Stress can be caused by many things. Things we have no control over, such as illness, the death of a loved one, the state of the world, politics, or the danger of losing your job. Stress from holiday shopping and visitors is another thing that is prevalent during this time of year. But there are some things we can do to remove some of these tensions in our lives. The more stress we can eliminate from things we can control, the more we are able to handle stress from things we have no control over.
GET ORGANIZED. One of the most effective things you can do to eliminate daily stress at work and at home is to get organized. You may have noticed that getting organized is a popular topic for TV shows and the news. There is a good reason. A messy life means a messy mind, and if your mind is messy, it’s hard to control stress. Just think about how it feels to be frantically searching for your keys or phone when you’re late for an important appointment or meeting. The holidays can be even more stressful when it comes to entertaining unexpected missions and hiding gifts from prying eyes. Here are some ideas to help.
- Put a basket next to the door you use most often to get in and out. As soon as you enter, leave the keys and the basket. I have a small table right by the door that has a basket for keys, a small letter holder for new mail, and room for my wallet. I also have a trash can underneath to throw out the junk mail as soon as I walk in with it. Less to deal with.
- Organize your closets. Take an afternoon and clean out the closets. I keep a few boxes on hand for this and do it at the start of each new season, spring, summer, winter, and fall.
It’s amazing how much trash accumulates in a closet and when the seasons change, but it’s much easier to grab a coat and gloves on the way out if there’s not a lot of trash in the way. I also do my clothing closet, rotating my clothes to match the season. This way I never grab a winter weight sweater instead of a sleeveless top when I’m running late and in a hurry to get dressed. Better yet, I’ve gotten into the habit of selecting my clothes the night before. I have a small hook on the back of my closet door and hang there, complete with accessories. Grab and go in the morning.
The added bonus is storage space. Clean up the trash and you’ll have room to stash those gifts. One thing I do is use baskets on closet shelves for small items. I also keep items that I rarely use together in a closet, usually in the guest room or you may designate another area. The back of a large walk-in closet works too. I have hidden things like baseball bats and golf clubs in my garment bags with formal dresses. I hide small gifts in the bottom of baskets that are used for hats and gloves. Easier than you think if you have small children who can’t reach the shelves on their own.
You can also have small baskets or one of those plastic drawers in the back of the closet for smaller family members to store hats, gloves, and scarves. If it’s a shallow unit, you can hide things behind it. Simply hang longer coats to the side and most family members won’t venture a backward glance.
- THROW IT. I know, we all tend to cling to certain things. Naturally, the moment we get rid of something, we will need it. NO! If you haven’t used something in a year, throw it away or give it away. Cleaning out the trash will allow you the luxury of time because you won’t have to sort through the trash all the time to get to what you really need.
You don’t really reuse last year’s gift wrap, and the sticky material on the bows wears off and the bows get crushed, unless you’re really good at it. Now is a great time to throw that stuff away and get yourself a wrap organizer system. No more hunting wrap supplies. You have it when you need it. I like to use wrapping paper rolls because I wrap and give a lot of gifts. I bought a mid-size dumpster with a lid for a few dollars at a discount store. It can hold about a dozen rolls of wrap and a gallon size zipper with scissors, tape, a couple of rolls of tape and labels. When I need to wrap something, I pull it out of the hall closet and I’m ready to wrap.
- ORGANIZE your drawers and cabinets. I really hate having to dig through the cabinet for some spice or ingredient when I’m cooking, and I love to cook. For those who don’t, I can imagine this could be part of the problem. Having good kitchen utensils on hand, including ingredients, can really help you enjoy food preparation.
