Posted by Kerri Rodley in Christmas, Declutter Your Life, Home, Innovative Organising Ideas newsletter, Organising Tips | 0 Comments
5 Top Tips to get organised this Christmas…
...and if one Christmas present should accidently fall...
Are you stressing out about Christmas? Do you have 1001 things to buy, cook, clean, organise before the big day? I gave a talk last week to a networking group here in Brisbane on “How to get balanced and organised for Christmas” and thought I would share my top tips with all my readers:
1. Lower your standards
Make peace with imperfection. You are not Martha Stewart in the kitchen or Clark W Griswold from the movie “Christmas Vacation” when it comes to putting up the Christmas lights. Give yourself permission to buy a Christmas cake rather than making one. Trying to do every task perfectly is the easiest way to get bogged down and super stressed.
2. Make a list like Santa (& do a bit each day)
Rather than wait until Christmas Eve or when we have a “spare minute” have a schedule in place each day leading up to Christmas tackling tasks that need doing, and make sure you assign tasks to all members of the family – not just you! Kids are very good at cleaning silverware, putting up Christmas decorations (it doesn’t matter if they aren’t perfect – refer to point 1) or helping to make/write the Christmas cards.
3. Walk away from “bargains” at Christmas
Just because you can buy a new pair of jeans for $20 or 50 rolls of toilet paper for the price of ten doesn’t mean you should. Ask yourself “Where am I going to store it?” before making a purchase.
4. Ask for help.
The organised person is willing to expose herself to short-term embarrassment and call for backup. Instead of that elaborate four course Christmas lunch, change it to “everyone please bring a dish to share.”
5. Declutter unnecessary items before buying new gifts
Help the kids to go through their toy boxes and wardrobes and let go of items that they have outgrown or no longer play with. Tell them about other children whose parents can’t afford presents or those who have been through hardships like the floods in January.
And this tips isn’t just for the kids – it applies to adults too! It is healthy to be attached to certain items: a vase you picked up in Paris, or your grandmother’s pearls. However are you still holding on to that holey concert t-shirt or scuffed shoes you wore to your first job interview? It’s time to let them go. This opens up space for more meaningful gifts to enter your life. New shoes anyone?
Read the rest of the Christmas issue of the Innovative Organising Ideas newsletter here: http://www.atcbiz.com.au/ems/archives.php?n=my1m5jfnr2&c=3tgsczjemf