Where I map out for you, my lovely readers, the 4 steps you need to get ahead for the holidays 🙂
Originally, I was thinking of ‘the holidays’ as the winter festivities, whether that looks like Diwali, Samhain, Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, or something entirely different for you.
But thinking about it some more, these steps will work whenever there’s a holiday looming in the not too distant future. Summer holidays, winter jollies, whatever festive occasion or special event you’ve got coming up.
After all, getting organised isn’t just for Christmas 🙂
And just as the title suggests, you might even find these ideas will help you get ahead forever, not just for the holidays!
Some of the links included in this post may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through and decide to buy there’s a chance I may earn a small commission from the sale. This will be at no extra cost to you. I am super picky about the links on my site and only share resources I believe will bring value to your life, most of which I personally use and love. Thanks in advance if you follow any of my links, I hope you find them helpful.
So, even though it’s only October, I’ve been thinking a lot about getting ahead for the holidays.
Don’t get the wrong impression here. I’m not usually the type with pressies bought by October, cards sent in November and the tree up on December the 1st. Hang on, yep that last one, we’re all in with that one 🎄
But the rest of it… Well, every year, I aspire to be more organised and every year I find myself moving more and more in that general direction. Hurray!
So, today I want to share some of the steps helping me get ahead for the holidays. And for each step, I’ve rounded up some of my favourite internet besties to offer a little helpful hand-holding.
Let’s get to it. Organisation awaits…
A clean canvas
What better way to start any holiday prep than with a clean canvas? And that’s just what you’ll get with 21 days to a Clean Home.
Watch one short video a day for the next 21 days. Follow along with Steph as she resets her new home, completing short tasks every day that’ll soon have your home feeling just like new too. Well, cleaner anyway 🙂
And for more cleaning motivation, check out –
Cleaning motivation : when it all seems too much…
13 Life lessons from Flylady (or how to get your home clean without neglecting your family)
Out with the old
And once the house is clean, let’s get on with some decluttering. Make some space for the new, to put up some deccys, or for packing your suitcase 🙂
Whatever end you’ve got in mind, Cas can help.
And there’s more decluttering motivation…
Decluttering motivation : when it all seems too much…
4 Decluttering challenges to conquer that clutter once and for all
Getting our papers in order
Now we’ve tackled the cleaning and started decluttering, our next step is to get a handle on all that paperwork. It can feel never-ending, as soon as we clear a stack of paper in one place, a pile begins to grow in another.
What we need, is a system 🙂
Let me introduce you to The Sunday Basket. Created by Lisa Woodruff of Organise365, the Sunday Basket is a simple and effective way to manage all your paperwork. You can find tons of helpful videos on her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast while you’re sorting out those files.
Dawn from The Minimal Mom offers a little peek into her own Sunday Basket, along with some fab ideas on how you can make this work for you…
Setting up our routines
Doesn’t that feel better already?
If you’ve been following along with each of these steps, by now your home is likely to be feeling much more clean, tidy and organised.
But while you’re likely pleased and relieved you’re finally getting ahead for the holidays, you might be starting to get a little tired and frazzled with all the hard work you’ve been doing.
As part of steps 1-3, you’ll have started to lay down some daily and weekly routines. That’s an amazing step in the right direction – to a more peaceful and calm home, and a more peaceful and calm mind.
But maybe, you’d like to take it up a notch and look in more detail at your morning and evening routines so you can maximise the benefits of these new-found home-healthy habits, while still taking super good care of you?
We’ve got you covered. Head on over to check out these resources –
Make Over Your Mornings course with Crystal Paine
Make Over Your Evenings course with Crystal Paine
The 5am Miracle : Dominate Your Day Before Breakfast by Jeff Sanders – podcast and book
The Miracle Morning : The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM by Hal Elrod – podcast and book
The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life by Robin Sharma – podcast and book
Creating the Ultimate Morning Routine
13 Evening Routine Habits and Ideas to Perfectly End Your Day
How to Perfect Your Evening Routine for a Better Night’s Sleep
And there we have it, 4 simple steps to getting organised for the holidays, and beyond.
- Cleaning
- Decluttering
- Sorting out papers
- Setting up daily routines
The perfect foundations for a fabulous, fun-filled festive season.
And talking of fun…
Happy holidays 🙂
Look out for more festive posts coming soon.
But if you can’t wait, check out my seasonal archives below –
20 Reassuring resources for respectful parenting at Christmas (and the whole year round)
Dealing with conflict at Christmas : taking a kinder path
Enjoying Christmas without being good for Santa
And if you really must get on with the gift-buying, I always love a good book 😉. Check out these suggestions to get you going –
17 Epic read-alouds you’ll love as much as your children 🙂
One present that’s sure to be on my shopping list this Christmas is the beautifully titled, The Angels of Wallaby Way by the lovely Sue Elvis. It’s the third in a wonderful series all about the Angel family. These books are firm favourites in our house and the first book in the series, The Angels of Abbey Creek is one of those epic read-alouds 🙂
