Things get so busy during the holiday season, we forget to enjoy everything that went into it. And if you’re looking for ways to make the holidays a bit easier next year, be sure to check out our article titled Create your Holiday Grand Plan for an Organized Christmas for decluttering tips to help be better prepared for guests throughout the holiday season. Just as we talked about being mindful while putting your holiday decor up, putting it away slowly and mindfully is important too. This allows you to keep only things that you enjoyed, and to remove items that got in the way of that joy. Set a deadline and just do a little bit at a time. No one dictates that a task has to be handled all in one day. As long as you are taking small steps towards the goal, you will get there.

As you begin take stock of what you are keeping and what you would like to get next year. Tape it to the outside of the bin to remind you what’s needed to update your decor for the next holiday season. Ex. buy two boxes of lights, five new glitter ornaments, 2 new holiday kitchen towels, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Putting away my Christmas tree on average takes three days. The first day I take out my Christmas storage boxes and place them near the tree. At this time I may grab a few ornaments or a few pieces of ribbon to be removed. On day two, I will remove the next layer and so forth. If you take 5 minutes here and 3 minutes there you’ll be amazed at what can be accomplished.

The feeling of being overwhelmed begins when you start to imagine all the steps it takes to get to your destination. Stop…breathe… and focus on the first few bites. To keep feelings of failure and impossibility at bay, do small tasks that don’t seem as overwhelming. On day three, I may just sit in front of the tree with a few strings of lights and have a final cup of cocoa and reminisce. Write down a few things on a note card focusing on all the positive memories.

This year my highlights included:

• First tree in new home
• 18-Month-Old niece dancing to Jingle Bells, like a dancing queen
• Relatives traveling in to devour my meat sauce and fresh pasta
• Block party with neighbors to ring in the New Year

Now give yourself permission to enjoy your tree for as long as it brings you happiness. No one says you can’t have a Valentine’s Day or a St Patrick’s Day tree in your home. It’s your space and you get to define what lives in it. (Just remember if it’s a live tree it has a much shorter shelf life, maybe Groundhog’s Day is the max)?

– Happy New Year from B Organized Today!