https://www.bin-store.com/blog

What was your Christmas planning like last year? For a lot of households, the answer can probably be summed up in a single word, and that is “chaos.” Many of us wait until October or November or even December to start setting up for the holidays. This is pretty crazy when you consider the amount of planning you have to do. Every year, you need to deal with all of the following:

• Gift lists. You need to figure out what people in your family want, especially the kids.
• Unpacking your décor, tree lights, outdoor lights, and setting it all up.
• Planning your holiday gift runs, especially Black Friday.
• Setting up your family’s “north pole” and organizing your gift wrapping station.
• Getting ready for holiday parties.
• After the holidays, you then need to put everything away again! That means coming up with new and better ideas for organizing holiday decorations.

Seriously, that is a lot of work. No wonder organizing for the holidays is such a challenge, especially when you save it all for the last minute! That is why one of the best holiday organizing tips is to get started early. And by early, I mean early. January is as good a time as any. When you start getting organized for the holidays now instead of waiting until late in the year, you can take care of all of these holiday challenges:

• You can finally really get organized with your holiday budget. So many households go into debt each year just buying presents! There is no reason ever to go into debt because it’s Christmas. Come up with a financial plan for the holidays now, and stick to it! If you do your holiday shopping throughout the year, you can snag deals and save money.

• Organize your gift wrapping station. If your wrapping paper and bows are all a mess right now, buy some storage containers for wrapping paper.

• Pick up organizational supplies for holiday décor and ornaments. If you stowed your ornaments away in a hurry last year and they are all thrown together in one big box, you will do yourself a huge favor by buying a divided container for Christmas ornaments. You will have it all ready and waiting for you when it comes time to pack up your ornaments again after the holidays are over next year.

• You will have a schedule for your parties, events, shopping outings, and everything else you need to get done leading up to the holidays.

Do all this, and when December rolls around this year, you will have a lot less to worry about! You will already have a lot of your gifts purchased and wrapped, you will not be going over budget at the last minute, and you will have an easy time storing your décor for 2017. That means more time to relax and spend time with your family, or get outdoors and enjoy skiing and other winter activities.