So here we are at the 12th of 12 Days of Chaos series that we have been doing here in December. And today I will finish up what the 12th day is about, and then we're going to talk at the end a little bit about managing some procrastinating panic that might be bubbling up since we are exactly a week away from Christmas, if you are listening to this on the day that I download it.
We are focusing on our fun little 12 Days of Chaos series that is a play on the 12 Days of Christmas song that we are just using to stay on top of our house in the midst of this very, very busy season. So today's theme for the day with the song is 12 items donated. So grab one of the many Amazon boxes that probably hit your front porch at some point this month. and let's fill it with just the first 12 things that you see that you know are super easy decisions.
Don't overthink this. Don't stress over the decision. The ones that you're like, oh my gosh, I can't wait to get rid of that out of my house. It can be old Christmas items that you have like not put up for the last four years and you keep stuffing them back into the storage at the end of Christmas because you just don't want to take the time to donate them.
Toss them in the box right now. look at a quick sweep of the kids toys those things that are untouched that they never ever play with get them in the box quickly without them seeing because suddenly you know that makes them the most valuable toy they own if you know for certain that you or your kids are getting some items for Christmas that are replacing some things that are the wrong size or worn out a little bit or just you don't like anymore,
drop those in the box too in an effort to get them out the door before the new replacements come in. If your five-minute timer has come up, but you have a few bits of space left in the box and you can grab a couple things on the way to take it directly to your car so that the next little errand run you have, you can, I use weighs a lot. Weighs it in into the nearest goodwill and just drop it on your way to whatever the next errand is you have for Christmas.
You are gonna feel better that some things went out before the new things came in. So that was the plan for today's 12th day. If you can carve out the rest of this hour and wanted to do five minutes in each of our other categories.
We had the today being 12 items donated, 11 clothes a-folding, 10 clutter a-clearing, 9 toys a-tidying, 8 dishes a-washing, 7 things a-dusting, six floors of sweeping, five minute tidy, four cleared surfaces, three scrub bathrooms, two fluffy pillows, and a sew that to set priorities.
You've reached the whole total song. If you are doing five minutes in each of these categories, you're going to be able to take a deep breath and say at least one week before Christmas hit, the house was still under some semblance of control. And that's great. that that's the whole goal of this was to just feel like you were keeping a handle on one little piece that can cause stress in your life in a season that can be super stressful.
So now if I jump to that part about being concerned about being a procrastinator and feeling like there's so many things still on your Christmas list left to do, I want you to just first take a deep breath. To understand that you thrive in the urgency in that last minute. So you are more than capable of still pulling off what you need to pull off. But here's the deal. You have to be willing to let go of what's actually not important.
It's just on the list because you think it belongs there, not because you or your family even cares. So if I can give you any gift, it's to allow yourself to know to have grace with yourself. This was literally the shortest distance that can happen between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were only 27 days this year. That is the smallest amount that can exist between those two holidays. It is five days shorter than it can be when it's at its longest.
So we are going to give ourselves the grace. It is the perfect excuse. It's like legitimate excuse, it's not even making excuses, that you're going to let some things go. If you didn't get Garland on the banisters this year. Nobody's Christmas is ruined. If you didn't get the lights outside, nobody's Christmas is ruined. Drive around the neighborhood and look at other people's lights. It's really okay. The important thing is that you look at what's on the list.
I love to call them pending lists because when they're pending, an action can be just the decision that it no longer needs to be on the list. That is tackling it. To say, I am one week before Christmas giving up on the thought of doing that garland, scratch it off, of putting those lights out, scratch it off, of attending that acquaintances party who I don't even know that well. I just felt like I should. Cross it off. They're not going to miss you. I promise.
Just evaluate each item that's still left on the list as, will this actually make a difference to my family's Christmas in a way of either bringing it peace or bringing it joy? If you're feeling anything else when you see that item on the list, let it go. It's really okay to just let it go. So I hope you can think through that when you look at all the things that might still be in front of you, and just reprioritize what makes the most difference for you and your family.
So with that, I will stop. I will remind you that you've got this. You can do it. And until next time, I hope that you continue to choose joy in all the things in your life.