Organize + Energize: Easy Ways to Reduce Holiday Stress

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalProv Organizing Expert

The holidays are supposed to be a joyous time to spend with family and friends. Most often the holidays leave us feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Get organized, plan ahead and prepare and you will reduce your stress this holiday season. How many of you feel like the holidays come and go so quickly that you don’t even get to enjoy them?

Think about everything you have to do this holiday season. There can always be a simpler way to accomplish a task.

Here are ways to reduce holiday stress:

Plan Ahead

The holidays will only be stressful if you allow them to be. Stop running around like a chicken with your head cut off. Start writing your menus, your food shopping lists, gift lists, and anything else you are responsible for this time of year. Don’t save everything for the last minute.

Utilize A Calendar

Write everything down so you don't forget important appointments. Don’t forget to schedule your workouts and shopping trips. Make an appointment to do your laundry, ironing and housework. Clear the mental clutter and use a calendar.

Clear the Mental Clutter

Mental clutter and disorganization are distractions. Mental clutter will cause stress, anxiety, and a feeling of overwhelm. Get everything out of your head and onto paper or into your electronics. Clear the mental clutter and you will feel like a weight has been lifted.

Start Writing Shopping Lists

Try to limit trips to the market to once a week. Do you really want to be stuck in traffic this time of year? Make one trip to the market; reduce your stress, save time, money, and gas.

Break Up Tasks

Don't try to tackle everything all at once. Keep daily to-do lists vs. weekly to-do lists. A weekly to-do list will look very overwhelming. When people are overwhelmed they tend to shut down and nothing gets done.

Prepare

If you are having overnight guests, get your home ready now. Declutter and organize high traffic areas and guest rooms. If you are baking or cooking, purchase what you can for food and baking. Also, it’s not too early to write out your holiday cards. It’s one less thing you have to do a few weeks before the holiday.

Declutter Your Home

You want to feel at peace, relaxed, and comfortable in your home. Declutter and reduce your stress level. Working with your hands for at least 10 minutes will help clear the mind. Even if you aren’t having company this holiday, declutter, organize and enjoy your home this holiday season.

It’s OK to Say No

If you feel stressed by all of the invites coming your way, just say no. Don’t feel obligated to go to every event. Choose events that mean the most to you and go and have a great time. If you are on the fence about an event and you know it’s just going to stress you out, just say no.

Don't Forget to Take Care of Yourself

Take an exercise class or go for a silent walk with no music. After you do this, you will feel rejuvenated; you will see things clearer and will be more mindful!

Around the holidays, are you making things more complicated than they need to be? Make a plan to simplify and streamline. Trying a few of these tips will reduce your stress and allow you to focus on the more important things in your life. Being organized will give you more free time to enjoy and focus on the events of the season.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD,Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. on http://www.talkstreamradio.com.

Related Slideshow: 10 Minute Organizing Projects

Declutter and Organize

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Spices

As you take all of the spices out of the cabinet, check for expiration dates and smell for potency. Categorize and itemize your spices to how you utilize them. Contain them in a spice rack that fits the space where they are kept. Don’t purchase a spice rack until you are finished organizing. You want to measure the space and make sure the rack fits and holds all of your spices. There are a variety of spice racks out there. Choose the one that best suits what you need it to hold.

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Makeup

How many items do you touch in the morning to find what you need? You want to be as efficient as possible in the morning and having your makeup organized will be a big time saver. Do you have difficulty deciding what to keep or toss? When is it time to throw away makeup? Aline Sarkis, a Providence, RI-based makeup artist, states lipstick can be used for 2 years or until it starts to smell like a crayon. Mascara is good for 2-3 months. Eye shadow is good for 2 years and foundation is good for 1-2 years. Aline also states that some makeup and skincare will be marked with an expiration date of 6-12 months. Begin counting once you start using the product

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Women: Purse

Depending on the size of your purse, and what you keep in your purse, this may take you a little longer than 10 minutes. Empty the entire contents of the purse on a table. Declutter, categorize, and itemize the contents. Break this process down and take it one category at a time. Develop a system going forward so the inside of your purse doesn’t look like a cyclone hit it. Contain receipts, gift cards, money, and makeup.

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Men: Wallet

It’s time to empty all of the receipts out of your wallet. Do you also store receipts and random items in your car? While you are tackling this project, head over to your vehicle and declutter the center console and glove compartment.

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Underwear drawer

If you aren’t using drawer organizers, you should start now. They are very inexpensive and will maximize the space in the drawer. How many of you wear the same item over and over again? With drawer organizers in place, you will be able to see everything you own and can categorize and itemize. Nothing will ever get pushed to the bottom of the drawer again.

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Under the bathroom sink

If you haven’t taken everything out of this area in awhile, you may find some scary items under the sink. Empty the contents, itemize, and categorize. Throw away anything that you can’t recognize. Contain items in containers that fit the space like a puzzle. Once again, utilizing containers will maximize the space and allow you to store more items. Develop a simple system where you can locate items and locate them quickly.

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Pets

Ninety percent of my clients have a pet. It’s time to organize their belongings. Medicine, leashes, bandanas, clothes, dishes, food, etc. Take this time to also organize any paper work related to your pet. Set up a filing system for your pet. Keep their medical records, rabies and vaccination information categorized in these files.

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Junk drawer

Nobody says you can’t have a junk drawer. Junk drawers can be organized. You just have to think about if you need everything in this drawer and if there is a better place to store the items. Remember, store like items together. If you have tools in the junk drawer, maybe you should keep them with the tools in the basement.

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Office supply drawer

So many people have office supply drawers that are out of control. Money is wasted on purchasing duplicate office supplies. It’s very difficult to figure out what you need to purchase if items are scattered all over the office and are disorganized.

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Top of your office desk

If you can’t see the top of your desk, take this time to focus on this area and categorize and itemize what is there. Do you have a working filing system in place? If so, once your desk is cleared, make a habit of filing once a day or a couple of times a week. If your system isn’t working for you, it may be time for you to re-evaluate your system and make it work for the way you function.