Welcome to part 2 of our holiday organizing tips and prompts. This is part of our annual event where we dive into 21 holiday tips to make the season feel less overwhelming and more joyful. This year, by popular request, we've added catch-up days so you can take your time, breathe, and make space for life in between organizing sessions. Whether you're following along for Christmas or another holiday, these tips can work for any celebration – just start about 30 days before your event and follow along at your own pace.
In this episode, we continue from part 1 and pick up at day 11, focusing on gifts, holiday activities, and setting yourself up for a smoother, more enjoyable holiday season. From creating a gift list to planning festive activities and prepping your kitchen, we cover it all!
In this episode, we talk about:
- Creating and finishing your gift list to stay organized and within budget
- Planning out holiday activities to avoid last-minute stress
- Preparing your kitchen and holiday outfits for a smooth and festive season
Mentioned in this episode:
- Holiday Organizing Tips (Part 1): If you missed part 1, be sure to catch up! This episode builds on those earlier prompts.
- Holiday Budgeting and Gift Planning Tools: Apps and spreadsheets to help track your gift list and spending.
- Holiday Expo Announcement: Mark your calendars! Our expo is on Wednesday, May 28th in Castle Rock, Colorado, featuring resources and vendors to help with organizing inherited items and more.
For the full list of 21 holiday tips or to download free resources, visit www.theorganizedflamingo.com/resources
Join us for the Expo!
Learn more about our upcoming expo at www.organizeandcherish.com/expo We can't wait to see you there!
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The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Review full show notes and resources at https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
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Review Transcript:
Stephanie [00:00:00]:
Hey, friends. Welcome to this week's episode, which is part 2 of the holiday organizing tips and prompt. Quick recap. Every year, we have this event at the end of the year, which we like to call the holiday organizing tips and prompts. 21 days and or 21 of them. And this year, I changed it up a little bit per your request, so we've been doing this for a couple of years now. And instead of it just being 21 consecutive days, you felt like you needed some days in between the prompts to either do makeup sessions or take your time and or just have a little bit more time to do some of these prompts. So what I ended up doing is there are 21 of them.
Stephanie [00:00:44]:
It took a little longer than 21 days because I added some rest days, if you will, or catch up days in between. The other thing that I said in part 1, which I would definitely suggest that you go and listen in because this is part 2. Right? Like, it's the continuation. But, technically, you can just listen to this one, and you won't have missed too much. Some of them fee some of the tips and the prompts feed off of the first episode. So but you can still listen and it'll it'll still make sense, so don't you worry. Okay. So the so back to part 1, when I mentioned that these were always designed to be done once a day so that you can keep the momentum going.
Stephanie [00:01:29]:
Actually, we would do these tips and prompts. We, as a company, I would do these with clients well before I brought it into more of the online space and shared it with everyone else. And what I would do is every day I would send a reminder. So that's why there's 21 of them. And, technically, they're made so that you could finish them in one day or if anything, get most of it started. So that's why I advise, suggest that you do them every day. But at this point, if you're listening to this episode live, we're almost up to the holiday to the like, if you're celebrate Christmas. Right? Like, 25th, 24th, 25th, if that is the holiday that you celebrate.
Stephanie [00:02:10]:
But I'm still putting this out live even though it we're really close to the holiday because, technically, these prompts can work for any holiday that you celebrate. So all you would have to do is make sure that you have about 30 days before you, you know, you you celebrate the holiday or your due date, I should say, of whatever holiday you celebrate, and then listen to the to these 2 episodes in the background and then just follow the prompts every day so that you would have plenty of time to finish these prompts and tasks and and tips. Okay? So hopefully that makes sense. Let me know if you have any questions, but, yes, these are always airing for the Christmas holiday, but they can work throughout the year depending and, you know, whatever you celebrate, just start them about a month before your due date and then, go from there. Alright? Welcome to the Organized and Productive podcast with the Organized Flamingo. I am your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert. Ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you? Yeah? Well, then let's go. So let's get it started with continuation.
Stephanie [00:03:21]:
We left off on number 11. So either day 11 or number 11, however you're looking at this. Okay? Day 11 or number 11 is create your gift list. What that means is we already talked about thinking about gifts and whatnot. So this is about creating your gift list. So who are you getting gifts for? So this isn't just about you, your own gift list, this is about other people gift giving. What are you getting them? Where are you getting it from? Make sure it aligns with your holiday mission statement. Don't forget, day 1, that's, like, the number 1, and then holiday budget, which is day 2.
Stephanie [00:03:57]:
So if you have 1, if you don't have 1, well, then you can disregard this. If you have a budget you'd like to stay on, then this is directly tied to that. There are some apps out there that are free, and some paid, or you can do this in your Google spreadsheet or if you're tech savvy. But you can, just create, like, a list, and that way, you can keep track of it and keep it with you. The reason I say spreadsheet or something like that is just because most people like to do list or something that they can cross off or do a quick search on. And when you write it down with pen and pencil, it's harder to do searches because, well, it's it's paper and pen and paper and pencil or whatever you write a utensil. You can't do an easy lookup. So that's why, nowadays, I suggest an online version.
