Festivities Ahead: 7-Day Pre-Holiday Organization Challenge

Day One: Enhance Your Entryway

You and I both know that first impressions matter. When your guests come to your door, you want them to see a beautiful and streamlined space. Start by decluttering your entryway to create a welcoming atmosphere.

Have a place for them to put their coat and, if it’s wet or snowy, their shoes or boots. You might want to provide a basket of slippers or slipper-socks, so nobody is walking around in bare feet. A custom mudroom is a great way to keep everything in good order. If you don’t have one, consider contacting me to build one for you well before next winter.

Day Two: Clean Out Your Kitchen

Preparing holiday meals is not fun or efficient in a cluttered kitchen. Go through the pantry and refrigerator to remove any expired items, and take a few minutes to organize your food by type. If you need storage containers for some items, now’s a good time to run to the dollar store to pick some up.

Move everything off of the counters, and sanitize all of the surfaces; do the same for your stovetop, refrigerator shelves, and oven. This will make it easier and cleaner when you’re rolling out cookie dough or putting a turkey in to roast.

Day Three: Beautify Your Bedroom

After all of the extra work you’re doing to make your home ready for the holidays, it’s important to have a neat and appealing place to relax. Give your bedroom a thorough once-over. Change out your linens for cozy flannel sheets or a down comforter. Move your furniture away from the walls, and give the baseboards a good dusting.

This is also the time to go through your custom closet and put away any summer clothes that are still hanging around. Find the outfits you’ll be wearing to family gatherings, office parties, and other events, and put those in one place, so you’re able to find them easily.

Day Four: Revitalize Your Rec Room

Wherever your family gathers, whether that’s your living room, den, or recreation room, needs to be clean and comfortable. Vacuum the upholstery, fluff the pillows, and dust all of your furniture and audiovisual components. 

Having a custom entertainment center will allow you to keep all of your music, movies, and video games dust-free and at your fingertips. If you don’t have one yet, don’t worry – you can use what you have to keep these items behind cabinet doors, if possible. You can also use covered bins to keep them clean and organized.

Day Five: Glam Up Your Guest Room

Are you expecting guests? I know that can be one of the biggest holiday stressors. Take some time to carefully go through your guest room. Put fresh sheets on the bed, wash the curtains and dust the blinds or shades, and give the room a good vacuuming. Clear out the closet to make space for visitors to store their clothes while they stay with you.

If you don’t have a dedicated guest room, a Murphy bed can provide a comfy sleeping space with minimal hassle. It can be installed in your office, playroom, or any other room that isn’t being used at night. Just pull down the bed, add linens, and wish your overnight guests sweet dreams.

Day Six: Brighten Your Bathroom

With all of the coming and going, chances are great that your guests will need to use your bathroom. Take this day to really scrub out the entire space, including the mirror, the shower, and the floor. Replace the shower curtain liner, or work on getting any soap scum off of the shower door. Dust the fan and the door of the linen closet.

Speaking of the linen closet, go through your towels, and remove any that are old and threadbare. Provide some travel-sized toiletries, such as shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, and extra toothbrushes, for guests who may have forgotten these items. They’ll appreciate not having to ask you to borrow these items.

Day Seven: Spiff Up Your Storage Spaces

Finally, take a look at your garage organization system, your hallway closets, and any other storage spaces you have in your home. You’ll need to set up a place to store gifts and wrapping paper if you don’t already have one. Paper, bows, and gift bags can get unwieldy, but HGTV has some good ideas for keeping these items organized.

Conclusion

I hope this weeklong organization challenge has helped you to identify the places in your home that you should focus on while preparing for the holidays this year. With just a half hour or so each day over the course of a week, you can be enjoying a tidy, stress-free home that you’re proud to welcome your guests into. Happy holidays from Innovative Home Storage!

Source

• https://www.hgtv.com/lifestyle/clean-and-organize/10-ways-to-organize-your-wrapping-paper-and-gift-bags-pictures