Organize + Energize: Clear the Clutter For the Holidays

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

If you don't like a cluttered home, your guests won't either.

How many of you shove items in the closet during the holidays just to clear the clutter? You are having guests, but don’t feel like dealing with the disorganization so, in one swoop, you throw everything in the closet. To some, it’s easier to not have to think about it and just hide it. What if you could tackle the project and never have to hide things in the closet again?

How does your home make you feel this time of year? Is it one more stressor you have to deal with? Make a plan and tackle one room at a time. Start with the room that gets the most traffic during the holidays. You’ll never have to stuff items in a closet again.

Follow these 5 steps to clear the clutter and get organized before the holidays:

Declutter, and then organize.

First rule of thumb. You can’t get organized until you declutter. Once the clutter is cleared, you will have a clearer vision of what type of organizing systems you want to work with.

Get the paper out of the kitchen.

Tackle this once and for all and set up systems to help you maintain your organization going forward. The goal would be to get it off the kitchen counter and into a home office or small area in the home dedicated to filing and processing paper. If you can’t get it out of the kitchen, have an area where the paper is contained and organized.

Guest rooms.

Do you have guests staying over this holiday season? Declutter and organize this room. Keep the room airy, light, and peaceful. You want to create a serene atmosphere for your guests. Trust me; they don’t want to be surrounded by clutter.

High traffic areas.

Declutter and organize the areas that your guests will see, especially the entry way. Don’t let a cluttered entry way be the first thing your guests see. They will immediately form an opinion about your home.

Don’t know where to begin?

Walk through your home with a pad and pen and jot down everything that you don’t like about the rooms. Is there a room that you hate to step foot in because it overwhelms you or just the look of it causes you stress? If so, that is the room you want to start in.

Tackle these projects and never again shove items into a closet when guests arrive. You are creating more work for yourself by loading and unloading the closets. Clear the clutter and get organized this holiday season. Up next week: simplify this holiday season.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. Kristin has appeared on air on www.talkstreamradio.com and Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio. Her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Her CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start and is available at the locations listed here. She is also available for organizing workshops.

Related Slideshow: The 12 Best Pizzas In New England 2013

According to the Daily Meal, twelve of the America's101 best pizzas can be found right here in New England. Take a look, and find out where you can get your next tasty pie.

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#12 Galleria Umberto Rosticceria (Boston)

Cheese Pizza

Overall Rank: #85

A North End staple, Galleria Umberto is a by-the-slice pizza place that often features lines extending around the block. The interior features no frills, the menu is quite simple, but their cheese pizza has long been been considered to be Boston's best.

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#11 Picco (Boston)

Margherita Pizza

Overall Rank: 76

Located next to Boston Center for the Arts, Picco is a full-service restaurant featuring a wide selection of Mediterranean cuisine. Though the margherita pizza is the reason they made the list, they also have several inventive pie options such as Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash & Fontina, or Roasted Eggplant & Cauliflower.

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#10 Al Forno (Old Saybrook, CT)

Margherita Pizza

Overall Rank: 68

Established in 1992, Al Forno (Not the one in Providence) uses a brick oven heated to over 600 degrees to create some of the best pizzas on the New Haven shoreline. They have received favorable reviews in the New York Times and Hartford Courant, and were named as one of Zagat's "Top 1000 Italian Restauants in America" in 2008.

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#9 Coppa (Boston)

Salsiccia Pizza

Overall Rank: 54

The wood-fired pizza at Coppa compliments a full menu of traditional italian dishes crafted by owner-chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette. Early in his culinary career, Oringer worked as pastry chef at Providence's Al Forno, which also made this list.

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#8 Scampo (Boston)

Lamb Pizza

Overall Rank: 41

Scampo, the first-floor restaurant within the famous prison-turned-hotel, Liberty Hotel, features a full menu of inventive italian-inspired cuisine, which also draws on Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern flavors. The Lamb pizza, which makes the list, is only one of several unique pie options on their menu.

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#7 Santarpio's (East Boston)

Mozzarella, Sausage, and Garlic Pizza

Overall Rank: 29

Established in 1903, the East Boston-based Santarpio's is the three-time defending award winner of "Best Traditional Pizza" by Boston Magazine. The family-owned features New York-style pizza and has become a landmark in the Boston area.

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#6 Colony Grill (Stamford, CT)

Sausage Pizza

Overall Rank:27

Colony Grill, established in Stamford's largest Irish neighborhood in 1935, features thin-crust style pizza. Their menu is very simple, including only the staple pizza ingredients, allowing the restaurant to offer "a one-of-a-kind thin-crust pizza that is served simply."

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#5 Regina Pizzeria (Boston)

Melanzane Pizza

Overall Rank: 22

Though they have more than a dozen locations, Regina Pizzeria's original location in Boston's North End serves as a neighborhood staple and landmark. Many of the pizzeria's menu items are old family recipes dating back to its establishment in 1926.

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#4 Modern Apizza (New Haven, CT)

Italian Bomb Pizza

Overall Rank: 11

Founded in 1934, Modern Apizza features brick oven-style pizzas. Their traditional Italian menu features many great pies and specialty items, but are on this list due to the "Italian Bomb," a pizza covered in bacon, sausage, pepperoni, mushroom, onion, pepper, and garlic.

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#3 Al Forno (Providence, RI)

Margarita Pizza

Overall Rank: 10

Chef-owners Johanne Killeen and George Germon established Al Forno in 1980 to bring simple renditions of food rooted in various Italian regions to Providence. Their signature margarita pizza has been named to several "best pizza" lists in recent years, such as Food and Wine magazine.

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#2 Sally's Apizza (New Haven, CT)

Tomato Pie

Overall Rank: 7

Sally's, established in 1938 by Salvatore Consiglio, is renown for its thin crust pizza which has been made in the same coal-fired oven for more than 60 years. Salvatore was the nephew of Frank Pepe, whose pizza also made the list.

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#1 Frank Pepe's (New Haven, CT)

White Clam Pizza

Overall Rank:1

Established in 1925, Frank Pepe's Pizzeria's white clam pizza is rated as not only the best pizza in New England, but also best in all of America. The pizzeria uses coal-fired brick ovens, and uses only fresh clams in their most famous pie. Frank Pepe's has been a favorite for many celebrities over the years, including Ronald Regan and Frank Sinatra.