Let the Decorating Madness Begin!

There's a guy in my neighborhood who, just as soon as Halloween is over, begins decorating his yard and house with Christmas decorations. I'm talking lighted candy canes lining the driveway, a giant glowing Christmas Snoopy in the middle of the yard, and twinkling lights on the house.

He always looks so happy while he's putting all this stuff out. I'm convinced that he's smiling because he knows that he's getting a jump ahead of the game and will be sitting back and relaxing while the rest of us are scurrying around with our holiday decorations as soon as Thanksgiving is over.

I think I'll take a page out of his playbook and get started a little early this year. If you've been reading "Better Organized" for awhile, you know that some years I give myself permission to boycott the decorating insanity altogether. It just depends on whether I'm feeling the urge. This will not be one of those years. As soon as I cracked open the Crate & Barrel holiday catalog, I could feel my schoolgirl giddiness swelling up.

For many reasons that will unfold in the coming weeks, I'm feeling more connected to the Universe and spirit than ever before. And for me, this connection is strengthened through the rituals and rich connections that accompany the holidays. So I am joyfully decorating this year!

But, as always, I'll be doing it alone since my husband has little interest in the process. In order to make things easy for myself, I have kept my decorating super-simple over the years. I have a small vintage artificial tree (one of those cool old silver ones like my grandma had), just enough decorations to fill the tree, a wreath for the front door, and one little table-top tree for my dining area. Limiting my decorating inventory to the stuff I really love has made this process pretty pleasant and quick.

For most of you, it won't be so easy. I know many of you have bins and bins of decorations in your attic, basements, and garages. Heck, I've organized those bins for a bunch of you! If you find yourself dreading the decorating process, consider hiring one of the Creative Order organizers to help you pull those bins out of storage and into the house. We can also help you go through your decorations to decide what to use this year, what you may be ready to consign or donate (now is the time!!), and what to put back into storage as memorabilia or to use in next year's theme.

Then again, you could just decide to skip the decorating altogether and instead enjoy the decorations of your friends, neighbors, and family. You have permission to just say no to the decorating madness.