Organize + Energize: Plan & Prepare This Holiday Season
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Planning and preparing this time of year will save you time, money, and you’ll have less stress. Control what you can this time of year and the difficult stuff that gets thrown at you will be much easier to handle.
Think about everything you have to do and how you may be able to streamline the process, whether it’s making to-do lists, planning and preparing, or just getting organized.
Here are 6 ways you can alleviate some stress.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt’s ok to say no. Are too many invites, holiday parties or gatherings stressing you out? Do you feel like you’ll offend somebody if you don’t attend? Choose the ones that take priority, respond and go and have a great time. Don’t feel that you have to go to every event. This also applies to shopping trips, lunch dates, etc.
Pick up gifts cards now. Do you wait last minute to pick up gift cards because it’s an easy gift to purchase? Don’t wait for the last minute to fight with traffic. If you know which gift cards you need to purchase, make a list and pick them up now. It’s one less errand you will have to run as it gets closer to the holiday.
Simplify yearly rituals. Do you host a party, cookie swap or decorate the same every year? There can always be a simpler way to do something. Make your life easier and streamline the process.
Address holiday cards now. You may have to save this one process for next year. People laugh at me when I tell them my cards were signed and addressed in October. Sign, address and put an elastic around them with a sticky note dated when you need to send.
Don’t save anything until the last minute. If you know you have a ton of things to do around the holidays, why are you waiting until the last minute? Sit down one evening, make your list and then tackle it.
Keep track of purchases to stay on budget. Trying to think of everything you have purchased and how much you have spent? Write it all down. Remember, mental clutter causes stress. Release the mental clutter.
It seems as the holidays get closer, the busier and crazier people get! Do you make things more complicated than they need to be? Make a plan to simplify and streamline your process. If you feel you just can’t do that this year, make a plan to get on track next year!
Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, is an organizing & efficiency expert and owner of Organizing in RI. Kristin teaches her clients that living an organized lifestyle will save them time and money, decrease their stress levels and help them become more efficient and productive. Her articles have been published in local and national magazines. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to begin. She is also available for organizing workshops.
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