Updated 10/8/2023
October is here and it’s time to start planning for this season’s holiday fun. I prepare for these holidays by getting out my FlyLady’s Holiday Control Journal. Planning is so important with chronic illness and pain. When we don’t plan well, pacing becomes very difficult to do. When we don’t pace well, we get flare-ups of our symptoms and/or we get sick with a cold or flu. Flares and illness do not lead to enjoying the holidays. So, enter the FlyLady’s Holiday Control Journal. I’ve been using this journal to help me plan my holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s) since 2014. You can get your free copy here: http://www.flylady.net/i/pdf/hoj_coj.pdf
The Control Journal covers getting your home ready for the holiday season, meal prep, shopping lists, gifts to buy or make, travel plans, holiday traditions/decorating, and budgeting for your holiday expenses.
Her website has a daily Holiday Cruising Mission that begins on October 19th. You can sign up to get these in your email inbox. The missions are meant to take 15 minutes. I suggest reading the first mission, but if you’re crunched for time or energy, start with Mission #2 since that one has you set up your Holiday Control Journal. Don’t worry! You are not behind! Just start where you are.
Things I Really Love About The FlyLady’s Holiday Control Journal
What I really appreciate are the 15 minute tasks that focus on holiday prep little by little. Yes, it may take me longer than 15 minutes due to fatigue or brain fog, but they are doable in a day. FlyLady also includes self-care in her missions, which is so needed and so often ignored. At least by me.
For an example, Mission #3 has you checking your gift wrapping supplies and writing down on your To Buy list what you need. The next time you go shopping you have this list and know exactly what you need. Weird right? Thinking about wrapping supplies in October. You’ll be really unhappy though when you go to wrap gifts in December and discover that you’re out of tape.
When I checked my gift wrapping supplies last year, I discovered I just had ends of paper left on my rolls. What looked like three rolls of Christmas paper wasn’t. So I added wrapping paper to my To Buy list.
Another idea that I love is imagining you are going away on a vacation for the first three weeks of December. With this imaginary vacation in mind, plan out everything you will need and want to do for Christmas before your vacation. FlyLady suggests doing this so when December arrives with all its busyness, we can relax and enjoy ourselves instead of feeling frazzled. I’m all for that! Less stress, more enjoyment. You can easily use this planner for any holiday or celebration.
Just in case you’re really traveling for the holidays, you can use her Packing Control Journal so you forget nothing. To see all the Cruising the Holidays content on the FlyLady’s website click here: http://www.flylady.net/d/cruising-through-the-holidays/
Wrap-Up of Holiday Prep
I hope this post gives you some guidance and inspiration to prepare well for the upcoming holidays. The Holiday Control Journal has been a great help to me for 9 years now. If you want to read how I use the FlyLady system to keep my house clean read this post: https://www.upbeatliving.net/fly-lady-helps-home-clean-organized/
Lastly, I want to share something I enjoy watching. During the pandemic, I discovered a YouTube channel called Diane of Denmark. Diane does short videos of how she works the FlyLady system. She also adds Hygge and using a Capsule wardrobe to her video’s. I enjoy watching her because she has so much energy and enthusiasm. This video has a bit of Halloween fun in it plus another tip she uses to help organize her holiday planning. Use what works for you! Happy Halloween!! Uhygge!
Till next time, Kathy
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