you.  Be sure to commit to only those activities with meaning for you and your family.   If you don’t want to be a part of a cookie exchange or attend Handel’s Messiah, graciously decline the invitation.

4. Lists and more lists, either paper or digital

As Santa says, making a list and checking it twice.  Lists are what is needed to be sure no details are overlooked.  My personal favorites that are simple to use are Evernote and Notes.  (Evernote is the green elephant looking app and Notes is the post it note looking app.)  I update it all year along with holiday purchases so I know what I have and what I need.

5. Share the fun by partnering with your family and friends

When you are sharing a job with others, you feel the connection to each other and your work is faster, easier and often with a better result.  Get everyone in on the holiday decorating by hosting a decorating party with snacks and music.  Share the work by asking who wants to do what job.  Everyone wants a job they enjoy.

6. Share joy by doing for others

There is so much need in our community. Whether it’s helping assembling bikes, helping purchase toys or simply asking someone to share your holiday meal, holiday are more meaningful when you are helping others. Include your children in sharing toys with others by choosing an angel that is their age to purchase toys for.

7. Find resources that help make your season merry and bright.

Decorating, baking and food preparation take a lot of time and energy.   This year may be a good time to hire a home decorator, purchase cookies from a local baker on Facebook, or purchase goodies at the grocery store.  If too many obligations keep you from finding holiday joy, delegate one or more parts of holiday preparation.  It’s a gift you give yourself.

8. Immerse yourself in your spirituality

Holidays are truly about spirituality.  Reading your devotional and sharing these stories with your children bring you back to the reason for the holiday.  Spend a few minutes each evening sharing the meaning of the holidays.  Reflection and meditation are important parts of everyone’s day year round.

 

My wish for you is to find joy and magic in this season of gathering together.  Wishing you a stress free holiday!

 

 

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Mint.com and Organizing

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Mint.com

 

One of my favorite tools for organizing and money is Mint.com.  This site helps you get a clear picture of where you are spending your money, helps you create a budget, and consolidates information so you can prioritize using your resources wisely.  It’s not always simple to understand your money, but Mint makes it easy to be good with your finances.

 

This week I am honored to be interviewed by Mint.  Check it out!

 

If you think getting organized is only for Type A, Martha Stewart sorts, then maybe you haven’t heard the biggest perk of attacking that mountain of paperwork and deploying your label maker: unearthing lost funds.

“My clients and I always find money when we are organizing!” says Ellen Delap, certified professional organizer and family manager coach.  ‘

 

Learn more about how I help coach clients with their money in this interview.

Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons!

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with gratitude during the holidays

 

Wishing you a holiday season filled with hope, love, joy, kindness, comfort, gratitude, laughter and friendship! 

I am grateful for our connection!

Gratitude

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Gratitude Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

Our holiday season begins with a holiday of gratitude.  I love these quotes and wanted to share them with you.  Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with an abundance of blessings and gratitude.

 

Gratitude Sarah Ban Breathnach

 

 

Gratitude Oprah

 

Gratitude Maya Angelou

 

 

Sharing with you Turkey Day times on pinterest.

 

A daily dose of organizing on my Facebook page.  Remember to click “get notifications”.

 

 

Baskets, Bins and Boxes

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baskets, bins and boxes organizing products

 

Organizing is certainly not about the baskets, bins and boxes. Having the perfect bins does not make for a perfectly organized home.  Baskets, bins and boxes can help you categorize, store and contain though.  Many times there are already containers that you have in your home that you can reuse and recycle to get organized.  Already handy and products you love, baskets, bins and boxes can be used many different ways to organize your home.

 

Baskets

  • Baskets are attractive storage inside a closet, on a shelf or on the floor.
  • Best for toys, crafts, scarves, or shoes at the back door.
  • Open baskets make it easy to drop items in.

 

Bins, especially clear bins

  • Bins are durable, water proof storage and can be used inside or out.
  • Best for pantries, garages, or bathrooms.
  • Plastic bins should not be too big for you to move when filled.

