Organizing for Thanksgiving

- By Florence Feldman, www.organizedtimes.com

Sometimes the turkey is not the only thing that gets stuffed at Thanksgiving. When making room for holiday company, we stuff our closets, attics, basements, showers, and other out-of-sight spaces with “stuff” we just don’t have time to sort before the festivities begin.

As we prepare for company, we see our home with new eyes. For the first time, we notice that pile of paper that has been on the kitchen table for months, as well as other nests of clutter around the house. Suddenly things look shabby to us, and we realize our home doesn’t look the way we want it to. We tolerated the slowly-growing messes, but now we wonder what our Thanksgiving company will think of them. Strangers might not say anything, but family members can be very expressive.

So the stuffing begins. Containers are the first things that occur to many people in this predicament. Large plastic bags that will open wide their jaws and devour the piles quickly. Boxes can house some stuff—just till you can get around to sorting things.

Out-of-the-way closets, attics, and basements seem like the perfect place to store these containers. The house will look better, you think, and the guests will be more comfortable. So the kitchen or dining room table emerges for the first time in months, and you are ready to be Martha Stewart for a day. But please don’t look under the bed, in the downstairs shower, or in any closet but the one by the front door.

When the party’s over and you’re alone with your quick-fix clean-up, the temptation to just “let sleeping dogs lie” may be overwhelming. There’s still no time to sort the clutter there wasn’t time to sort before. And when it’s time for the next clean-up for company, your ingenuity will be taxed to find new spaces to cram things into. Years often go by before the inevitable happens and you run out of places to hide things. Some folks find this the perfect time to rent a storage unit and continue stuffing.

But there is a better way. And the best time to start is when you’re expecting holiday company. The anticipation of a pleasant event with a definite date can motivate you to actually do what needs to be done: Trash the clutter and organize the “keepers.”

Here’s how: You’re just going to do two things—sort and toss. For “toss,” get two trash bags or boxes—one for trash, and one for give-aways. For “sort,” choose a spot in the room where you will put things to be kept. Start at a doorway and work to your right, sorting and tossing as you go. Work all around the room, then do the center. Remember to throw away or give away as much as possible. Charities like Good Will as well as many churches and civic groups are happy to pass on clothing, toys, tools, and furnishings in good condition.

As you sort, put similar objects and papers together. Stack magazines you want to keep. Put papers into folders that you will take along and add to as you go from room to room. Eventually, you may want to sort the papers you’ve kept into categories and label folders to hold them. But meanwhile, you at least know where the generic “papers” are; they haven’t disappeared into stacks of clutter-bundles in the garage.

Mobilize the family. Show them how to work around an area, and have them do their own bedrooms, workrooms, and play areas. They should be happy to cooperate—once they realize they don’t want you making the decisions about which of their things go and which stay.

Schedule breaks into your clean-up, and use that time to put your feet up and plan the festivities—shopping lists, guest lists, and so on. Resist that hopeless feeling. You can do it if you plan it. And resist perfectionism, as it will just wear you out. You can do it if you plan it sensibly.

Part of sensible planning involves daily reassessing and adjusting your plans. Life has its daily surprises. If we take them into account, and re-work our plans around them, we can stay on track. Sometimes, big surprises mean that we have to eliminate some special decoration or food we had planned in order to get the more essential things done—clutter removal and basic shopping, for instance. Take this in stride; don’t waste energy on disappointment after the initial realization that changes need to be made. Don’t even tell anyone what’s missing. Your guests will be as happy as you are.

You may have to cancel some other activities in order to have the time you need to prepare. Whatever you need to do to allow time for the necessary preparations will be well worth it: You’ll be a prepared hostess, and your holiday event will run smoothly in your clutter-free home. And only the turkey will be stuffed.

Now you can greet your guests smiling and refreshed, proud of the impression your preparations will make on them. You’re ready to enjoy this time of caring and sharing with those you love, and with true thanksgiving in your heart.

And you already have your Christmas planning under control.

Florence Feldman, HEAV's convention director for the past 13 years, has been a professional organizing consultant for more than 25 years. Then, through many challenges and difficult experiences, she discovered life-changing truths about getting and staying organized. She now offers personal consulting as well as workshops for homeschool groups and churches. Please see her website, www.organizedtimes.com, for more information or to contact her.