Hello Friends!
The holidays are coming, and I know lots of folks are stressed about clutter and having company so this month will be dedicated to prepping for holiday guests.
I have also been hard at work on a VERY comprehensive list of clutter free gifts that I will be making available soon along with a Black Friday/Cyber Monday Book special! Watch social media and your inbox for an announcement.
Newsletter Topic of the Month
I have heard from many of my followers that they are overwhelmed and already dread the holiday drop ins and entertaining. Let’s look at some tactics to prep for that.
Ideally, having a place for everything and everything in its place will help you maintain, but many of you tell me you just are not there. I get that, it takes time. Let’s start with the public spaces of your home for the holidays: kitchen, bath, living and dining areas. Those are where you will entertain, and it perfectly acceptable to just close the door to other rooms in the house!
If you have a fair bit of clutter and just don’t feel organized, look at the quickest option to tidy up.
The 30-minute method: Even if you must “pretend” company is coming in 30 minutes! Grab a laundry basket or a few smaller bins. First, grab trash or recycle and get that out of the way. Grab any dirty clothes, dish towels or blankets. Now pick up anything that doesn’t belong in the public spaces and place it in the bin. If you can sort them to bins by room, then that will save time later. These bins then can be stashed in the appropriate room or wherever it is out of the way. My small home has a detached garage, so I always have a pile to get taken to the garage. I placed a bin in a large drawer, and now I put all the “to garage” stuff there, to take out weekly or as needed. And I know where it is if I need it, but it is not cluttering up my countertops.
The Buddy System: If you have a little more time, get a buddy. Even a few hours. I know, I say this a lot, but it is so true. Call a friend and say you need a hand for a few hours, after you are done at your house, go to their house and help them out. Or do one evening at your house and the next at theirs. I love the buddy system for many reasons. No cost, you get to spend time with a friend, you BOTH get help, you have help problem solving and it helps to prevent procrastination, and the job gets done!! You can also hire a “buddy” if your finances permit it, but either way, this is one of my very favorite ways to get it done. Start in your most used room. I like to work from one side to the other. Like the 30-minute method, get rid of trash and recycling first, any laundry to the laundry room, and use the bin system to take items to the room they belong it. If there are private rooms, no need to sort now, just stash. Move to a new room upon completion. During this method, but sure to grab and bag any donations of buy nothing items to be gifted.
This method is also very helpful if you are ADD/ADHD, neurodivergent, or just get easily distracted. Sometimes a little help is all we need to get the ball rolling.
If you have time to set up any systems, that always helps.Store like things together, so you can find all the parts and pieces when you need them (More on this in January).
Have a topic idea? Area of struggle? A fun tip? Send it in and I may make it the topic of the month. Email me at hello@judygranleegates.com
Join in the conversation at Facebook group – Declutter and Resize – Bigger Living Smaller Space
Product(s) of the Month:
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