 

 Boxes

  • Shoe boxes are inexpensive organizers.  These are uniform and have lids for easy stacking.
  • Best for over flow office and school supplies, extra travel size toiletries, or kids’ keepsakes under a bed.
  • Boxes can get out of control easily. Set a number to keep and recycle the rest.

 

 Generally speaking

  • Gather all your options together.  See how many of the same types of containers you have.  Use similar size, shape or color containers in the same spot to organize. Consistent containers make for a more organized appeal of that space.
  • Use attractive containers throughout your home or office. Use clear containers behind doors, inside cabinets, or under sinks.
  • Always use one container for one category you are organizing.  Single category organizing makes it easier to maintain.
  • Label your containers.  Even if you can see in the container,  a label makes it clear what it contains.  Key tags tied with string, chalk board labels and binder clips

 

Tempted by a new basket, bin or box?  Keep a small area where these can be stored for you to easily find and use what you have first.  Yes, you can have too many organizing products. Be sure to keep just what you love and use.  You can donate your unloved products because someone out there will love those!

 

Upcycling and recycling are everywhere!  Check out my pinterest board on Sentimental Clutter. 

 

Want more ideas to keep you organized and productive?  Join my newsletter!

5 Basic Rules of Organizing

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5 basic rules of home organizing

 

 

Wouldn’t it be nice to know the rules when you start a new project? When you put together that new bookshelf, it would be great if there were big bold letters that tell you to double check the front and back of the segments?  Or when you are making a new dish, would you love to know that no matter what it will be delicious?  When I think about organizing, I think there are some basic concepts that will lead to your success.  Here are my favorite 5 basic rules of organizing.

 

Eliminate what you don’t love or use.

It seems simple enough this rule. Eliminating and editing are the first steps to organizing.   What interferes are the “what if’s” in life. What if I need it in a year? What if I lose 5, 10 or 15 pounds?  We can “what if” ourselves into keeping everything.  If you truly love an item, but have not used it, keep it in a less accessible spot.  It’s possible to eliminate what you don’t use or love using the 4 box method.  Get clarity with this rule and your organizing will yield great results.

 

Store items at their point of use

The concept of keeping items where they are used frequently is nothing new. A little creative storage can be a good thing.  Keeping items at their point of use means you can easily find what you need and easily put it away.  You can create zones in a room to help you stay organized too.  The kitchen is a great area to keep zones in mind. The breakfast zone is where the bowls and cereal are stored together.  The coffee zone is where the Kcups, mugs and sweetener are.  You get the idea that storing what you use together makes life easier.

Create limits and boundaries

When there are no limits, stuff becomes chaotic and stuff is everwhere.  Having natural limits and boundaries for your stuff makes it easier to be organized.  Your clothes limits include your dresser and closet.  Keeping  within these limits helps you with maintenance too.  There’s less laundry to put away.  Create natural boundaries with storage for items in your home or office.  Have one drawer for extra office supplies, one location to keep school supplies and one shelf for extra pantry items.

paper get rid of it. you know you want to

 

Get rid of paper. You know you want to.

Paper has us all overwhelmed! It’s the number one organizing project in almost everyone’s home.  Our goal is not to store paper, but to get rid of as much as possible.  Seek out other options for the information on paper.  Can you find that information somewhere else?  Can you make a note in Evernote instead?  How long do you need to keep that paper?  Use this chart to help you eliminate more paper.

 

Keep it simple sweetie

By far my favorite mantra to share!  Keep it all simple, whether it is stuff you are doing, stuff you are organizing, relationships you are in, and ways to live your best life.  How do we keep it simple? By shedding the excess stuff, by eliminating toxic relationships, and finding ways to live life simply.

 

Check out how these organizing rules come together on my Pinterest board Home Sweet Organized Home.

 

Looking for more organizing rules?  Join my newsletter for a monthly update on organizing tools, tips and rules!

 

Holiday Time Line

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holiday time line

Why re-invent the wheel this holiday season?  Here are 5 check lists ready to make your holiday season less stress and more fun. These professionals offer ideas for the most elaborate to the simplest of holiday preparations and festivities. These holiday time line ideas space out your work to keep you on track and organized throughout the holidays.

