Mrs. Claus: 7 Sassy Ideas on How to De-clutter

As a child I loved dolls. I had endless tea parties with them sitting with me around the kitchen table. I dressed and re-dressed them in the clothes my mother made for them. She was an expert seamstress and I had wonderful outfits for each doll. I never remember my mother staying up until 2:00 a.m. or later on Christmas Eve finishing my doll clothes or baking and whatever else people stay up to do on that magical night of the year. Now I know it was because she had learned how to declutter her schedule and take care of herself so she could take care of us.

As busy women we need to take care of ourselves so we can have a happy holiday season without added stress that can make us hate this time of year.

Feel the energy as you use these 7 powerful, feel-good ways on how to declutter for the holidays:

1. Take time now to look over your schedule for the upcoming months. Are there things you can plan on not doing to declutter your schedule and your life? Is everything you plan on doing mandatory (events that involve your children or mandatory work events)? Do you have items that can be done but changed to a different time of the year? For instance if you get together this time of the year with friends do it after the holidays but before New Year’s so it is still at the festive time of the year.

2. After you have your schedule planned if you have children call and arrange for babysitting early. If you have a hard time getting a sitter for whatever reason tell your potential sitter that you will be giving Christmas bonuses this year. You know their time is precious too and their schedule could be pretty hectic.

3. Do you burn the candle at both ends? Do you tell yourself you are a night owl so you stay up late and then still have to get up early? Spread out your responsibilities over several days rather than cramming tons of stuff into a few days. That is one of the secrets to de-cluttering—do things a step at a time without trying to run fast and furious all at once so you get burnt out.

4. How many hours of sleep do you need? Your body will tell you. It really gripes me that my body likes 6 hours a night because I read and hear all these health experts saying we need 8 hours and more. But my body thinks 6 are just right. Listen to your body and get enough rest so you will have the energy and enthusiasm to do what you need and want to do during the holidays.

5. My son-in-law went to get gas for his lawn mower and the man at the station told him it is not gas—it is fuel. Are we giving our bodies the right fuel it needs? You know what that is; enough water and nutritious foods every day. We don’t have to worry about getting enough treat foods, in fact that is a place we could consider how to declutter by doing things like limiting our intake of sweets, baking less and actually enjoying what we eat more.

6. If you like to exercise don’t give it up during the holidays. Exercise can give your body energy. But if you’re not used to exercising, don’t think that now is the time to start. You can pick up the habit when you’re not so busy.

7. Plan some time for yourself every day. If you have children a great place to get away is the bathroom or your bedroom where you can lock the door and turn up the music so you can’t hear them pounding on the door and saying, “Mommy I need you” every 5 seconds.

How to declutter your life at this busy time of the year includes taking time for yourself, eating right, exercising and being aware of your priorities.

Marilyn, a professional organizer and author is passionate about organizing for women and seniors in clearing clutter from their lives. Her new book "Go Organize!" will be in bookstores Dec 2009. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com.