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The 12 Weeks of Christmas: How To Make This Your Most Stress Free Festive Season Yet

Tracy Ross, Blissfully Organised Herts Advertiser Property

 

Christmas Top Tips

I was delighted to have my top tips for getting organised for Christmas published in todays Herts Advertiser Property Supplement.

We can hardly believe it but today marks 12 weeks until Christmas Day. This means there’s plenty of time to make this festive season stress-free - just follow local decluttering expert Tracy Ross’s top tips….

Tracy Ross, Experienced Organiser

12 Weeks To Christmas

Many of my clients start thinking about Christmas as soon as they’ve restored calm after the summer holidays. If preparing for Christmas fills you with dread, follow my 12-week Christmas check-list to feel Blissfully Organised.

If you spread out all the things that need to be organised between now and the festive season it will feel less overwhelming. Also completing the decluttering and organisation tasks will benefit you all year round.

Christmas Countdown Checklist

October

Week 1: Check Lists and Budgets

* Agree where you will spend Christmas, and where family and friends are going. This can sometimes be complicated so it’s a good idea to start the discussion early
* Set your budget for gifts, food, travel and entertainment
* Write a gift list – who, budget and gift ideas

Week 2: Entertainment & 2019 Diary

* Book to see Santa and tickets to Christmas shows
* Check when the nativity plays are at school and book time off work
* If you are hosting think about any activities that you would like to do with your guests i.e. day out in London, local walks, carol service etc
* Book babysitters early for pre-Christmas events and New Year’s Eve
* Purchase your 2019 diary and transfer key dates before the busy Christmas period

Week 3: Travel and Catering

* If you are spending Christmas or New Year away from home book your travel arrangements and accommodation
* Book a Christmas food delivery slot and start menu planning for the festive period. Place an order for your meat, fish and wine

 

Week 4: Pre- Christmas Decluttering and Home Organisation

* If you are having guests to stay over the festive season its useful to start thinking about where they will sleep and what they need
* Audit your linens and towels. Purge worn or unwanted items and determine if you need to replace anything
* Declutter your freezer and kitchen storage cupboards. You will need additional space for food and accessories over Christmas
* Loft/storage spaces – you will also need to create space to store gifts and additional larder items in the run up to Christmas
* Review the children’s toys and clothes. Purge any broken or unwanted items to make space for Christmas gifts

November

Week 5: The Gift List, Pampering and Style

* Ask the children for a Christmas wish list and make your own list
* Order any difficult to buy gifts and look out for seasonal promotions on high value items e.g. Black Friday
* Experiences or vouchers always make lovely gifts
* Book your hair and beauty appointments to avoid disappointment
* Plan your outfits for the festive season to ensure you have what you need

Week 6: Decorations and Christmas Cards

* Review your Christmas decorations. Do the lights work? Do you have everything that you need? Will you go for a real or artificial tree?
* Update your Christmas card list and ensure you have all contact details. Write cards in small batches. Hand deliver any cards locally and check the last postal dates for international deliveries www.postoffice.co.uk/christmas/last-posting-dates
* Consider sending a Christmas e-card (with a festive family photo) and donating to your favourite charity instead of sending out cards.

Week 7: Gift Wrapping

* Wrap and label all gifts as you go. For close family members use a different wrapping paper to make it easy to identify
* Keep a list of everything that you have bought for each person with a note where you have stored each item

Week 8: Key Supplies & Generic Gifts

* Stock up on key supplies - lightbulbs, batteries, medicines, toiletries, kitchen essentials
* Generic gifts: Keep a small number of gifts for the unexpected

December

Week 9: Tree, Post, Decorations & Christmas Items

* Put up your tree and decorations
* Post your cards and parcels early to avoid queues later
* Think about how you will display cards and store gifts that you receive pre-Christmas (under the tree or hidden away)
* Take out of storage any Christmas crockery and linens and store in an accessible place

Week 10: Christmas Events and Final Declutter

* By now you will already be in the middle of Christmas festivities and will start to feel the benefits of early planning
* Now is the time to do a final clear out of the freezer and kitchen to create space for the seasonal items that you need to store
* Final confirmation of guest arrival dates/times and check on sleeping arrangements

Week 11: Non-Perishables & Beauty Appointments

* Buy final non-perishables
* Enjoy your pre-Christmas pampering

Week 12: Perishables and Guests

* Collect/take delivery perishable / fresh foods. Be prepared for any last-minute rushes to the supermarket
* Prepare rooms for guests
* Don’t forget to delegate tasks to all members of the family – remember it’s your Christmas too

Relax and enjoy the festive season!

