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A Blissfully Organised Christmas

Planning A Blissfully Organised Christmas

Tracy’s tips will help you achieve a blissfully organised Christmas

You’ve decided this is the year you’ll celebrate Christmas well prepared and in a home that is clean and organised. The only problem is right now you’re living in domestic chaos and don’t know where to start.

Tracy Ross, Expert Organiser

If preparing for Christmas fills you with dread, read on for some simple tips.

Where to begin?

Start by preparing a Christmas plan of everything you need to do. This will include making decisions on where and with whom you will spend Christmas, things you need to do in the home in preparation, your Christmas theme, food planning and your gift list.

Try and group similar tasks together and schedule what you need to do.

The idea behind making a plan is you are blocking out time to get specific tasks done. This creates focus and energy and gets a lot more done in a lot less time.

Some careful planning can help banish Christmas stress

Planning the home for Christmas

If you’re planning to stay at home this Christmas and are having guests to stay consider the following:

* Schedule some time to clear out any old toys to make room for the new ones. Declutter your kitchen cupboards and defrost the freezer to make space for the Christmas food.

* Focus on preparing the rooms that people will occupy when they come to stay such as the living and dining areas, the bathroom and guest bedroom. Remember that your guests are there to see you and won’t expect your house to be perfect! Things to consider are sleeping arrangements and
additional seating, crockery and cutlery.

* Take down your Christmas decorations and check for any breakages. Decide on your Christmas theme and make a note if you need to buy any additional items.

Make a list and check it (at least) twice!

* This is also a good time to declutter the loft and make space for any items that may need to be stored away temporarily when you have
guests to stay. Before you start packing away your decorations, the key is to label everything so you know where items are.

Make a Christmas gift list

This will include family, friends and those small gifts you need for school and work.

Decide how much you want to spend for each gift then jump online and get researching! Compare prices, make an action plan and decide on which gifts you’re going to buy. It’s also useful to keep a list of ideas that other people can buy for your partner or children, should they ask.

Also, buy a small number of back-up gifts that are quirky-yet-personal, in case you get within 24 hours of Christmas and there are gaps under your tree.

Make a Christmas greetings list

Creating a master contact list for Christmas will make those cards and greetings quicker to do and can easily be updated. Then you won’t forget anyone! This can include Christmas cards, phone calls and emails.

Christmas Food and drink

Don’t leave your food and drink plans until the last minute. Start menu planning well in advance and place orders for food and drink early. It’s also a good time to look out for original ideas on how to use leftovers and keep guests well fed.

Look your best

With all the planning it’s easy to forget about yourself. Don’t forget to plan what you’re going to wear on Christmas Day and schedule in any hair and beauty appointments as it can get very busy in the run up to the holidays.

Need a helping hand?

Even with careful planning there is always a lot to do. If you need a helping hand tidying your home or gift buying in preparation for Christmas please Contact me.

 

 

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  • 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 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

  • 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 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

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

    thumb Jayne reah
    February 23, 2022