The holiday season is fast approaching, which means on top of doing your regular day-to-day tasks, you may also need to find time to get together with family and friends, attend holiday parties and social events, and if you’ve got children, figure out childcare during the school break. Then there’s decorating, cooking, hosting, and gift-giving which are added to your to-do list.
If your home is cluttered, or disorganized, it will increase your stress levels around the holidays. So, now is a good time to consider doing a pre-holiday decluttering and organizing session to help the holidays run smoothly. Below, we’ve listed our top 7 stress-free holiday home organizing tips.
Declutter high-traffic areas
As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” When guests arrive at your home for the first time, their first impression will be of your front entrance. Ensuring this high-traffic area is clutter-free will not only make a good first impression but will also reduce stress over the holidays when you need to find a spot for your guest’s coats and boots.
Remove out-of-season jackets, shoes, and boots, from your entry closet and store them away. Ensure there are enough hangers to accommodate your guests’ jackets and consider putting in shelving for shoes and boots. Adding storage baskets to the shelf in the closet will help keep gloves, hats and scarves tidy. We all know that our winter weather in Vancouver includes a lot of precipitation, so having a decorative umbrella stand in the entryway will ensure your guest’s umbrellas stay neatly tucked away, and will keep water off your floor.
Create a Holiday Storage Zone
Storing like items together ensures easy access when it’s time to decorate. If you don’t have an organized, dedicated storage area, check out our article on creating an organized garage or storage space.
If you already have an organized garage or storage space, start by bringing all decoration bins down to an area where they’re easier to reach Swap holiday bins with summer activities/sports bins to make taking down storing your decorations a breeze after the holidays.
Organize your Kitchen and Pantry to Make Holiday Cooking Easy
For many, the holidays involve hosting friends and family, baking, cooking and sharing delicious meals. If you’ve ever hosted a family holiday meal, you understand how stressful it can be, especially if your kitchen or pantry is disorganized.
To ensure you have all the ingredients you need, and your holiday hosting goes smoothly, take a little time now to prepare. Start thinking about what meals you will be making and what baking you’ll be doing. Look through recipes and jot down the ingredients you will need.
Now, when you declutter and organize your pantry and cupboards it is easy to see what ingredients you already have on hand, any that may be expired, or any that you need. This will prevent you from having to make panicked last-minute trips to the grocery store to grab that one ingredient, and will also reduce food waste by preventing you from buying ingredients you already have on hand.
Organize Gift Wrapping Essentials
Dedicate a space for all of your gift-wrapping needs so you don’t have to search for them when you need them. When everything is organized and within sight, you can see if you need to purchase any wrapping paper, tape, tags, gift bags or tissue paper and save yourself the stress!
Declutter Toys
If you have children, you know the holiday season may mean your home is about to be inundated with new toys. While new toys can bring joy and excitement to the little ones on Christmas morning, it can mean added stress for parents, since you will need to find a home for all the new toys.
Before this happens, encourage your children to help you declutter their toys. Let them help decide which toys can be donated so that other children can enjoy playing with them. This will not only help you keep your home clutter-free and organized but will also help the little ones develop life-long habits.
Swap out Seasonal Clothing
Now that we are fully into fall, it’s a good idea to store any summer clothing you won’t wear for the next few months. This is also a great time to ensure any outfits you want to wear or you want your children to wear, still fit and that you have the shoes and accessories needed.
Get the Bathroom Guest-Ready
Sometimes, it’s the smallest details that make the biggest difference. Ensuring the bathroom your guests will use has extra hand towels or even a small basket with special soaps and lotions can make them feel even more at home.
If you still need a little help, we’ve got you! Our team is ready to help make your Vancouver holiday prep a breeze! Contact us today and let us bring harmony to your home for the holidays!