If you need help decluttering and organising your home for Christmas, please contact Tracy Ross at .

Blissfully Organised Gift Vouchers
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Why not add a Blissfully Organised Gift Voucher to your Christmas wish list? Buy as many hours as you need.

Please contact me at [email protected] for further details.

Explore more

  • I first met Tracy in 2019. I live overseas and wanted to help my Mother clear a downstairs room to become a bedroom, I needed a gentle, trusted professional to complete the task after I had returned to my home. We all met and agreed upon a plan, but it was not to be as my Mother’s health deteriorated very quickly and she passed away. Although I did return to the UK a few times that year, decluttering wasn’t a priority. Then Covid put an end to my being able to return. Finally, in spring of this year, flight restrictions were lifted and I saw an opportunity to return to the UK, now faced with the task of clearing the family home. I contacted Tracy and thankfully, despite short notice, she had some free days to help me. We arranged 6 days throughout my 2 1/2 weeks to help me stay on track and motivated. Tracy helped me stay focussed and helped me believe we could achieve a fairly daunting task of going through a lifetime of memories, papers, photos and possessions. I had to be very disciplined about what was kept as whatever I chose to keep was to be shipped back to my Country. Tracy gave me time to tell a story about an item and why it made the “keeper”, or “think about it” pile, yet didn’t break stride in her work whilst listening. It was a very cathartic process. I felt like I was talking to a long time friend. She has a talent for putting you at ease, and for helping you see objects with a critical eye. Not once did I feel she was making the decision, more that she helped me verbalize my attachment, or not, and that really builds a bond of trust. After each session, I had “homework” to complete before we met again and a follow up email charting the successes of the day and the plan for the next session. As I was on my own during my stay in my family home, this could have been rather lonely, but knowing that Tracy was coming, both broke up the monotony of going through endless boxes and kept me on task such that the job was successfully completed.

    thumb Andree Stow
    May 9, 2022

  • Tracy has helped me many times over the years, and I think I must have known her for 10 years now! When I first contacted her I had reservations about letting someone into my home, making judgments and telling me what I should do. But Tracy's service is NOT like that at all. She did a full home audit and we chatted about what I hoped to achieve. For years I'd been frustrated by our storage area, a large room under the house which was hard to access and full of things we hadn't seen for years. We agreed to tackle it and Tracy suggested that to start with, we took everything out. I thought she was completely mad at this point. Three hours later we had done just that, assessed what was there, got rid of some of it, sorted some and made plans for the rest. It was like a massive weight had lifted from my shoulders. After that she helped me organise rooms, and filter through boxes of stuff. More recently she helped me prepare for a big move. It's always an absolute pleasure to see Tracy and she is very thoughtful in her approach. Her service is life changing and I am very grateful that I contacted Tracy all those years ago. Contact her now, you honestly won't regret it.

    thumb Clare Suttie
    June 11, 2020

  • Tracy is exceptional at what she does and is generous in what she gives. Highly recommend.

    thumb Jayne reah
    February 23, 2022

  • Tracy is amazing. We were renovating our house and finally was able to plan some extra storage. Tracy helped us to plan out new fitted wardrobes and then came back a few months later to help me get into a system with my laundry ( one of the things as a family I find hard to keep under control! ). She is kind, non judgemental, motivational & inspirational! I would say most people could do with a bit of Blissfully Organised in their lives!

    thumb Laura Dannan
    December 14, 2020

  • Tracy helped my young girls and I declutter before a house move. In particular I was impressed with how Tracy got on well with the girls (7 yrs and 3 yrs) straight away and explained the sorting process simply. This has had a lastly impact on my children, getting them to appreciate you can’t keep everything!! I too enjoyed spending focused time with Tracy looking at my wardrobe. I will definitely be implementing the learnings for my clothes purchases such as reducing my tendency to buy some items in too many colour ways! Thank you Tracy for all your help. Jo

    thumb Joanna Dew
    August 25, 2020