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Preparations for Holiday Shopping, Cleaning, Wrapping, Decorating…

And the list goes on… Budgeting, planning, organizing, scheduling… Ahhh! We’re supposed to juggle all this all while managing our “regular” overwhelming workload?

Preparing for holiday chaos is something I have yet to master. Who am I kidding, I am not even close! But when our friends at Extra Space Storage asked how we get ready for the holiday season it got me thinking.

So, I’m happy to bring you this sponsored post on behalf of Extra Space Storage and all of us frenzied maniacs out there.

Prepare for Holiday Mayhem

Make a list? Check it twice? Does the fact that I have 47 lists going at any given point in time count for credit here? I have come to the conclusion that this is my biggest problem. I overwhelm MYSELF.

Life is pure havoc on it’s own, but the way my brain takes it in and needs to constantly categorize each issue is just creating more work. So, for this holiday season I am taking a deep breath and dedicating a lot of time to de-cluttering my mind. (The house is next.)

How do you prepare for the holiday season?

While the end result is totally worth it, I’d like to actually remember how we got there instead of searing my memories with stress.

I always seem to accomplish my goals but I’m not enjoying any of the processes because I’m under such constant stress. I forget that this is my life and someday I’m going to look back and realize that spending my time in full-spaz-mode didn’t do anyone any favors.

The Plan

My first step is to actually have a plan. And something I’ve realized in my planning, is that I have to plan time to plan, otherwise bust out the super-spaz cape!

In a nutshell, here’s what I’ve come up with:

  • Breath
  • Don’t over think, just do
  • Get rid of physical clutter
  • Take on ONE thing at a time and finish it
  • Set a timer for tasks to stay on schedule
  • Don’t be afraid to delegate

Seems simple enough right? Well, I’m off to go get rid of all the nonsense that I don’t need around here!

How do you prepare for the holidays?

Self

Tuesday 18th of September 2018

Hi Shelley,

Delegating is definitely the most helpful that I have found out. Placing sole responsibility on my children as helped immensely!

Evie tracy

Wednesday 27th of November 2013

I am in the mid of decluttering... I have purge out lot of things that I have stored from past six month. Hope, I would able to finish this challenge before Thanksgiving Day. Thank you for this post and for the sane advice.

Stefani

Monday 18th of November 2013

I definitely need to not over think!

Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell

Monday 18th of November 2013

Had to laugh at your very accurate representation of the season! Ha!

JulieK

Monday 18th of November 2013

I definitely do a lot of cleaning and purging, as you say clean up the physical clutter and it's easier to breath! Having a PLAN is great too!