Overwhelmed by all the decorating, shopping, cooking and wrapping ahead of you these next few weeks? I have one word for you friends….ORGANIZE!

I want a home decked will holiday cheer as much as the next girl, but if decorating and shopping have you stressed…you are missing the point completely. We have found a few simple ways to make the process easier from start to finish and I hope you will find them helpful.

For starters, store everything you need for your decorating together in one convenient and well labeled place. We like to use the giant totes to protect our lights, wreaths, and decorations from the weather and dirt. Each year as we put things back where they came from we know exactly what box they belong in thanks to the labels on each box.

 

 

When putting our lighted garland up for the year, we have each end clearly marked so we avoid putting it all up only to discover the plug is at the wrong end of the house 😉 We also put felt on the back of our wreaths to protect our siding and windows from being scratched. Another handy tip? Keep the hooks you need to put your wreaths and garland up WITH THE ITEMS you decorate with. This eliminates the need to run out and purchase new ones simply because you can’t remember which box you put them in.

 

We have a few items that we leave completely decorated and simply put away each year to save the time of tear down and set-up. Rather than create a new floral creation in our urns each year on our front door step, we simply pull out the completed project and voila!

 

One of my favorite Christmas items is a pie shelf that my mom purchased from Betty Jane’s in downtown Kearney YEARS ago when she was here visiting from San Diego. The store was one of her favorite stops each time she came to visit and now years after it’s closing, I still have this special piece that I decorated in holiday splendor to remind me of our trips to this favorite store. 

As  we decorate our tree together as a family, we take the ornaments out of their individual boxes and neatly place the boxes back in an empty tote, this way when it is time to pack them back up, we aren’t left with a giant pile of ornaments and no idea how to fit them back in the box. As an added bonus, each year when we unpack, they are all in tact since they have spent the off season carefully packed in perfect little nests.

These are just a few simple little common-sense tips to help you stay organized this Christmas Season. Remember the reason for the season and try not to get too caught up in the glitz and glam. Make a place in your home and hearts for Jesus.

Blessings!