Thanksgiving is just around the corner and you’re wondering about your Home Organization!  There are so many things to do at this time of year.  After all, this is not just Thanksgiving, it’s pre-Christmas.  I know that I just added a lot of stress to your day, but I want to assure you that I can help you organize a plan to get through the Holidays and still stay focused on the important memory makers.

You need to start a list, now!  To some people, this seems a bit daunting and I really do understand.  However, this is a two month process that needs to be tackled and a list will do wonders.  There will be parties to plan, gifts to pick up, activities planned for the kids, and of course- a plan for that organized home!  What you must tell your self is that an organized home is worth it for the holidays whether company is planned or not.  I say this because people will be dropping in – from neighbors to drop of cookies – to carolers from church.  Staying organized must be a priority during this time.  Just making a commitment to ‘not getting worse’ will go a long way during this busy season.

I think one of the first priorities will be the entry way.  Even if you are not having the big Thanksgiving Day dinner at your house, getting that entry way spotless will make you feel so good that you might be energized to do other things.  And, if someone does “drop by”, you will feel great, not depressed and apologetic.  So, look around and make a list of things that need to be done for that entry way.  Is there a hole in the wall that needs repair?  Are there spiders outside the door?  When is the last time you cleaned the windows?  Is there a pile of magazines?  Start with the floor and remove everything and put it away.  Get the floor cleaner and give it a good scrub.  Each of these tasks dont’ take a long time - just do one at a time.  If you feel overwhelmed, get out the timer and set it for 15 minutese and do your best.  Come back later for another round and it will get done - I promise.

Here’s your chance to start small and make a change that can make you feel good the next time the neighbors drop by.  Remember, Home Organization starts with the small things and then adapts habits as changes takes place over time.   Next post we’ll start with the grocery list and Christmas Cards.  Till next Time!!!

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I know, this sounds like a cop out and you may think that I’m missing out on the fun - and, you may be right.  However, I’m not missing out on two crucial things:  Storage problems for those Halloween Creepy Crawleys and the Clean up factor after the day has come and gone!

Lets discuss these.  First, Finding extra storage in our house is like finding money.  It’s hard to come by.  If I did find a corner or two in the attic calling out for a box of items, I don’t just go buy stuff to put there aimlessly.  I have ‘the list’ to read over first to determine if I really need something new.

That is when I decide that if I were going to buy new decorating items, I would buy them for Thanksgiving or Christmas for two reasons:  1.  I would only have to go back in to the attic during that time to store items.  And, I don’t have to have a whole separate place to store things as since I only have two holidays that demand decorating, I only have to have two sections partitioned in the attic, therefore making it easier to locate said items. 

The second reason that I don’t decide to buy Halloween decorating items is that, although putting the items out and about it fun and exciting, taking the items down and putting them away causes me stress.  Finding the storage containers, the time to store the items, the time to store the containers, the time to put back the things in the place of the decorating items ……  I have just decided that eliminating this from my life is eliminating stress and that, my friend, is like lifting me up on a cloud. 

This does not mean that I don’t enjoy driving around looking at the decorations in all my neighbor’s yards.  I do!  I enjoy seeing the kids all dressed up.  I enjoy giving out candy.  I also enjoy getting up on November 1st and having my Organized Home ready for those Thanksgiving Preparations!

These questions won’t keep you up at night. What will keep you up at night is the sick feeling in your stomach that goes back to the thoughts in your head “The Holidays are coming and I can’t possibly have any one over”.

Why is it like this? I know you ask this same question every year. I know that every year you somehow make it through, and, you PROMISE yourself that ‘next year’ it will be different. I am not so different.

I am a perfectionist. I can say it with sound conviction. You may think, then, that my house is easily in order and that everything is perfect! Well, I can tell you that being a perfectionist is harder than you may think. I have the uncanny ability to say “Well, I don’t have time to organize the whole room, therefore, I won’t clean any of it”. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I like to have everything in perfect order, or, it really doesn’t matter to me. That may be a little untrue, but, I do have a problem with small chunks of home organizing.

My best advice for getting things done – for those like me – is a timer! Lists don’t help me near as much as a timer. An old fashioned egg timer or a fancy watch that beeps – it’s all the same and it is deeply warranted at my house. Just setting it for 15 minutes at a time is a life saver. You can do anything for 15 minutes, can’t you?

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