First I like to plan ahead..traveling, cooking for a group, mailing things out, decorating; whatever it is I try to plan what needs to be done and when! For example, this Thanksgiving we hosted dinner at our house. We had a total of 8 adults, 4 kids & a new born over! One family even drove over 350 miles to come for the weekend! I made a list of everything I was making, what needed to go in when, at what temp & how long. In between prepping I would clean out bowls, wipe down counters & the stove, clean up drips, spills & splatters as I went. The kids all had to stay downstairs & play. And they actually did! I went to the dollar store a couple weeks before and bought plenty of plates, napkins, cups, forks & metal trays & casserole dishes to have enough (and a couple extras) for everything I was making. The day went pretty smooth...even when it was time to get everything out of the oven & ready to eat! Clean up was pretty easy...aluminum foil on the trays and into the fridge! The guys were all really good about taking the trash out thru the day so we didn't have overflowing trash!
Having guests? Clean a room each day! Focus on one room at a time and move to the next the next day. Doing one at a time makes you feel like you have less to do and is a lot less overwhelming than thinking today I have to clean the bathrooms, kitchen, living rooms, guest room, kids rooms, organize the closet, straighten the garage, do laundry, decorate the tree, hang lights. That makes me anxious just looking at the list! Break it up!!! Give yourself a break and you won't have the temptation to just give up or put it off longer (then you'll have more to do in less time)!
Same with shopping! Don't try to shop, wrap & mail all in one day (or weekend even)! We get all of our "mailed" gifts done and ready to go. I take them to the post office during the week when most people are at work (benefit of getting off at 3!). Lets me avoid weekend and lunch or after work waits at the post office..which is always a good thing! If I have boxes to mail...print and pay online and have the mailman pick them up with the rest of the mail..trip to the post office saved!!
Just try to relax and take things slowly. Start ahead of time and get big things out of the way first and save the little stuff til the end. And if all else fails..there is always the option of a nice warm blanket, the tv and a big glass of your favorite beverage of choice ;)
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!
"I am sharing my holiday home decor and cleaning tips for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls and Great Cleaners."
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