For many the holidays are a time of much laughter, joy, some reminiscing, and fun. While it’s usually a time to look forward to, it can also be very stressful and that can make it harder to enjoy. Decluttering your home is a great step to reduce your overwhelm so you can enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones. But, where do you even start getting your home decluttered? We’ve got just the key and the steps you need to help you declutter your holiday to get organized and holiday ready!
Decluttering Your Home
The first step when preparing for the holidays is decluttering your spaces. Often overlooked, this is a very important step because it gets you ready to prepare even further! A room by room approach will help you focus on one space at a time. For instance, the kitchen is a very popular place during the holidays and the perfect place to start. Focus on clearing your countertop space first. Look for unneeded papers and gadgets and see if they can be recycled, filed, or stored elsewhere. If you need room in the pantry for food items check the expiration dates of what is already in there and donate what you won’t use to a local food bank. When you’re cabinets are overflowing with mugs and water bottles it’s time to donate some.
Pro tip: For many of us, the holidays are a time when a lot of items are coming and going through our homes. You can help ease your mental and physical clutter by preemptively preparing your home for the influx. Focus on sorting mail with a system like to do, to file, and recycle. Take cardboard to your recycling bin or center often. Keeping gifts in one place, like the corner of the living room, will help keep them contained and out of the way.
Decluttering Holiday Supplies
Gift Wrapping
Gift wrapping supplies can get out of control, very fast. To make this part of the holidays a bit smoother, try keeping all gift wrapping supplies in one space. Also, take inventory of and use what you have before purchasing more. Make sure that what you do have can fit in your storage space easy.
Pro tip: Keep scissors and tape with your wrapping supplies so you never have to go find some when you need them.
Ornaments
For ornaments, focus on making sure that the ornaments you have can be used. Mainly focusing on the actual amount of tree space you have to put them. And like the gift wrapping, limit yourself to your storage availability and try not to get more than that! The type of storage you have can greatly impact how well you’re able to organize these as well. There are many options like an ornament storage box that keeps the ornaments separate, not damaged, and organized for easy access and storage.
Decorations
Similar to ornaments, when focusing on reducing clutter, make sure to only keep decor that is used. If there are important items that you may not be using but don’t want to get rid of, consider gifting them to someone! Lastly, make sure the decor you keep and have fit into your storage options to prevent clutter.
Pro tip: For special or important decorations (heirlooms or favorites) write a note describing its history and importance so that future generations know the story and can honor it too.
How to Store Holiday Items
Now that you have all of these bins and other storage options full of holiday materials, how do you store them? The best places to keep these items are in low traffic areas like under the bed, the back of the closet, or in a garage or attic. This allows you to not be impeded by your stored items which only get used for a season each year. One way to make sure the stored items stay organized is to keep like items together. If you seem to have a lot of holiday items, sort by type like ornaments. If you don’t have a lot of items, sort by holiday like Halloween or Christmas. Don’t forget to add labels to your bins that you’re storing so that you can easily access them when the time comes again!
Pro tip: After you’ve decorated for the season, look back over the items you chose not to use. Are they ready to donate or do you want to leave yourself a note to prioritize using them next year?
Thinking about decluttering for the holiday can seem like a lot. Taking it one step at a time, one room at a time, and one item at a time, can make the process a lot easier. I hope these strategies to declutter your holidays help you get an idea of how to apply this to your home so that you can be holiday ready. Cheers to decluttered homes and Happy holidays!
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