Stephanie [00:04:45]:
But, certainly, if you know what you like, you like writing it down with a pencil on paper, you do you, whatever will be most convenient. Alright. So create your gift list. What are you thinking about getting them? Who are you getting them for? Where are you getting it from, and make that a list of some sort so that you can keep track. Day 12, as you sit there cuddled up on the couch, because at this point, you're you're just kind of in the swing of things, you know, the holiday that you're celebrating is coming up, you're about, you know, give or take midway there. Think about what other holiday activities you want to get done. Write them out and plan them out. So some ideas obviously are going to be like the cookie baking, if you're decorating, you know, you the gingerbread houses, houses, the activity that you've always envisioned doing that you saw somewhere, someone do, then you want to replicate it or you want to also do it, this is the time to plan it out.
Stephanie [00:05:36]:
You know, those project nights, the Christmas light visits, movie nights, plan them out. Because when you don't plan them out, yes, it's great to be spontaneous. I love that for most of you. I think it could work, but there are certain things that you really want to plan out. Because, if not, the moment will come, You will or you might forget. You might be overwhelmed. You may be caught up in the things, and then you will regret that you didn't get it done later on. So if you it's something that's really special to you, you've been wanting to do it, go ahead.
Stephanie [00:06:06]:
And as you're sitting on the couch watching your favorite show, favorite movie, just plan it out. See how much the ticket costs. Put it on the calendar. If it's a free event, just make sure you plan it. Put it on the calendar. Let people know what time you're going to be there, and then just have it ready to go. Day number 13 or number 13 is finish your gift list from day 11, and either order the items online or plan a day when you're picking it up. So make plans to actually get it done and cross it off.
Stephanie [00:06:37]:
Number 14 is plan out your holiday dinner and decide when you will go shopping for the items. This is when we start to think about, the food piece of it, which can be overwhelming or the baking piece if you're hosting, or if you're ordering. If you're ordering it, then make that plan as well. So this is all about the food portion of it. What is the plan? Who needs to be assigned what? What do you need to order, all of that. Just start planning it out, and decide around what time you need to go shopping for the items. Maybe put it on your calendar. Number 15 is place the Christmas food and drink order.
Stephanie [00:07:16]:
So at this point, now that you've made the plan of what you're doing for that dinner, lunch, whatever you're hosting, go ahead and start ordering it. Put the order in the deposit if you're having someone else, cater it for you or just put it in your cart if you're ordering all of the items online so they can be delivered by the day that you need them with even some extra wiggle room. 16, send your holiday cards out. If you are starting to receive cards, quickly cross check that their return addresses match your address book. This is a really good time to do that checkup. Don't put it off because I promise it'll feel really good to do it right now in the moment that you get the letters or the ones that you get in the mail. Okay? So and start sending yours out if you have not done so already. 17, create a holiday music playlist for the week.
Stephanie [00:08:09]:
This is something that gets so missed and it becomes super special when you do do it. So, in addition to being a festive way to get into the Christmas or holiday spirit that you celebrate, it will help you stay on task because remember that certain beats per minute will inspire you differently and keep you on task differently. So make about 2 to 3 lists that align to your mood for how you want to come. Now and how you wanna come and show up to the event, you know, if, if you're feeling a little bit more romantic, you're cooking, you want to be more, you know, in the cooking mood, or maybe you wanna be more upbeat when you're doing whatever activity, then pick music that aligns to that. We will be touching up about next year. One of our topics is all about music and productivity and just, like, helping that through your organizing journey. So stay tuned. But, in the meantime, there's plenty of playlist on Spotify, on iTunes, online that you can get to align with your mood and or the beats per minute, like, how you want to feel.
Stephanie [00:09:12]:
So just look it up like a quick little search that says music, mood according music according to my mood or music beats per minute. Okay? So look that up. Day 18 or number 18 is go to your closet and pick out 5 to 7 holiday outfits for the season. Yes. This is the time to start planning that out. Some outfits to plan out for are going to be, like, the happy hours, the dinners, the photo shoots, daytime, you know, ones that you want to wear in them daytime, Christmas holiday, ugly sweater, all of those. Even though this list is, like I said, coming towards the end of the Christmas season, they're still the New Year seasons. There's plenty of companies and people that celebrate the holidays after the Christmas time and or the beginning of the year.
Stephanie [00:10:01]:
I worked in hospitality for many years, and our holiday parties would always be in January because our really busy seasons were always the wedding season, summers, and whatnot. And then later, it would be the holiday season, like holiday evening, holiday parties, holiday get together parties. So we would not celebrate ours until January. So if you are one of those people that doesn't celebrate until then, this is still very in you know, this is going to be relevant for you and just help, you know, putting together your outfit ahead of time will relieve so much stress, not having to think about what am I going to wear every morning or for those activities. So definitely line those up for all of the events that you have going on because in one of the days from the first round that we did part 1, we talked about putting all of those events that you need to attend this season on your calendar. So just go to your calendar, look up all the events that you have prescheduled, RSVP'd for, and put together your outfit so you don't have to scramble at the last minute. Number 19, get your holiday table decor out. It's time.
