If you use a separate set of serving or holiday dishes, now is the time to get them out. Start running them through the dishwasher, a little bit every day with your normal loads. There is nothing worse than having to race through cleaning all the dishes at the last minute. Doing this early also allows you to check what you have for inventory and gives you enough time to find replacements or additional dishes if necessary.

Bonnie Joy Dewkett is a nationally recognized organizing expert, author, motivational speaker, and internet radio personality. She began organizing as a child, and she has been organizing ever since. Her company, The Joyful Organizer®, creates and implements organizational systems for the home and office...