How One Woman Heroically Tackled The Stickiest Home Improvement Item On Her To-Do List

We all have that one task in our home we’ve been putting off forever. Maybe it’s repairing a leaky pipe, filing an insurance claim, or sanding down a door that sticks every time someone tries to close it. And when the holidays roll around, that lingering task always seems to needle at your sense of holiday cheer.

Annoying as they may be, think of these tasks as grown-up strength training exercises that come with homeownership. And as with real strength-training, it’s best to look to those who have actually, you know, done the thing for inspiration. That’s where Leslie Moncada Lewis comes in.

Leslie is a content creator and mom living in Clovis, California, where she, her husband Joe, and her five kids moved into a new home in December of 2024. The couple are both former athletes, and they approach homeownership a bit like a relay race; when one of them is overwhelmed, they pass the baton to the other. That’s helped them adjust and prepare for the holidays in their new home.

To help the Lewis family make this holiday both more merry and more manageable, Scary Mommy teamed up with Bustle and GEICO to send them a holiday care package. Just like GEICO hooks you up with reliable, affordable, and secure home insurance, these gifts help free up some mental bandwidth to tackle that one crucial home improvement that makes your home feel ready for the holidays.

Seeking some “can-do” energy to power through that put-off-forever task? Take a page out of Leslie’s story. Keep reading to hear about the one thing she kept putting off — and how it felt when it was finally finished.

Leslie’s Forever Home

Back in late 2024 when Leslie first checked out her home in California’s Central Valley, she wasn’t immediately sold. Sure, the six-bedroom, four-bath house was spacious enough for each of her five kids to have their own rooms, but she needed to keep circling back to conjure up the vision.

“I visited three or four times before it finally clicked,” she said. The house wasn't perfect (Leslie even described the cabinets as “not-so-cute.”), but she could picture her kids running through the hallway, holiday mornings in the living room, and slowly turning the house into a home that felt right.

“What made me fall in love wasn’t the finishes, or anything physical, it was the realization that this would be ours.” That thought alone was enough to seal the deal.

Leslie’s To-Do List Item

After a year in her home, she finally has it feeling like the cozy holiday haven she’d dreamed of during that first visit. But it took a lot of work to get here. And during that process, there was a casualty: the closets.

“When you move into a new home, closets become the catch-all. Anything without a place yet goes in the closet. Things you promise to sort through later? Closet,” she explained. “Before I knew it, every closet in the house had turned into its own little storage unit. It was intimidating because it wasn’t just about decluttering. It felt like a reflection of my mental load as a mom.”

Leslie was dead set on getting the closet situation solved pre-holiday so that she could relax, cook, and be lazy with her kids without guilt. But she wasn’t sure it was going to happen.

How She Tackled It

Did Leslie put off dealing with the closets for over a year? Yes. But did she eventually find the motivation to dive in? Also yes, thanks to the upcoming holiday season.

“I was shocked at how much I had stuffed in all these closets,” she laughed. “But the biggest surprise was how instantly lighter I felt. Like — why did I wait this long when I knew it would make me feel better? It was truly like clearing the closet cleared my brain, too.”

As small as this might sound, Leslie found that finally accomplishing this task helped her understand herself as a homeowner — and as a mom, too. “Getting it done reminded me that I’m more capable than I give myself credit for even when I’m overwhelmed,” she said.

“As a mom managing a full house during the holidays, the big tasks like the cooking, decorating, and shopping — and even the tiny ones like making sure we have toilet paper — all pull at my attention. Knocking out that one major task gave me a real confidence boost; like, okay, I really can juggle all of this and still create a home that feels peaceful and organized.”

A Little Holiday Help

With the closets finally cleared and the house decked out for the season, the Lewises are ready to enjoy the holidays the way they’d imagined. When they unboxed their GEICO care package, they found items that’ll help them do just that, and there are a few that Leslie is particularly excited about. Namely: the stuff that she can use to decompress in between cooking and preparing the house to host.

“The acupressure mat set is going to be my go-to while the kids are at school, and the You Deserve a Break face mask is the perfect reminder to slow down and breathe in between all the organizing. Because yes, the kitchen has to get done but mom deserves her moments too,” she laughed.

Home For The Holidays

If there’s one thing Joe and Leslie have learned in this run-up to their first holiday feeling settled as new homeowners, it’s that they make a great team… but they still need help every once in a while. And for homeowners looking for a little help figuring out all that admin, GEICO is there for you.

Whatever your needs — from liability coverage protecting against injury, to personal property damage, to natural disasters — GEICO’s friendly and comprehensive customer service helps you set up the right plan for you and your loved ones. With knowledgeable, human (!!) specialists, they handle the entire set-up process from start to finish. So all you have to worry about is getting the place ready for the big holiday shindig.

And thanks to Scary Mommy, Bustle, and GEICO, the Lewises got what they need to get it all done with grace. Here’s to a very happy holiday. Consider that a little well-deserved something for Mom under the Christmas tree.

Learn more about home owners insurance through GEICO.