Stephanie [00:11:10]:
It's time. Some of the items that you'll bring out are are everything from the napkins to the silverware, centerpieces, table cloths, table runners, napkin rings, iron anything that may need to be ironed. If that's not what you're doing this year, then, obviously, you can ignore this one. But if it is, this is a good time to start taking everything out and getting it all ready. Some of you already have put together your tablescape or all of those items and centerpieces out, so this is a good reminder to just kind of fluff it up or, you know, dust it out, do a quick little clean if it's been out already for for a while. So get your table decor out, especially if you're hosting. Day 20 and or number 20, get your kitchen ready. The power of prep work is strong.
Stephanie [00:12:03]:
We've done many episodes about this, how your future self will thank you when you do just a little bit of prep work. So remember that, you know, the doing today that's doing something today for your future self is going to be super helpful. So think about what is that future self going to thank you for. One of those is the kitchen. Like, if you have your kitchen ready, it's, the bowls are, you know, kind of in that area where you're going to need them, all the ingredients out, just, like, start taking it out. A little bit of prep work will go a long way. So set yourself up for joy and success. Some of you that are, you know, more you like the, like, the hectic kitchen.
Stephanie [00:12:47]:
I get it. I grew up in that household, and it was so fun. So just, like, it was just vibrant. So I get it. Okay? I'm not trying here with these tips to take away anything that you already do that brings you joy. That is not the goal of these prompts. These are just prompts for you to think about these things. So if you don't want everything to be prepped and also perfect in that way, just at least think about it and see if there's anything that you can do ahead of time so that you're not caught up in the moment because you should be enjoying the holiday season as well, not just trying to make everyone else's holiday and festivities joyous.
Stephanie [00:13:28]:
Like, you should be part of that joy. So if you're always feeling stressed and cluttered in your heart, in your soul, in your mind when you're in the kitchen or you're doing all the holiday festivity stuff, then try to prep some of it ahead of time. Ask for help so that ahead of time and when the moment comes, you can, enjoy just as much as everyone else. Alright. We're we're on to our last one and that is to create a holiday folder on your phone for pictures. A folder for the pictures that you want to print, the ones you want to share, those are just some categories. So on Apple, both Apple and Android phones, you can create folders in your photo album. So, like, if it's Google, Google pictures, Apple pictures, create albums.
Stephanie [00:14:16]:
So you take the picture at the end of the night, the end of the season. It those pictures that you want to make sure you save, you send, you frame will go into those albums so that when you're ready to do those things, print them, share them, all that, they're going to be all ready for you in there. I think this goes really unnoticed, and then that is when I see people have thousands of pictures just all in a cluster of endless pictures, which is fine until it's not. So if this bothers you, if this is an area that bothers you every year where you wish you had them, you had picked out your favorite one so that you can create a folder or, like, a folder very quickly, I mean, you promised yourself you would do it next year, this is the time to do it. Okay? So, I promise you you won't regret it. So, make some folders of which pictures you want to remember, share, or do something with. So, immediately, when you capture that moment, you can just put it in that folder and not have to think about it later on. Alright, my friends.
Stephanie [00:15:19]:
Well, that's it for this week. This was part 2 of the 21 holiday organizing tips and prompts. If you want to download the entire list, just head on over to www.theorganizedflamingo.com/resources, where we now have all of our freebies and all of our resources in one place. We call it the freebie corner or the resources corner, and it's the place where you just go in and download whatever you may need, for your organizing resource needs. Okay. So just head on over there. Quick announcement. We have our expo organized and cherished expo date settled.
Stephanie [00:15:58]:
It is Wednesday, May 28th from 9 AM to 1 PM in Castle Rock, Colorado. I'm so excited. This is an expo for all of you who are trying to trying to meet vendors or or resources for your organizing needs when you've inherited a lot of stuff. Like, it's it's all about simplifying your life. It's about a path to that simple life, but not necessarily minimizing. Okay. So it's a one day expert bringing together the vendors and the resources specifically for caregivers, the sandwich generation, and those that are helping the love their loved ones with decluttering, downsizing, and organizing. So this is one of those events that provides the attendees with practical tools and connections and inspiration to simplify their journey while also prioritizing self care.
Stephanie [00:16:47]:
So it's like that place where you will get to meet, get to know the resources that you may not have known existed. And if you did, but you would like to see them all compared in one place, like, you just like to kind of go to one shop to see what everyone, has available, this is a perfect place for that. So Wednesday, May 28th in Colorado, we are going to have a virtual kinda like a virtual side of this earlier a couple weeks before, so hang on to that. But if you want to actually meet people in person, then this is the event for you. Just head on over to the organize to organize and cherish.com/expo and get your tickets there. Alright. Until next week, everybody. Happy organizing.
Stephanie [00:17:32]:
Thank you for listening to the organized and productive podcast with The Organized Flamingo. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here. For full show notes and resources, head on over to the organized flamingo.com/podcast. Happy organizing.
