Having a clean home is a great way to start the holidays. It makes everything less stressful and makes sure we are ready for the holidays and surprise guests.
It’s time to get our homes ready for the holidays. A clean and organized home will help reduce the holiday stress so we can enjoy the season more. I think we’d all rather curl up on the sofa with some hot cocoa and watch a Christmas movie instead of looking for our Holiday gift bows or cleaning.
Get Your Home Ready for the Holidays
- Clean out the fridge and freezer– You want to be sure to have room for all of your holiday cooking and baking.
- Clean out the pantry– While cleaning be sure to take note of supplies you need to stock up on. This is also a good time to donate to your local food bank.
- Clean up the front porch– Before decorating it’s a good idea to give your porch a bit of a cleaning. Sweep, clean the door, clean out flower pots, store away anything you don’t want out during the winter, and get it all ready to decorate.
- Declutter– Make a few passes in your home and have your family do the same. Donate things you aren’t using now to make room for the new things you will get during the holidays. Talk to your kids about how their toys can help make a less fortunate child’s Christmas better to help encourage them to donate the toys they no longer play with.
- Put away fall decor– Make note of things you want to buy for next year. Fall decor is on sale now if there is anything you want to pick up now.
- Set up a wrapping station– Have a clear area you will use for wrapping and make sure all of your supplies are in one place, if possible.
- Check your wrapping supplies– While setting up your wrapping station, check to see what supplies you will need.
- Check your Holiday linens– See if any linens need to be replaced, cleaning, or repaired.
- Clean your Holiday decor boxes– These are likely stored in a place that doesn’t get cleaned often, before getting them out be sure to give them a good wipe down.
- Make Holiday music playlists– Use iTunes, Spotify, Amazon music, or something like that? Go ahead and start on some holiday playlists. Check out my Classic Christmas Music Playlist for some ideas or to save you a bit of time.
- Make your shopping lists– Start your lists now, it will help prevent you from forgetting things later.
- Get your cards/newsletter ready– Order or make your cards now so you don’t have to rush to get them out later. Also, make sure you have the addresses you need and stamps.
- Plan or buy Holiday outfits– You don’t want to get to the day of a Holiday event with nothing to wear. Decide now what you want to wear to the events you already know about and buy things if you need to. Be sure to check out my Holiday dresses post for some ideas.
Getting these extra chores done now will help you relax later. Be sure to print off this checklist to help you stay on track. This printable also coordinates with my Christmas planner.
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Ddon’t forget to check out my Christmas planner to stay even more organized.
Lindsay
November 17, 2014 at 1:23 pmWow, you are SO organized! I am more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of lady, but as I get older the more I realize it helps to plan a bit. Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Lisa Sharp
November 18, 2014 at 10:43 amI have to make myself be organized, it doesn’t come naturally. As I’ve added more to my plate this year it has become essential. 🙂 Glad it could serve as some inspiration.
Lori Popkewitz Alper
November 17, 2014 at 7:12 pmI agree with Lindsay- you are so incredibly organized! I’m generally do things last minute. Everything seems to work out, although my stress level is probably pretty elevated. I’ll have to print out your checklist and leave it out. Maybe that will inspire me to do things in a more organized fashion.
Lisa Sharp
November 18, 2014 at 10:44 amIf I didn’t force myself I’d also do things last minute. That has caused too much anxiety and stress so trying to be an organized person now. Still a work in progress but getting better. Hope the list helps, a visual reminder is often helpful and there is something so rewarding about marking things off of a list.
Betsy (Eco-novice)
November 17, 2014 at 9:09 pmI’m so old school I just bust out the holiday CDs. We are really going to try to declutter this year. Very important before all the new junk enters!
Lisa Sharp
November 18, 2014 at 10:47 amI have a lot of holiday CDs but I love that with Spotify I can have a huge range of artists on one playlist, it brings mixed CDs to a new level. And yes, decluttering is a must, I have a bag out for me to toss things into as I find things we don’t need anymore.
the gold digger
November 5, 2017 at 9:28 amThe best thing I (and my husband) ever did to make holidays less stressful was to decide not to visit his parents or my mom over Thanksgiving or Christmas.
The not visiting the parents thing did not go over so well with his mom and dad – they called him a “Bad Son” and his mom threatened suicide one year, but life is easier when you are not listening to your drunk father in law scream at your niece and nephew because they took all white meat (from a 25 pound turkey for seven people) and telling their mother she is a Bad Mother.
The holiday music is easy – I just leave Christmas CDs in the player year round. 🙂