Preparing for the Holidays: Part 3 Grace for the Move

Xtreme Audacity
Nov 19
6 min read

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🎥 Catch last week’s podcast where we talked about Preparing for the Holidays: Part 2 Mentally, Emotionally and Physically.

🎧 And check out this week’s episode on Preparing for the Holidays: Part 3 Grace for the Move.

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The holiday season can bring the best of times and the most cluttered of mid-points. Think about what happens when you’re wrapping up the final quarter of the year, planning the next, welcoming travel, hosting guests, managing work deadlines, and somehow trying to keep your home life intact. At this moment you’re not just getting ready for one big “move,” you are in the middle of many moves. That’s the message my guest Jevata Crawford shared on Season 3 of the podcast: we are always in transition. We’re always in motion. And during those shifts it’s vital to give ourselves grace.

Letters spelling "GRACE" stand on a rustic, warm-toned surface against a dark, textured background, creating a cozy, vintage feel.

The Move Beyond the Boxes

When Jevata said, “we’re always in the middle of a move,” she clarified that she wasn’t only referring to physical relocation from house to house. She was talking about the transitions that pulse through life: changing jobs, shifting roles in the family, moving from one chapter to the next, evolving identity, and purpose and even writing a book, as she just did. These transitions can feel just as chaotic as packing boxes and heavy furniture.

During the holidays, the pace ratchets up. At this time of year you might be wrapping up projects, closing out one calendar year and preparing for another, balancing family demands, hosting, coordinating gifts, managing extra travel — all while you’re supposed to be enjoying peace. That’s a lot. It’s a “move” in its own right.

And what I want you to hear is: It’s okay to give yourself grace during that move. You’re not behind. You’re not “not doing enough.” You’re in transition. You’re shifting from a version of yourself in 2025 to the version you’ll inhabit in 2026. Treat it accordingly.

Grace and the Organized Life

At Xtreme Audacity we believe that living and creating The Organized Life means building S.Y.S.T.E.M.s (that Save You Space, Time, Energy, and Money). And transitions can strain your Space, Time, Energy, and Money, unless you have systems to buffer that strain. So as you move through this holiday-season shift, here are three ways to both extend grace to yourself and deploy your organization muscle.

1) Space: Manage Your Physical & Mental Habitat

Every transition tends to leave behind a bit of clutter, old files that need sorting, half-finished projects waiting for closure, open tabs that drain focus, and even last season’s décor that never quite made it back to storage. The holiday season gives you an extra reason to reset. Create a strategy with new systems that you can use year after year: clear one zone at a time, label the season, organize and pack up what’s past, leave the essentials. Giving yourself grace means allowing imperfection while you reorganize, while you attempt to create new systems. You don’t have to get it perfect in a day. Use the motto: “It’s a lifestyle, not magic.”

If you’re moving from one season of life into another (career shift, kids leaving home, growth in leadership), you need physical space and mental space to integrate the change. A storage box, a rolling organizer, or simply a dedicated shelf can become the landing pad for that transition.

2) Time: Respect the Process

Transitions aren’t instant. Moving from one role, one season, one identity to another takes time. In “the middle of a move,” you may feel suspended between what was and what’s coming. That’s OK. In fact, that’s normal. Jevata reminded us that we all struggle with “the middle” and often want to skip it.

Silver alarm clock with "Rest Time" in bold red letters on the face, black bells, and hands pointing to 10:10, on a white background.

Your system for time might look like: carving out 15-minute daily reflection slots, scheduling a weekly check-in with yourself or coach (“Where am I in this move?”), or designating “transition tasks” (e.g., wrap up project A, plan for project B, celebrate milestone C). Grace shows up when you give yourself permission to pause, to not be fully settled.

3) Energy & Money: Buffer for the Shift

Transitions can be emotionally and physically draining, pulling on your energy reserves as you adapt to change. They require mental effort, emotional adaptation, and logistics. If you’re organizing the holidays and a life move simultaneously, you could quickly burn out. Systems that save energy might include: a holiday planning sheet, a “moving-through-life” checklist, a budget buffer for extra costs of transition + holiday.

When you give yourself grace you allow for hidden costs (emotional, time, money) of the move. You might need to outsource gift-wrapping, delegate décor to teens, or simplify your holiday schedule. Use your systems to protect your energy and wallet rather than let them overwhelm and drain you.

You Are in the Middle

Here’s the truth: the middle is not a failure. It’s the space where growth happens. When Jevata said we’re “always in the middle of a move,” she meant that life doesn’t stand still; you’re continuously evolving. If you are a Black woman ages 35-55, balancing corporate leadership, family, exercise, health, self-development (just like my ideal client!), then you are deeply familiar with transitions. You’ve shifted jobs, managed teenagers or young adults, adapted routines, grown spiritually and professionally. So you already know change. What you may struggle with is preparing for change and giving yourself grace while change happens.

In the holiday season, you might be thinking: “I should be further along; I should have it together; I should have finished this project by now.” I want you to reject the “shoulds” and instead say: “I am exactly where I am in this move. I will build my systems, I will create the space, time, energy, and money buffers, and I will treat myself gently while I transition.”

Putting it Into Practice: Holiday Move-Interop

Here are actionable steps you can take:

Create a “Transition Inventory” – Just like you’d inventory items when moving houses, inventory your life-move: What do you need to simply accept, what’s changing (job, role, schedule), what’s staying (values, faith, purpose), what you need to release, what you need to embrace, what am I grateful for. Write it down.
Activate Your S.Y.S.T.E.M. – Apply your systems:
- Space: Designate a “launch pad” for this move (could be a shelf, a bin, a digital folder).
- Time: Complete a calendar audit and schedule 30 minutes each week for “transition check-in.” Ask: Where am I? Where am I going?
- Energy/Money: Allocate a mini-buffer for unexpected costs (holiday dinners, extra hours, travel) and give yourself permission to delegate/scale back.
Holiday Grace Practice – Pick one holiday activity where you will pause and give yourself genuine grace: maybe it’s skipping one party so you can rest, simplifying your décor, asking for help with decorating or gift wrapping, or treating yourself to a short morning walk instead of “just one more email.”
Reflection & Acknowledgment – At the end of a week, reflect on one “move” you made (one shift, one decision). Acknowledge it. Celebrate it. That recognition builds momentum. You’re building The Organized Life: peace, productivity, that pushes you towards purpose..

Final Thoughts

This holiday season, give yourself grace for the move. Whether you’re physically relocating or simply shifting into a new season of life, you are in motion. And rather than fight the in-between, embrace it. Create and use your S.Y.S.T.E.M.s (that Save You Space, Time, Energy, and Money) so you move, not hurriedly, but with peace and productivity, that pushes you towards purpose. Remember: It’s a lifestyle, not magic.

You’re not behind, you’re exactly where you need to be. You’re making the move, building the systems, creating the space for what’s next. Let grace lead the way.

Fav Product List

Here are three great organizational tools you can use: