Organized Christmas Tips
The holidays can be overwhelming, but staying organized this holiday season doesn’t have to be difficult! Check out these 7 EASY organized Christmas hacks!
Seriously, these are all quick and easy ways to keep you organized this year, even among all the Christmas chaos!
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When it comes time to start planning out your holiday season, you are probably excited and ready to take it on!
But then, when events start coming in, when those events interfere with each other, you’re buying all your gifts online and can’t remember what’s coming from where…AND you have to decorate a tree?! Only to find out some of the bulbs on your lights need to be replaced?!
Those things, and so much more, can quickly make the holidays stressful and chaotic.
But I’m here to tell you – it doesn’t have to be!
I’m sure there will always be some stress around the holidays, it’s just natural and some things we can’t control. However, there are plenty of things we CAN control and that’s what’s important!
Here are my favorite organized Christmas hacks. I do all of these things, and have been for a few years now, and I’ve found it has helped so much in keeping things organized.
These are also EASY and SIMPLE things to do. The holidays are complicated enough, so let’s not overcomplicate it, okay?
7 Organized Christmas Hacks
Tip #1: Declutter ornaments & decor…TWICE
Okay, I’ll give you a second to groan and/or roll your eyes.
Second is up. Now hear me out.
Have you ever had those holiday seasons where you put up the tree, everything is wonderful, but you have so many ornaments that you just do NOT know how you’ll stuff one more thing onto the tree?
Then you go to your box(es) of outdoor decorations, and you’re like, wait a second, where did all these come from?!
THEN, you get everything decorated, the new year rolls around, then mid January, and you just do not feel like putting this stuff away.
So when you finally decide to do it, you put everything away as quickly as possible then forget about it.
This always happened to me. Every. Year.
So, now I declutter things as I put them up. Too many lights? Get rid of a set right away.
Broken ornament that can’t be fixed? See ya!
The second time I declutter ornaments and decor is when I’m taking everything down and putting it all away.
If anything has become broken and can’t be fixed, or you just would rather not have the items anymore, donate or get rid of them.
Sometimes you won’t have any decluttering to do the second time around, but it’s really helpful to be in that kind of mindset both when putting up ornaments and taking them down!
Also, when you’re taking everything down and putting it away, this is a wonderful time to reevaluate your storage solutions.
We’ll talk about storage stuff a little later in the post. But first, coming up next is my FAVORITE organized Christmas hack, and it’s SO EASY!
Tip #2: Use different wrapping paper (my FAVORITE of all organized Christmas hacks!)
I couldn’t wait to put this tip in here, and I’ll get back to ornaments and decorations in a minute!
I don’t know why, but when I thought to start doing this 3 years ago, I thought I was an actual genius. Then I was humbled and decided it was just a regular old good idea.
Ready for it?!
Use different gift wrap for different gatherings or groups!
So, for example…
I’ll use a wrapping paper with one color or pattern when wrapping gifts for my side of the family (let’s say, red paper with Santa on it).
Then, when wrapping gifts for my husband’s family, I’ll use a different color or pattern (let’s say, green with reindeer).
Then, I’ll use a third for gifts for my husband, coworkers, etc (maybe blue with snowmen?).
This way, when we are loading up the car to go to someone’s house on Christmas Eve, we don’t have to spend time checking all the tags. All we have to do is grab all the red gifts, or all the green gifts, etc.
Plus, we don’t have to try to section them out under the tree – we can just put them wherever they fit best in the Tetris situation that it becomes.
I like to make sure the biggest difference is the main color of the paper. So if I buy a roll of red with Santa wrapping paper, and I run out, I can just easily run to the store and buy another red wrapping paper (like maybe red with penguins?).
If you don’t want to go this route, you could always put different color bows on everything. So all the gifts you’re taking to one house can have red bows, all the gifts staying home can have gold bows, etc.
The only issue with the bows, is that they could easily fall off unless reinforced with tape. Unless that’s only a me problem?
You should still make sure to put labels on your gifts so when you’re handing them out, you’ll know exactly who it’s for!
Honestly. It is SO easy.
Organized Christmas Hack #3: Fix broken ornaments and decor ASAP!
Honestly, don’t leave this until next year!
Grab yourself some super glue and have it on hand in a drawer so you can quickly repair anything that has been broken.
If you can’t fix it, and you’d like to replace it, make a list of things you’d like to replace. See if you can get a good replacement option after the holidays have passed, so you might be able to get it at a lower price.
Tip #4: Make a List and Check It Twice! (This stuff isn’t just for Santa!)
Seriously. Make a list of every family member, friend, coworker, etc. that you need to get a gift for.
Make a list of every single person to send a Christmas card to.
BONUS: Send your cards out early, and grab a few extra cards. That way, if you get a card from someone you didn’t initially send one to, you’ll have a few extra on hand to send out and hopefully get it there before Christmas!
Make a list of everywhere you want to shop. Make a list of all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals you’re going for.
Make a list of gift ideas (bonus if you start this as early in the year as possible. Like, months before! Then you’ll have ideas all year for birthdays, too!).
Make a list of all the cookies you’re going to make this year. A list of the parties you’re hosting and attending.
Everything.
Then give those lists another look and make sure you got everyone.
Will you really have time to bake 6 different kinds of cookies? Maybe you have to adjust. Do you have two events coming up that overlap with each other and you need to pick one?
There’s nothing worse than thinking you have all your bases covered, only to find that you forgot one thing, that might have been important! It’s so easy for things to slip our minds this time of year!
Check your lists twice.
Don’t forget to get your Holiday Planner! 37 planning pages you can print out for an organized holiday season! There is an optional Thanksgiving Planner with 20 additional pages. Check them both out here!
Tip #5: Keep track of online orders
One of my least favorite things, is ordering a bunch of stuff online, and then having to go back through my order history to find what I ordered and when it should arrive. Not only is it time consuming, but it can be a little bit maddening at times, too!
Because of this, I now keep a list of all of my online orders. I include what the item is, who it’s for, where I got it from, and I make a note when I received it so I don’t have to wonder later…or go through my super secret gift hiding spot and rummage through everything to double check. It’s all on the list!
AND…I’ll check that list a second time (see previous tip) when I wrap things and either highlight the row or cross it out when it’s wrapped!
I’ve also included a Gift Tracker sheet in my Holiday Planner Printables – you can check those out here!
Tip #6: Start Planning Early
I wrote a whole post about how to get ready for Christmas early, and I think it’s really important to think about these things all year.
The most practical thing (at least, it’s what I think is practical) I do after each Christmas is sit down and look at how much we spent, and what we spent it on.
This way I can find ways to reign in the budget for next year, and also have a good idea of how much I should start saving for next year.
Another note about budget…
If you typically want to make extra money for Christmas, my best recommendation is to start early. Do you see a trend here?!
I also like to start a list at the beginning of each year where I can write down gift ideas for people throughout the year.
Tip #7: Actually organize all your decorations to make next year easier
I mentioned earlier, that sometimes when you finally get around to putting away everything Christmas related, we can tend to be a little hasty when just trying to get it done!
I have an ornament storage system like this. I am planning to get a second one this year, and I’m still checking out all the options, but I think this one would really be a perfect addition, and I love how the drawers pull out instead of having to stack and unstack layers!
Each year we receive a beautiful new ornament or two, so they keep accumulating and I’ve decluttered as many as I think we no longer need (for now).
With a second storage box, I can put all of the generic ornaments in one (lights, solid color balls, beads, etc). Then I can put the special ornaments in the second one. I’m really excited to do this and add even a little bit more organization!
I like the ornament storage systems that have adjustable compartments, because it saves time on having to wrap things in tissue. If I have a super delicate ornament, I will wrap that in paper or tissue still.
If you use an artificial tree (like us), see if there’s a better storage solution for it!
I had to replace the bag we were putting it in because I simply had too much bag for the tree. It was really taking up way too much space, and I ended up finding one more appropriately sized.
Keep that in mind when storing your tree!
There are also specific storage boxes/bags for wreaths as well.
I also mentioned earlier that I like to have a gift wrapping station. You could get an official gift wrapping area, like this.
Or, there’s this option, with a special little compartment at the top for bows and gift wrap accessories:
Or you can go the more DIY route (like I did) and get a cute, but tall, waste basket – this is where I keep all the rolls of wrapping paper.
Then, put a set of drawers next to it. Use one drawer for labels, tape and scissors. One for bows and ribbon. One for tissue, and one for gift boxes and gift bags.
OR, then there’s this, and to be honest with you, I might switch up my wrapping paper storage station, because I might be in love:
And, when it comes to decor, evaluate your current situation.
Never detangle your lights again with these spools.
Do you need another tote box to put it all in? Do you have one big box, and one small box (that may have only one item in it)? Would it save you space to get one bigger tote for all of it?
Any time you can consolidate or free storage space can be considered a big win!
Remember, organizing things now will make next year easier…and you’ll already have less stress going into it!
Bonus Tip: Organized Christmas Printables
One last organized Christmas hack… get yourself a holiday planner!
The planner includes all the following printable pages, and there are 37 pages total:
– 3 Cover Pages (Holiday Planner, Christmas Planner, Gift Planner)
– One Page Monthly calendar (undated, so you can use it again)
– Two Page Calendar Spread (undated)
– Daily Agenda (breaks down your day hourly, and includes a separate checklist and notes section)
– To-Do List Version 2 (so you have options)
– Baking Schedule
– Cooking Schedule
– Grocery List (with notes section)
– Grocery List (broken down by recipe)
– Christmas Eve Menu Plan
– Christmas Day Menu Plan
– Place Cards, 2 designs
– Guest List (includes spots to track RSVPs, how many children, and any dietary notes)
– House Prep Checklist by Room (BLANK)
– House Prep Sample Checklist, by Room
– House Prep Checklist, by days (BLANK – map out what needs to be done in the days leading up to Christmas!)
– Clean Home To-Do List (an alternate style)
– Budget Tracker
– Card Tracker (no more guessing who you sent cards to, and who sent them to you)
– Gift Tracker (keep track of what you bought, who you bought it for, where it’s from, and when you received an online order)
– Black Friday (map out all the deals before you head out to the stores)
– Cyber Monday (for an organized online shopping experience)
– DIY Project Planner
– Gift Ideas (2 people per page – keep track of interests, ideas, clothing sizes and more! Two color themes – one you can use throughout the year, and one more Christmas-y)
– Wishlist (make notes of what YOU want this year)
– Notes Pages (2 different colors)
– Intro Pages (to give you an idea of how to use the pages, if you ever need it!)
Don’t forget to get your Holiday Planner! 37 planning pages you can print out for an organized holiday season! There is an optional Thanksgiving Planner with 20 additional pages. Check them both out here!
Christmas Organization Hacks
I hope you’ve found all these Christmas organization tips helpful!
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you tried one (or more?!) of these organized Christmas hacks! What are your favorite getting ready for the holidays tips?
How do you get in the spirit of Christmas?! Let me know your favorite tips and traditions in the comments!