Organizing for the Holidays

The countdown to the holidays continues. The days when family and friends gather at the house to celebrate together are less than weeks away. The biggest problem facing many home dwellers is what to do with all the clutter that has accumulated throughout the year or years. Here are a few tips.

Do it yourself on paper first. Before homeowners start gathering armloads of papers, magazines, memorabilia and other treats to throw away, sit down with a steno pad and list everything that needs to get done in order to organize the home for the holidays. Use one page for each room. After labeling the page "Livingroom", "Bedroom", or "Bathroom #4," take a walk in each room and decide what needs to be done. List each task in numerical order, not necessarily in order of importance. After completing the list for each room numerically, go back over the list and decide what may be the most important tasks, or what should come first in a sequential order.

Do it yourself with family members. After making a list of organizational tasks, have a meeting with other family members. Announce that the family is about to enter into a home organization project, and it is vital that everyone helps. Make everyone responsible for either a room or a task or tasks. Use the steno pad to record who will be responsible for what so there is no confusion. Give everyone a date as to when this project should be completed. Continue to check on each family member's progress. When the home organization project has been completed successfully, treat everyone to dinner to celebrate.

Do it yourself one room at a time for busy people. If after listing what needs to be done in the home organization project, it's possible that there is no way to get it all done in a day or two, even with everyone involved. Don't get discouraged. Work in one room at a time. It may take 14 days to de-clutter a 14 room house. The task of organizing before the holidays is no longer daunting and overwhelming.

Do it yourself in the yard. Organizing the home for the holidays should include the outside as well as confines within the four walls. With fall leaves and debris falling, blowing and collecting, yards need tender loving care. This time of year is a good time to cut back bushes, clean gutters, and do minor repairs. The lawn should be a neat and delightful introduction to what visitors will experience once they get in the home.

Can't do it yourself? Hire help. For those who are maxed out with busy-ness, and there is no way they'll be able to de-clutter for the holidays, consider hiring a home organization service. Most cleaning services also offer home organization services as a part of their cleaning business. The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) can and will assist in helping both individual families and businesses to de-clutter and organize their living and working spaces. The NAPO website offers tips as well as the listing of professional organizers in areas throughout the country.

Whether home dwellers who need to de-clutter are do-it-yourselfers or hire-outers, these tips should help in organizing for the holidays. By putting everything in the proper place it's possible to have a pleasant, clutter free holiday season.