 

Martha Stewart Organizing Checklists

Martha’s list for holiday preparations.

 

holiday time line gift giving

Geralin Thomas Metropolitan Organizing

Geralin shares how to prepare for a stress less Thanksgiving.

holiday time line help for the holidays

 

Seana Turner Help the Holidays are Coming!

Seana shares her big holiday list.

 

gifts of the season

 

Professional-Organizer.com Ellen’s Blog Holiday Time Line

This time line started in October, but jump right in whenever you start.

 

holiday organizing

Houzz To Do: Your Holiday Organizing Checklist

A pre-party check list to be ready for fun.

 

holiday organizing

 

Real Simple Holiday Party Timeline

Get ready for your holiday party.

Share your ideas for having your most organized holiday ever!

Happiest of holidays with my Pinterest board

 

Join my newsletter to start off 2015 more organized!

4 Tips for Family Organizing

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family organizing tips

 

Each fall families get back to the business of running their families.  School and activities start, family’s get back into routines and there’s lots of information to keep together.  It can be overwhelming with lots of information in different formats and different locations.  There are many ways to pull this information together for communication and cohesiveness.  Check out these 4 tips for family organizing.

Family meetings and Family calendar

The Family meeting, with everyone sitting together with their calendars and the monthly family calendar, makes for great communication.  It’s a once a week get together where everyone shares.

  • One of my family clients has two extra large dry erase peel and stick boards on a big wall adjacent to the kitchen.  Everyone adds information all the time. Each person has a different color.  It’s the one thing this family consistently keeps up to date. These calendars make up one piece of a command center.
  • Another family client has a very large paper calendar and all dates are written in pencil.
  • Google calendar is a great option for families on the go! It helps you color code, consolidate and keep everyone up to date all the time.

 

dry erase peel and stick calendar

 

month at a glance

Family dinner

I recently saw a parody of the family dinner.  It had been so long since the family ate together at the dinner table that there was no seat for the third child!  If that’s true at your home, you might be interested in The Family Dinner project. Family dinner is an important time for laughter, chatter and fun.  Spending time together this way nurtures us all.  We know time can be a troubling challenge for dinner prep.  It can be a little bumpy getting everyone on the same time line.  But even if dinner together is just once a week, that is a great first step.

  • Plan on big breakfast, big lunch or early dinner on a Sunday to get everyone together. There may be fewer activities going on.
  • Create a dinner grid with your family. It’s easy meals that family member’s can partner to prepare.   No one should be left in the kitchen alone. Everyone shares getting dishes done and lunches ready in the evening.
  • Share the responsibility of grocery shopping. Write the list on a pad on the refrigerator, snap a picture with your smart phone and text it to whoever is driving home from work.

Family homework and activity grid

It’s hard to consolidate all the information about your kids’ homework and activities.  A client shared her solution with me ~ the family homework and activity grid.  She visited all the online sites for her kids’ teachers and activities and created a grid with kids’ and parents’ names on top and days of the week on the side.  In each square are listed school and after school related activities. Ongoing homework, such as daily reading, weekly vocabulary and online quizzes, is listed in the appropriate day.  Posting this chart will help her family keep up on all that teacher’s require.   family homework and activity grid

Family technology

There’s are so many new tech ideas that help us as families!

  • Cozi  helps you manage the chaos of family life with a shared calendar, shopping lists, to do lists and more. Cozi keeps track of everything from school schedules and sports activities to grocery lists, meals and chores — all in one place the whole family can access anytime, anywhere.
  • Google calendar and Google docs are great online ways to keep up to date in real time. Google docs is a shareable document space.
  • 30Boxes has a family calendar and interactive to do list.
  • Fircle allows you to share an online calendar with your spouse at work, print shopping lists that will remind you when you’re running low on specific groceries, manage your children’s allowance and household chores and much more.
  • HomeZada is a home management software.  It doesn’t have a family calendar component, but it does have home management, home maintenance, home finances and a home inventory.

 

Have a strategy that works well for your family organizing? Share it here and help us all get better organized!

 

Family organizing tips are just part of the information shared each month on my newsletter.  Join here!