I bake. I do a lot of baking over the holidays and have learned a couple of shortcuts along the way. Because I give out ‘treat baskets’ to family members during the holidays, I usually end up baking many dozens of different types of cookies. I have a couple of multi-use recipes that I mix up weeks in advance and keep in the freezer. On baking days, I take it out, cut it up, and bake it. While these batches bake, I can focus on the ones that don’t freeze well or take a little longer. You can also make cut-out cookies, bake them, and freeze them to decorate later. I invite my grandchildren and other people on a cool morning and we have a cookie decorating party. Just provide the frosting and decorations and in no time you’ll have not only a large batch of beautiful and tasty treats, but also some wonderful keepsakes to go with it and all with little to no stress required.
- ROUTINES. I hate cleaning, but I love a clean house. My goal is to spend as little time as possible cleaning but to have a house that is suitable for visits at any time. I remember my mother-in-law dropped in one time when she was in the middle of spring cleaning. It didn’t matter that I was cleaning, what mattered was that she saw my mess. And, of course, she was happy to offer advice on how not to get caught cleaning.
Your solution. Clean only after 9 pm or before 6 am Well, that may work for her or you, but for me it wasn’t an option. After 9 she was too tired from running around all day, and before 6 she wasn’t awake enough to do more than press the button on the coffee pot. But she had a good point. With great family and friends around, it seems like my house has a revolving door during the holidays. It seems that there is no time to clean up either.
By creating routines, I can keep my house clean enough for guests with minimal time. But you have to start first. Once it’s clean, these simple routines will help keep it that way.
- Rinse dishes and wipe down counters IMMEDIATELY. Run the dishwasher only once a day, unless it’s after a meeting. I rinse and put the dishes in the dishwasher throughout the day. Clean as I go and earn the time a meal is served, all I have to do is put the meal plates in the dishwasher and turn it on. This is just a few extra minutes while preparing a meal and an extra 2-3 minutes to your day to wrap up instead of an hour cleaning up a full day’s worth of dishes, pots and pans at the end of the day.
- Clean the bathroom every day. Take 5 minutes to clean your bathroom fixtures every day and you can save hours of scrubbing every week. Keep cleaning supplies like bleach cloths, window cleaner, and tub or shower scrub under the sink or in a covered basket. When I get out of the shower, I take a minute or less to clean the walls, door, and fixtures. This reduces buildup that takes time and energy to remove. A quick wipe over mirrors, counter and fixtures after applying makeup, brushing teeth, etc., and a bleach wipe in the toilet leaves the room sparkling clean for guests.
- Take out the garbage daily. I know a lot of people who only take out the garbage a couple of days a week. Nobody wants to deal with smelly garbage, so get rid of it. I tie the bags up every night and leave them in the cans outside when we leave for work in the morning. There is nothing left inside to rot and cause bad odours.
- One hour a week. I take about an hour a week to sweep, mop and vacuum my house. This is usually early on Saturday mornings. Once a week works for us because we’re empty, but if you have a family, you might want to invest in one of those sweepers, you know, the kind with the spray and static cloths. I still have one on hand for spills. Two minutes to take care of a spill right away can save time thinking about how to clean it up later.
- Keep a pantry for parties. Well, that’s what I call it. When I go shopping throughout the year, I add one or two items to my basket that I keep for emergency guests. For example, you can freeze a food cake on an angle and when you have a visitor take it out, pour it over a bag of frozen fruit and top with whipped topping. 2 minute instant desert and they’ll think you slaved just for them. Canned meats and fish, nuts, soup mixes that can be added to sour cream for sauces, cheeses that can also be frozen. These are just a few ideas.
I have been monitoring the time spent on housework lately and found that if I spend a total of about 20 minutes a day and an hour once a week, I can stay on top of housework and always be ready for unexpected guests. . . Compared to the many hours I used to spend every week and every Saturday or Sunday I spent cleaning, this is very doable for me. Now I spend that free time laughing with my family and friends and doing the things I love to do, like decorating for the holiday season and baking treats for my family and friends.
I have noticed that since I started doing these things I don’t feel stressed during the holidays, I have more time to do those things that are important to me, like spending time with my children and grandchildren, and even though I seem to have more visitors than ever, I know you’ll find the house in good shape and I’m ready to join in the fun.