Just when you’ve caught your breath from getting the kids back to school, suddenly the holidays are right around the corner. If you promised yourself last holiday season that this year will bring more peace and joy — and less stress and chaos — October is the time to start making that happen. By grabbing even one afternoon this month for intentional holiday organizing, you’ll be giving yourself and your family more room for what really matters: making memories together. Think of October as your head start for the holidays. Here’s how to make the most of it.
Declutter, Then Deck the Halls
The first step to holiday organizing is one that a lot of families overlook: making room to celebrate. After all, there’s going to be a lot of extra stuff — and maybe even some extra people! — in your home over the holidays. So if your space is feeling cluttered now, it’s only going to feel more overwhelming once you start decorating, gift shopping, making holiday treats, entertaining and welcoming guests. That’s why I recommend some strategic decluttering now in the spaces that will be working extra hard for you during the holiday season:
Entryways
They fill up fast with coats, shoes, bags and packages. If you don’t already have a family command center, creating one will help you stay organized over the holidays and beyond.
Kitchen
Especially if you’re hosting this year, make some space in your fridge and pantry and on your countertops.
Dining Areas and Guest Rooms
These two spaces have something in common. Instead of serving the purposes they were designed for, they become the areas where all those things that you’ll “deal with later” end up.
Plan for the Whole Season
After you’ve decluttered and have a little more breathing room, it’s time to get strategic with your holiday organizing. Most people treat each holiday as its own event. They prep for and clean up from Halloween, then Thanksgiving and so forth.
The problem with that approach is that it takes a lot of extra work. Planning the holiday season as a whole can reduce that work. For example, you could make just one trip up to the attic to get supplies instead of three or four. Or you could put up your Thanksgiving decorations at the same time you take down your Halloween ones.
Taking care of your holiday organizing in October can also give you a chance to think about what’s really meaningful to you this time of year before everyone gets bogged down in the details of shopping lists, holiday recitals and where Elf on the Shelf will turn up next. What are your most-cherished traditions? What absolutely did not work last year, and how can you do things differently this year? What are your plans this year, and how will they affect your household? (Does the guest room have a night light for when Grandpa visits? Do you need host gifts for a lot of parties? How will you kid-proof the house when your cousin with young children comes over?) It’s a lot easier to make decisions now instead of when your schedule really gets busy.
Organize Your Ornaments and More
Once you have a sense of your big picture for the season, you can move on to a task a lot of us dread: pulling holiday supplies out of storage. If you hurriedly shoved everything back in bins and closets last year, unpacking your holiday gear could bring some unwelcome surprises. Think tangled lights, broken ornaments, crumpled wrapping paper and your spider decorations for Halloween in the same box as your collection of snow globes.
How are you supposed to organize all that? Step by step. This is the process we take our clients through:
1. Gather all your fall and winter decor in one place.
2. Group items by holiday and type. For example, put all Christmas stuff together, then divide it into categories (inside decorations, outdoor décor, wrapping supplies).
3. Trash or recycle anything beyond repair.
4. Donate items that are in good shape but that you never really liked. Don’t store them for another year.
5. Also consider donating any duplicates or excess items you find.
6. Do your future self a favor: Have bins and a label maker handy so it will be easy to stay organized as you put items away.
The Benefits of Early Holiday Organizing
If you need some extra motivation to start your holiday prep in October, think of it as giving yourself some priceless gifts:
- More time on the calendar. When you know what you have, you can consolidate errands instead of making extra trips for items you forgot.
- More money in your wallet. You aren’t tempted to buy new décor because you know you already have more than enough.
- More generosity. Giving is the best part of the season. Donating the items that are clutter for your family can make another family’s holidays brighter.
- More peace of mind. Our surroundings have a huge effect on our mental health. Decluttering before the holidays makes it easier to focus and gives you a greater sense of control in a season that can feel chaotic.
- More meaning. Your decor is edited. Your space is clear. Your lists are made. When December arrives, you get to enjoy it rather than manage it.
Need Some Holiday Helpers?
While decluttering and organizing will save you work over the holiday season, I completely understand that it might feel like just one more thing to do right now. That’s why these weeks before the holidays can be one of the best times to work with a professional organizer. If you’re looking for a home organizer in the Austin area, we’d love to hear from you!
Our decluttering and organizing services are designed for busy families like yours. You don’t have to go it alone when you’re setting priorities, deciding what to donate or trash and creating solution-based systems that will help you stay organized far beyond the holiday season. We also provide holiday services that include putting up and taking down interior decorations.
Word to the wise: Our holiday schedule fills up fast. So if you’re ready for a peaceful and organized holiday season, set up your free Connection Call so we can customize a project for your family.
