post holiday recovery
Post Holiday Recovery Tips from a professional organizer (and mom)
Happy after Christmas!!
This is the time of year where we often wonder “what day is it?” and “do i really need pants right now?” I am here to tell you, no … no pants are required between Christmas and new years, ha!
I have a confession to make, the day after Christmas is often one of my favorite days of the year, it started when my kids were smaller. I would take the day off work and spend my time opening toys, putting batteries in everything and watching my kids enjoy all of their new goodies. BUT one of the reasons it was my favorite day is because I would spend my “free time” organizing all of our new items. I would make room for the new kitchen gadget or wash the new silverware set we were gifted. Restoring order to the chaos has always been a happy place for me.
You may not spend your post holiday time in full organizing mode, however I hear a lot of my clients and people in my life pining for a more simplified life after all the “extras” the holidays bring.
I wanted to share a few simple ways to bring a little bit of order to that chaos
No matter if you have 10 minutes or 6 hours. We are starting small and going to full blown organizing project.
Clean up all that trash…pick up the wrapping paper, the cardboard packaging, ribbons and bows and get it gone. (recycling preferred, hey I am from Oregon)
Sort items into who owns them, if you have a living room full of gifts, grab a laundry basket and fill it up. You can drop it off in each persons room and get it out of the living room!
Give the kitchen a once over. There is nothing more intimidating than a really dirty kitchen piled up with dishes. So… set yourself a timer and get after it. Setting a timer does a couple of things. It creates a sense of urgency you do not always have, AND it gives you a boundary. If you only work for 20 minutes, HEY it’s 20 minutes cleaner than it was before… or you get your motivation ball rolling and knock out the whole thing. Win win!
Clean out your purse or work bag. This is something more for us moms. I bet you have spent a lot of time taking care of everyone else, and maybe (if you’re anything like me) there’s receipts, invitations to Christmas parties, and probably a half eaten Christmas cookie floating around in there. Start your new year off when a clean purse, and hey if you’re on a roll clean out that work bag or diaper bag!
Give the playroom a onceover. If you have kids, especially little kids, it might look like a toy store exploded in your house. This is a great time to grab yourself a bin, fill it with toys they don’t play with as much and start a toy rotation. This will keep them excited about their current toys, and make room for all those new goodies!
Have some time off until the new year? Lets go big and clean out your closet! Maybe you got a couple new pieces over the holidays and your closet is looking a little full. Set some time aside, grab some hot chocolate and another Christmas cookie and declutter your closet.
Quick Action Plan:
Go category by category
Pull it all out
Sort into, keep, donate and trash
Put only the good stuff back, the stuff you LOVE and has a place in your life.
THEN and only then if you need organizing supplies is it a good time to go shopping :) never before!
Sending you all love, joy and simplicity this holiday season! #choosesimple
Sarah
