Maybe The Organizing Blog’s neighbors are overachievers, or the end-of-month #Halloween and return to standard time compressed the timeline. But only hours into November, the spooky ghosts and fake cobwebs were coming down from homes, and the Christmas lights were going up.
Whatever the reason, the countdown to the #holidays has begun. There’s barely two weeks’ time to get a feast together for the initial hurdle — #Thanksgiving — and just four more to get everything together for Christmas gift-giving and entertaining.
If you’re hosting #Thanksgiving, you should already have a guest list in mind. But it’s pretty low-stakes, as long as you can plate a feast. These days, you can do as much or as little as you want — cook a huge meal with all the fixings yourself, make it a potluck or order the main dishes catered.
Christmas is another matter. It has lots of moving parts — decorations, cookies, meals, parties, cards, gifts. Don’t stress. The first order of business is a few hours of #organization, Real Simple says. Take a morning and sort out the details: meal plans, budgets, gift ideas. Put the important deadlines — shipping dates, for example — on the calendar.
If you plan on baking, audit your pantry, #organizing cooking supplies and tools, tossing expired spices, and buying fresh if necessary. “You really can taste a difference,” says professional organizer Megan Barnhart. If you see a sale on butter, flour or sugar, buy extra.
Next, prepare your home, says Organize Me Inc. If you are having overnight guests in an extra bedroom, #declutter the room and change the linens. If you’re hosting a dinner, get out those special serving pieces.
The goal is to create functional #spaces for the special, once-a-year occasions you’ve had the luxury of ignoring for 10 months. If you find a few items that are still useful but no longer work for your scheme, #donate them to ClothingDonations.org with a free #pickup.
Write things down if you want to get them done without being overwhelmed. Use a laptop, tablet, Post-it, whiteboard or phone; just make sure you can refer to a checklist and see next steps. This will also help you delegate tasks to family members or hired professionals.
The best part of getting started on #holiday planning now is that you can engineer the remaining weeks to emphasize the aspects you like best. But don’t think you can put it off for much longer. The clock is ticking! #HolidayCountdown