The day after Thanksgiving, I’m in the basement rummaging for those red and green bins. My reluctant family forms a human chain up the stairs as I hand one Christmas bin off to one child, who relays it up the stairs to her sister until the boxes overtake our entry way.
“But Christmas is still a month away,” one child whines.
“Don’t get her started,” I hear my husband, Dan, advise the kids from above.
“Still!” I holler. “You mean only! Only a month to write 100 Christmas cards, after trying to coax all of you into a photo where you don’t all look like convicts; bake 10 batches of cookies to net one dozen that people won’t mistake for slingshot ammo; buy 25 gifts for teachers, co-workers, hairdressers, dog groomers, housekeepers, policeman, parole officers and anyone else we owe big or need to bribe; all while keeping my nail polish from chipping!”
“She always makes such a big deal,” I hear one say.
“Told you not to get her started,” says Dan.
Easy for them to say, I think. For kids, Christmas is just a big break from school, with extra good food and a pile of presents that magically appear. Dan only has to buy one gift (he’d better) and be in charge of anything that lights up or requires assembly. But creating the magic? That’s up to me.
So right after Thanksgiving I join the throngs of people who bolt off like fixated hounds on a fox hunt; only this is a 30-day frenzy of mall shopping, cookie baking, tree trimming, light hanging, caroling, church going, party hopping, waistline blowing and yuletide spreading.
While many start at the mall, I start at home. Decorating early puts me in the mood for all of the above, and lets me enjoy the ambience longer, which I might as well if I put in all that effort. It also gives me a sense, however false, of Christmas control. And this season I’m determined to get control of my home decor, my bank account and my mind.
“Mom, this box labeled mantel pieces has door wreaths,” one daughter says as she opens a Christmas bin.
“And this one that says ornaments has nutcrackers,” the other says.
We open more. All the boxes and bins are carefully labeled, all right, but not one contains what its label says. I now dimly recall that after last year’s holidays, we were so exhausted we employed the “see a bin, stuff it in” storage method.
So much for control.
Feeling disorganized before I even start, I look for some seasonal advice. I come across Joyce Dorny, editor-in-chief of Organize Magazine. I picture someone for whom being perfectly organized comes as naturally as a sunset, in other words, someone with whom I have nothing in common. But Dorny, who is married, has six kids and works, insists she “wasn’t born organized. Getting organized was a matter of survival.”
By the time she had four or five kids, she said, the madness had to stop. She eventually got so organized that she worked at a retail organizing store, then became a professional organizer. Then, because she had unleashed so much free time, she launched Organize.
“I can barely keep up in the best of times, let alone during the holidays,” I tell her. She replied with a few valuable tips for regaining seasonal control.
Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated columnist who lives in the Denver area. You may contact her through .
Get a head start — now
Joyce Dorny, editor in chief of Organize Magazine, suggests these steps for staying on top of holiday chores.
PLANNING
Get a running start. Aim to have either all your cards out, or all your presents bought, or all your decorations up, by Dec. 1. It’s a big head start that will keep you from running around as if your hair’s on fire.
SHOPPING
Leverage your time. Don’t kill yourself making every gift unique. Find one gift that will work for many people on your list; say one gift for all teenagers, one for all teachers, and one standard hostess gift. Then, buy them in bulk.
Shrink gift clutter. Don’t add to the clutter in people’s lives. Buy consumable gifts: movie passes, museum memberships, theater tickets, edibles, gift cards, or gift certificates for such services as manicures or car washes. These gifts are not only greener, but also a snap to wrap.
WRAPPING
Color-code papers. Choose one gift wrap color scheme for each group of gifts: Dark green for teachers’ gifts, gold for clients or coworkers and burgundy for family. Use the same plaid ribbon on all. Having a limited number of paper patterns looks nicer under the tree, and makes rounding up gifts for school, work or the post office easier.
DECORATING
Have Christmas areas. Don’t spread Christmas decorations all over the house. Instead concentrate them in select places: the hearth, the top of the piano, the front porch. Your house will look less cluttered, and cleanup will be easier.
Purge. Like pounds, holiday decorations can snowball. Try this mantra: one new holiday bauble in, one out. Label everything. You’re supposed to store Christmas decorations in red and green bins with labels, like tree lights, crèche scene, stockings, etc. But getting the right stuff in the right bin is my problem. I’ve solved that: When putting decorations away next time, after everyone’s stuffed the bins, I’ll label them: “Christmas stuff.”
