Getting your home ready for the holidays can be overwhelming. It can leave you feeling more like the Grinch than Martha Stewart. Focusing on one area at a time and creating a strategy of what can be prepared in advance can make things much more manageable.
To that end, we’ve created this handy little checklist download to accompany this post. Click here to download it today, or read on to learn more about prepping your home for the holidays!
Guest-Ready Living Spaces
Before visions of sugar plums start to dance in your head, focus on de-cluttering one room at a time. Sort through items that accumulate in the drop-off points in your home and store things that are not used on a daily basis. Designate a space to work on crafts and wrap gifts, to avoid projects from spreading out over the whole house.
It may have been years since you had young children in the houses. A box of assorted Legos, a stack of colored paper and a box of colored pencils lets their imaginations run wild while keeping those idle hands busy. For older kids who might be bored by the adults’ chit chat have on hand decks of cards or some classic games, such as Uno.
In the Kitchen
Take the time now to organize your pantry to save you the headache of pulling out all of the cans in search for the cranberry sauce you know you bought. Have a cookie that you bake every year that uses molasses and brown sugar? Stock up on those items now. It will make your grocery list shorter and less daunting when shopping right before the big event. Rather than running the risk of leaving your favorite Tupperware at a relatives house, get an assortment of disposable containers. Organize the refrigerator and take out that jar with one pickle that was lurking in the back taking up valuable space.
Bed & Bath
Holidays often brings with it overnight guests. While you are busy frosting six dozen cookies is not a good time to search through all of your closets for a spare set of towels. Put together a basket of towels, wash clothes and extra toothbrushes. Throw in some of the mini shampoos you’ve been hoarding from every hotel you’ve stayed at in the last decade.
Keep sets of clean sheets all together by slipping them inside the pillowcase. You are acclimated to the nighttime temperatures of your house, but your guests are not. Track down extra blankets and have them handy.
An Inviting Entry
With all the focus on the inside, don’t forget about the outside. Make an inviting entry while also helping keep mud at bay with a cheery mat outside the front door. Take the time to check the lights along the front walkway and entry. Replacing burnt out light bulbs or adding lights to especially dark areas helps make your home more inviting and safe.
Focusing on one area at a time and prepping things in advance will dial back the stress so that even when hosting you can enjoy the holiday merriment.
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