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The Holidays
As a child, I loved the fall season and the back-to-back holiday line-up. It started with Halloween and the long night of trick or treating. I gathered enough candy to keep me on a sugar high till the scents of turkey and dressing permeated the house. While not considered one of the most exciting of holidays for kids, Thanksgiving was the signal that the countdown to Christmas was on!
If you would have told me back then that the holidays can become blood sucking events, I never would have believed you. If you had told me that the holiday season requires a lot of planning and preparation, I would have thought you crazy. It all seemed so easy through the eyes of a child. But the truth of the matter is, the holidays, if not managed, can get out of hand and before you know it stress levels are elevated and tempers are rising.
I will receive calls this holiday season from clients who are experiencing some of the common holiday headaches. Calls from clients who desperately need to clean out the guest bedroom for out of town guests. Calls from clients who can’t get a handle on the holiday decorations and need help getting them organized. Calls from clients who aren’t really sure what they need, they just know they need help getting it all together.
Whatever their needs and goals, holiday organizing can be challenging. With all that the client has on their agenda, it is hard for them to stay focused, hard for them to stop long enough to make a dent in the list they are trying to accomplish, hard for them to take a deep breath and realize most of what they are stressing about just isn’t worth it! But it can also be very rewarding. It is so gratifying to bring a sense of control and calmness to a client’s home during one of the most celebrated times of year. It feels great to know that they slept a little better and enjoyed themselves a little more because you were able to get them and their home in order.
One of the best ways I help my clients stay organized for the holidays is to be a constant reminder to them of the things they need to thinking about during the holidays and when they need to be thinking about them.
Here is a brief glimpse of the tips I share with my clients:
Things to Do List:
I know it sounds elementary, but if there is ever a time for a properly managed “Things to do List” the holidays are the time! Just think of all of the things that get thrown into the mix during the holiday season: endless shopping, taking the picture for the holiday card, choosing and ordering the holiday card, planning the meals, getting the house ready for guests, wrapping gifts, mailing gifts, teacher gifts, company parties and holiday shows. And the list goes on and on and on….
It is impossible to feel in control of the holidays and keep up with everything that needs to be done if you don’t write it down and keep track.
Hair & Nail Appointments
While you may not think this falls into “organizing” category, it really does. It’s all about time management and planning ahead. Hair dressers and nail technicians book up a lot quicker during the holiday than they do the rest of the year. So if you wait too long to book appointments, it is likely you won’t be able to get an appointment when you want and where you want. All grooming appointments for October, November and December should be scheduled around the first of October. You will feel better knowing you have them scheduled and its one less thing to have to worry about for the rest of the year. There’s no better way to add a layer of stress to the holidays than the thought of having to go to the Christmas party with dark roots and a hairy lip!
Mailing Lists
The first of October is time to be thinking about the state of your address database and holiday mailing labels. Most of my clients have established some sort of address database, but they have been shoving ripped off corners of envelopes into a manila “address” folder for the past 10 months instead of updating them in the computer. Since it will require them to set aside time for data entry before their labels can be printed, I suggest that they get it on their schedule for the month of October. My client’s that follow this rule always comment on how much they were dreading the project, but felt like a big weight had been removed once they did it.
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As a child, I loved the fall season and the back-to-back holiday line-up. It started with Halloween and the long night of trick or treating. I gathered enough candy to keep me on a sugar high till the scents of turkey and dressing permeated the house. While not considered one of the most exciting of holidays for kids, Thanksgiving was the signal that the countdown to Christmas was on!
If you would have told me back then that the holidays can become blood sucking events, I never would have believed you. If you had told me that the holiday season requires a lot of planning and preparation, I would have thought you crazy. It all seemed so easy through the eyes of a child. But the truth of the matter is, the holidays, if not managed, can get out of hand and before you know it stress levels are elevated and tempers are rising.
I will receive calls this holiday season from clients who are experiencing some of the common holiday headaches. Calls from clients who desperately need to clean out the guest bedroom for out of town guests. Calls from clients who can’t get a handle on the holiday decorations and need help getting them organized. Calls from clients who aren’t really sure what they need, they just know they need help getting it all together.
Whatever their needs and goals, holiday organizing can be challenging. With all that the client has on their agenda, it is hard for them to stay focused, hard for them to stop long enough to make a dent in the list they are trying to accomplish, hard for them to take a deep breath and realize most of what they are stressing about just isn’t worth it! But it can also be very rewarding. It is so gratifying to bring a sense of control and calmness to a client’s home during one of the most celebrated times of year. It feels great to know that they slept a little better and enjoyed themselves a little more because you were able to get them and their home in order.
One of the best ways I help my clients stay organized for the holidays is to be a constant reminder to them of the things they need to thinking about during the holidays and when they need to be thinking about them.
Here is a brief glimpse of the tips I share with my clients:
Things to Do List:
I know it sounds elementary, but if there is ever a time for a properly managed “Things to do List” the holidays are the time! Just think of all of the things that get thrown into the mix during the holiday season: endless shopping, taking the picture for the holiday card, choosing and ordering the holiday card, planning the meals, getting the house ready for guests, wrapping gifts, mailing gifts, teacher gifts, company parties and holiday shows. And the list goes on and on and on….
It is impossible to feel in control of the holidays and keep up with everything that needs to be done if you don’t write it down and keep track.
Hair & Nail Appointments
While you may not think this falls into “organizing” category, it really does. It’s all about time management and planning ahead. Hair dressers and nail technicians book up a lot quicker during the holiday than they do the rest of the year. So if you wait too long to book appointments, it is likely you won’t be able to get an appointment when you want and where you want. All grooming appointments for October, November and December should be scheduled around the first of October. You will feel better knowing you have them scheduled and its one less thing to have to worry about for the rest of the year. There’s no better way to add a layer of stress to the holidays than the thought of having to go to the Christmas party with dark roots and a hairy lip!
Mailing Lists
The first of October is time to be thinking about the state of your address database and holiday mailing labels. Most of my clients have established some sort of address database, but they have been shoving ripped off corners of envelopes into a manila “address” folder for the past 10 months instead of updating them in the computer. Since it will require them to set aside time for data entry before their labels can be printed, I suggest that they get it on their schedule for the month of October. My client’s that follow this rule always comment on how much they were dreading the project, but felt like a big weight had been removed once they did it.
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