The holidays may still feel a little ways off, but October is one of the best times to start preparing your home for the busy season ahead.
Guest rooms become storage rooms. Pantries get crowded. Holiday decorations are buried in the garage. Kids are about to bring even more toys into the house.
Getting organized before the holidays means fewer things to deal with once November and December get busy. Follow these essential organization tips to streamline your preparations and minimize holiday stress.
At The Lifestyle Management Co.™, we help families create functional spaces and systems that make everyday life easier. You don’t need to organize your entire house before the holidays—start with the spaces that are going to work the hardest.
Effective Organization Tips for the Holidays
Here are seven places we recommend tackling first.
Implementing these organization tips can help you create a more efficient and enjoyable holiday season.
1. The Guest Room
If your guest room has slowly become a storage room, deal with it before overnight visitors are on their way.
Remove anything that doesn’t belong, clear space in the closet or dresser, and check your bedding, towels, blankets and guest essentials.
LMC TIP: Don’t move the clutter into another room just to make the guest room look clean. Decide what you’re keeping, donating, relocating or tossing.
2. The Pantry
Holiday baking, entertaining and school breaks mean more food is about to enter your home.
Before stocking up, toss expired food, group similar items together and take inventory of what you already have.
Create simple categories like:
- Baking
- Snacks
- Breakfast
- Dinner
- Drinks
- Backstock
LMC TIP: Organize first, then buy containers. Your organizing products should solve a problem—not create another one.
3. Kids’ Toys + Play Spaces
More toys may be coming, which makes October a great time to edit what’s already there.
Look for broken toys, missing pieces, duplicates and things your kids have outgrown. Donate usable items and make the toys they actually love easier to access and put away.
LMC TIP: If your kids consistently struggle to put something away, look at the system. It may be too complicated for them to maintain independently.
4. Holiday Decorations
Remember how you packed everything away last January?
If the answer is as quickly as humanly possible, you’re not alone.
As you pull out your holiday décor this year:
Sort. Purge. Categorize. Label.
This is also a good time to work through inherited or sentimental decorations. Keep what’s meaningful and give yourself permission to let go of pieces you don’t want to carry forward.
LMC TIP: Take photos of your decorated spaces this year. Next year, you’ll have an easy reference for where everything goes.
5. The Kitchen + Entertaining Supplies
Before holiday cooking and entertaining begin, take inventory of serving dishes, baking supplies, glassware, table linens and food-storage containers.
Use our Frequency First Rule:
The more often you use something, the easier it should be to reach.
Daily items get prime real estate. Seasonal serving pieces don’t need your best cabinet space.
LMC TIP: Check what you already own before buying more holiday entertaining pieces.
6. The Entryway + Coat Closet
Cooler weather brings coats, shoes, bags and extra gear into an already busy part of the home.
Remove out-of-season items, outgrown coats, unused shoes and anything that has migrated into the space.
Then create easy homes for the things your family actually uses.
LMC TIP: Don’t fill every inch of available storage. Leave room for guests’ coats, incoming packages and everything else the season brings.
7. The Garage + Attic
October’s cooler weather makes this the perfect time to tackle the spaces you’ve avoided all summer.
Start with four categories:
Keep • Donate • Trash • Relocate
Then organize what remains according to when you’ll need it.
If your holiday decorations are buried behind summer equipment, now is the time to fix that.
LMC TIP: Don’t try to organize the entire garage in one afternoon. Work one zone at a time.
Don’t Wait Until the Holidays Feel Busy
Prepare your home with these organization tips to avoid last-minute chaos during the holidays.
The best time to prepare your home for the holidays is before it feels urgent.
A little organization now can mean less searching, scrambling and decision-making later.
And you don’t have to tackle every space yourself.
FAQ
What services does The Lifestyle Management Co.™ offer?
We provide customized household management services including home organization, laundry systems, unpacking, move support, errands, pantry organization, and ongoing personal assistant services. Every service plan is tailored to your home’s unique needs.
Is there a minimum appointment time?
Yes! We have a 3-hour minimum for all appointments. This allows our team enough time to make meaningful progress and create lasting systems that truly make a difference in your home.
Do I have to organize my entire home?
Not at all. Many clients start with one space—like a pantry, mudroom, laundry room, or playroom—and expand from there as needed. We’ll help you prioritize based on your goals.
How do I get started?
It all begins with a consultation. During this meeting, we’ll learn about your home, discuss your goals, and create a customized plan designed specifically for your lifestyle.
Ready to Get Your Home Holiday-Ready?
Whether you need help clearing the guest room, organizing the pantry, tackling the garage, sorting holiday décor, or finally dealing with the spaces you’ve been putting off, Lifestyle Management Co.™ can help you get it handled before the busiest part of the year begins.
Our appointments have a 3-hour minimum and are customized to fit your home’s needs.
Book your consultation with Lifestyle Management Co.™ today and let’s take care of the things you’d rather not be scrambling to do in November.
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