Take Off Thursday

Start your engines, ladies, because today is the official start of the holiday season, December 1st!!!

The sugarplums are gearing up to start invading our dreams, Santa will be on every corner ringing his bell for a donation (so be sure to keep a buck in your pocket at all times and give generously), the schools and churches will be gearing up for kids programs, people will be stringing their lights outside in a mad array of unmatched colors and bulbs, and the shoppers will be out in droves to share in the madness. And so begins the time of good cheer, friendship, financial disaster, and insanity.

I will try to be giving some tips and tricks to help you organize the tinsel-covered tasks while you seek out the quieter, holy season of peace, love and joy. Today we begin preparing our heads, our homes, and our hearts.

So what is “take off” Thursday all about? No, it’s not like the shot you hear as you begin a race, although it sometimes seems that way as we rush to accomplish everything on our lists. No, today I want you to exercise your toss it out muscles. Spend about 15 minutes today to go through your closets, household items, and rooms and see what you can eliminate. Find ten things to toss – clothing, duplicate kitchen items, toys that the kids no longer use. If the items are in good shape, donate them to your local Good Will or Salvation Army. You know there will probably be a lot of stuff coming in on Christmas that will clutter your house/life, so begin making room. Get the kids involved if you have them, so they can learn how to give to others. Do this for the next few days… just keeping going through the house with a critical eye, asking yourself “Do I really need this?” If you haven’t used it or worn it in six months, get rid of it!

Then sit down with a cup of cocoa (because, after all, it is the first day of the holidays, and that demands cocoa!), and begin to take off some of the anxiety and stress in your life – unclutter your mind and spirit and heart. What things are weighing you down? What would life look like if they were all gone in the morning?
What little tiny thing could you do today to walk towards that goal of a less cluttered self?

Ready? On your mark… get set… GO! You’re about to embark on the best holiday season of your life!

Blessings,
Linda

P.S. Also visit www.mylittlechristmasblog.blogspot.com for a daily advent message, and lots of Christmas goodies!