• I left the workforce years ago because I struggled to connect with baby boomers in the workplace.
• As a Gen Xer, I now work with millennials and love it.
• Millennial bosses understand that personal issues come up and work can't always come first.

In my early 40s, I did something revolutionary: I got a full-time job.

I'd been self-employed for over a decade, but the siren song of paid benefits was too strong to ignore. Within hours of starting in my new position, it became clear that I was an anomaly. I was one of only two members of my team over the age of 30, and there was an age gap of 10 to 18 years between me and my other seven coworkers.

Much to my relief, every member of that team was happy to teach me the ins and outs of the new job — including the loads of technology I needed to know. They didn't roll their eyes or make under-their-breath comments about old people and computers. They happily showed me the way.

As a Gen Xer, I have worked closely with millennials for over 15 years and with younger bosses for at least half that time. While they have been burdened with a lot of slander, I love working with millennials. They're collaborative and recognize that in helping their coworkers, they're helping achieve communal goals.

I struggled to work with older generations

I realize that no generation is a monolith, and it can be irresponsible to group people together. But we are all shaped by the events that transpire over our lifetimes, particularly those in the forefront during our formative years. So yeah, we have a lot in common with other people born around the same time.

I felt the rift between generations early on in my career. Honestly, it was the success-at-any-cost attitude of the baby boomers that pushed me out of the traditional workforce.

For example, I had one manager who couldn't understand why I didn't want to apply for a promotion. When I told him I needed all my bandwidth to be present for my children, he openly judged me, which affected my career trajectory.

I learned millennials are different

When they were young, millennials were often described as entitled. They were seen as doted on by hyper-involved parents.

But after working closely with them for years, I know that isn't the case. To me, it seems many millennials believe they can create lives they love.

Every younger boss I've had has encouraged me to stay home when I'm not feeling well, to prioritize my family, and to have fun at work. They recognize that my job is not my life but that while I'm in the building, I should be encouraged to do my best and enjoy myself as much as possible.

I once asked one of my favorite millennial bosses about filling out my timesheet. I'd had to miss work because my dog needed emergency vet care. I asked if I should call it a personal day or use vacation time.

"That was a sick day!" she said. "Anything that impacts your health or wellness counts as sick time."

She was the one who told me that volunteering at my children's school would benefit our team; we were working on creating volunteer opportunities for kids, after all. As far as she was concerned, whatever was going on in my life was relevant to work, and anything that interfered with work was a reason to take time off.

The workplace is about to shift again

It's about time we realize, as a culture, that young people are smart and savvy and have a lot to teach the rest of us.

It's funny to watch the rivalry between millennials and Gen Z play out via social media memes; each generation revels in being the young, cool disruptor and eventually has to reckon with being the old, staid boss who's responsible for keeping the machinery running.

This can lead to bitterness and resignation, or it can result in leaders who remember that life is supposed to be enjoyable and work is just work. I think the millennials are in the latter camp, and I'm happy to keep working for them until Gen Z becomes the boss of everything.

• I'm a professional declutterer and work with clients in helping them get rid of things.
• Regardless of how hard you go with your holiday decorations, chances are you have too much.
• Declutter when you are putting things up instead of taking them down.

The holiday marathon is nearly upon us, and for some, it requires a lot of bling.

Maybe you're a seasonal decorator and are hunting down gourds and pussy willows, or you might just do the bare minimum. Whatever your decorating methodology, chances are you've got bins and bins of trinkets that never make it to the mantlepiece, the dining table, or the front yard.

At their best, holiday decorations conjure warm images of childhood. Unfortunately, they can also lead to swearing while trying to disentangle five separate strings of lights that have become irretrievably woven together.

Here are a few tips to keep your trimmings and trappings decluttered and organized.

Declutter when you're putting things up, not when you're taking them down

This advice may seem obvious, but an awful lot of you are ignoring it.

If you wait until Christmas, Passover, or Arbor Day is over, you'll be so done with the holiday that you'll just throw everything back in the box and shut the lid.

Instead, check each item as you unpack it. Get rid of anything that's broken or unattractive, and avoid the trap of keeping extras "just in case."

If you're decorating for Christmas, for example, take the time to determine which lights work and which do not. If you've still got access to those ridiculously tiny fuses, you can try to resuscitate a dying string, but if you can't get it to work now, you never will. Better to cut your losses and toss them. The same goes for the extra ornaments, long-abandoned tinsel, and those ugly candlesticks someone gave you years ago.

Hate it? Get rid of it

Remember, if you don't like something, you don't have to own it. I don't care if the Queen of England gave you that cartoon reindeer tea towel; if you think it's ugly, you get to dispose of it. This can be tricky with holiday stuff; some of it carries a lot of sentimental energy, especially if it's been handed down from lost relatives.

If you have family heirlooms that don't match your general decorating scheme, consider creating a special display. You can enjoy them without making them the centerpiece of the holiday.

Refusing to either use or dispose of things hidden away in boxes isn't really honoring them. It's actually more like a hostage situation. You are a fully-fledged human, and you get to decide what's important to you. Just because your great-aunt used those jewel-encrusted tongs to put sugar in her tea every Groundhog Day does not mean you have to put them on your table every year. Send them off to the thrift store; someone will be thrilled to find them.

A little organization goes a long way

You know that feeling when Halloween is over, and you find that stash of black cat tea lights you just knew you hadn't thrown away? This would not happen if you kept all your décor together.

Get yourself some nice roomy bins — plastic is OK, as is cardboard — and put all the items associated with a specific holiday in one place and then label it. If you're a varsity-level decorator, color code your bins so it's easy to see which one holds the decorations for a particular holiday. If the collection won't fit in a single receptacle, get another. Don't cram it in or assume you'll remember where you put the overflow.

If there are strings of lights involved, wrap each one around a piece of cardboard when it's time to put it away. Use tissue paper to wrap delicate items. If any of your holiday treasures are beloved heirlooms, make a list and write down who and where they came from. Keep the list with the decorations so any future unboxers will have that information.

Remember, holidays are supposed to be fun. You can avoid some of the less enjoyable parts of a potentially hectic time by paring down your collection of decorations to the ones you really love. This year, take a little extra time to curate and organize as you're preparing to spruce up the house; your future self will thank you.