When it comes to Christmas and kids, there seems little way to avoid the inevitable clutter that comes with the influx of toys and gifts that appear under the tree never mind the hordes of decorations that get pulled out from the attic each year.
But a pair of local professional organizers say that it's possible to minimize the chaos and stay one step ahead with a little bit of planning.
"And the payoff is so worth it," says Heather Knittel, one half of the team - along with co-owner Susan Borax - of Good Riddance Professional Organizing Solutions, Inc.
The Burnaby-based company helps clients create effective organization solutions and to wade through the "stuff" that takes up space in their homes - and kids and clutter tend to go hand in hand.
"We tend to bombard our kids with so much stuff - they go to parties, they get goodie bags, it's Christmas and birthdays," she said.
And with Christmas right around the corner, Knittel says it's easy for parents to feel overwhelmed by staying on top of the mess - especially when more toys and games are coming into the space.
Planning ahead - and thinking about ways to keep the holidays simple and organized - make it a more enjoyable time for everyone in the family and helps provide a way to give kids important lessons, she says.
Those lessons can run the gamut from simple appreciation and gratitude, to learning about children in other parts of the world, to creating lifelong habits with basic chores and teamwork with other family members.
"When they start going to kindergarten, they really start to understand more and have that broader sense of the world, learning about sharing and other people," she said.
That's a good time, if it hasn't begun already, to talk about different charities and ways to help out - like donating gently used toys and clothes.
"It's important to instil that in your kids. - It's good to educate them and let them know that there are people who don't have as much. It opens them up to the world, to looking at what they have and what they really need," she said. To that end, Knittel said that she and Borax strongly encourage people to reconsider their notions of what constitutes a gift.
"Your kids don't really want more stuff, they want more of you, more of your time," she said.
"We highly recommend 'gifts of experience,'" she said.
That could be tickets to go see a movie or a night out at the ballet watching The Nutcracker.
"Take an evening and go out and check out the Christmas lights around the city. Start out with a hot chocolate - have something consumable, it's not coming back into your house - and go off and have fun together. Go up to Grouse Mountain, go to Science World, go to the Christmas train. There are also so many free things - we live in a city that is absolutely gorgeous."
Knittel says kids and parents can both give each other gifts that won't create more clutter in the home and create some special time to spend together, like a coupon for a special meal or experience.
"It really should be about the experience, about making a memory together," she said.
Knittel notes that many people also find themselves overwhelmed by the ever-growing stash of Christmas decorations, especially if they move and have less space to store it, or a different configuration in their new home that doesn't accommodate the same pieces.
"There's two ways of tackling it. If you can get at them well before Christmas, weed through them, then you can see (items) on consignment in November," she said.
"Most of us aren't really on the ball when it comes to decorations, so most of us take them out at Christmas. So what you can do then is go through everything and only keep the stuff you really love and put everything else in another box, to be sold next year or donated."
Having less stuff and a more organized home has plenty of benefits, insists Knittel.
"The number 1 thing that being organized gives people - their time. It gives them their time back," said Knittel.
"We can waste a lot of time running around like chickens with our heads cut off, and you save that time when you know where things are - when you create permanent homes for all of your things."
For example, it's easy to find the scissors you need for wrapping presents if they were returned to their place the last time they were used.
"You create that home, and then the habit of putting things where they belong," she said.
The second benefit is financial.
"It's easier on your pocketbook," she said, noting that when people can't find things - like that pair of scissors - they're more likely to just go out and buy another one.
The company offers up a number of other tips for keeping the holidays calm rather than chaotic:
? In advance, put together a schedule of who you want to visit and when.
? For those times when you do need to purchase a gift, plan ahead by consulting flyers and making a list - or, better yet, shop from home.
? Try to spend less money by limiting the number of gifts or the type of gifts.
? Pace yourself - don't accept too many invitations to gatherings or do too much entertaining.
Knittel and Borax have written a book about tackling clutter, called Good Riddance: Showing Clutter the Door.
For more information, check out their website at www.goodriddance.ca. twitter.com/ChristinaMyersA
