STYLE Savvy: In-and-Out Organizing for the Holidays

Lisa Hess offers three simple strategies for handling all the stuff that comes in (and sometimes goes out) during the holiday season.

If organizing is about balancing what comes in with what goes out, the holiday season can make us feel doomed from the start. No sooner have we finished giving thanks for all that we have than we start to acquire more. Gifts. Decorations. Food for future feasts. 

If you have more storage space than you need, congratulations—this is probably not an issue for you. But if you, like me, feel maxed out when it comes to places to put things on a regular, run-of-the-mill weekday, all of these Christmas acquisitions can feel overwhelming. 

At our house, the Christmas decorations are stored in the crawlspace off the master bedroom. This means that as I begin to pull out Christmas decorations and all the trimmings and trappings, they inevitably invade the space in my house that should, arguably, be the most tranquil. I wish I could tell you that I have a wonderful solution for coping with these interloping festive baubles, but the truth is that it comes down to the same thing it does during the rest of the year: making sure our styles lead the way. 

Take small steps. 

In order to minimize the amount of space that all these Christmas goodies take up in our bedroom, I take decorations out a few at a time. I have a red basket that I use to store the decorations I like to start with each year and that’s the first thing that I take out. Once I put up the decorations in that basket, I can use it to store anything that I’ve replaced during the decorating process (which also makes putting things away easier when I “un-decorate” in January). When I put the basket back in the crawlspace after putting out those first few things, I can take out a few more decorations. Decorating the house slowly makes it a little more festive each day. 

Store presents according to your style. 

I need to see it or I know I put it somewhere organizational style? Don’t put everything in plain brown boxes! That’s a sure recipe for digging through the same container over and over again. Instead, consider the type of storage that works best for you during the rest of the year. If you’re trying to keep things covert, maybe do stick to the plain brown cartons that the gifts arrive in, but put a brightly colored sticky note on the outside of each one to signify whose presents are in which box. No need for covert operations? Use clear storage bins so you can see what you have. Cram and jam  organizational style? Stick to one large container for storage, but consider subdividing it so you don't have a pile-up inside. 

One in, one out. 

Opportunities abound to practice this! As you buy new decorations (or put them away), replace anything that’s become tired and worn (or a safety hazard). In addition, anything that doesn't make the cut this year probably won't next year either. Toss it, donate it, or recycle it now to create space. Cool stuff under the tree? Consider what you can do without now that you have all those fun, new things.  

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If organizing is about balancing what comes in with what goes out, the holiday season can make us feel doomed from the start. #CatholicMom

The Christmas season brings wonder, joy, and stuff. We can't control all the stuff but, if we keep our styles in mind, we can keep some of it neatly under wraps. 

Copyright 2023 Lisa Hess
Images: Canva