The Best Christmas Declutter Guide
I’m pretty sure I was just sharing my tips for getting your kids off the Halloween candy sugar addiction and now we’re talking Christmas! It’s hard to believe that the start and the wrap up of the holiday season are headed our way like the Polar Express. Keep it stress-free with this Christmas declutter guide.
If you are like most, the chaos of back to school through Thanksgiving has left your home in an unorganized disarray. You might be feeling overwhelmed by clutter. There may be toy rooms that need cleaning out, clothing that needs sorting and discarding or a home that is crying out for a pre-holiday cleaning! Don’t lose hope! Keep reading to find out the best tips to help you declutter by Christmas.
This is not a marathon
Most guides to declutter are going to walk you through step by step how to organize each room in your home. Top to bottom. Girl, ain’t nobody got time for that (right now)! Listen, I get you! I know just how many gifts there are to be bought. I feel you on just how many holiday school parties you need to attend and oh all those family gatherings and Christmas outings to go to. The idea that somehow you are going to declutter your WHOLE house by Christmas.. well… let’s not drain our holiday spirit (or energy). This guide will help you touch on the basics for a ‘surface’ decluttering to get you through to the new year when you can carve out more time to truly tackle that clutter once and for all.
Make a list and check it twice
HA! Come on, you know I had to go there! But seriously, make a list. Take a quick tour of your house and think about how you and your family will be using your space from now until the new year. Will you have company staying with you? Do you and the kids like to settle in for Christmas movies in the living room on the weekends? Maybe you need a present wrapping station? Is holiday baking or cooking a part of your family traditions?
Here is the trick: don’t think about how you’ve been using your space up until now. Only consider its use from now going forward through the holidays. Why would we do this? Our home can serve us just where we need it to if we allow it the space to do that. Uh, what?!!! Stay with me here. If you create open, decluttered ‘white space’ in your home, focusing in the areas that you will need most in the upcoming weeks, you will find joy and solace with your family without feeling overwhelmed.
The other great perk to this process is that when other areas of your home become a little more out of sync, it won’t be quite as bothersome. Because friend, you’ve built a buffer to counteract that craziness.
Start where you can see
The quickest way to ease the feeling of clutter is to clear your surfaces. When your countertops and tables are clean and free of papers, countertop appliances, or whatever other random items we drop on them as we pass by – the space will feel more open and more inviting. Take a look at what is cluttering your surfaces and get it out of there.
Can you store small kitchen appliances like the crock pot, toaster or mixer in an accessible cabinet? Or put them in a pantry closet if you don’t use them often. Grab ALL the papers, make a pile, sit with a glass of wine – SORT through the pile! Often we avoid this task thinking it will take much longer than it does. Make 3 piles. Trash, File, Action.
Deal with those papers with this quick system
First, toss old papers like school work that’s been graded, old newsletters, expired coupons and junk mail. Next, file the items you may need to keep like receipts from holiday shopping, bills that have been paid or papers you need to reference later. Lastly, put any papers that require action into a folder and place them near your computer or in your office space. I use pretty file folders for this process and keep them in an organizer on my desk. Once a week I sort through each folder to make sure it’s up to date and discard anything I am finished with or move items I need to keep long-term to the filing cabinet.
Fake it till you bake it – Christmas cookie style
If holiday baking is one of your traditions, take 5 minutes to organize and clean out the baking cabinet or shelf. Toss old and expired items and products that have been sitting around unused. Hello, the bar of unsweetened chocolate from 2015 and 5 cans of expired sweetened condensed milk. I like to store my sugar and flower in clear plastic containers like these and then write on the fronts with a wet erase marker or chalk marker like this. Once you’ve cleaned it out, make a list of what items need to be replaced for your cookie bake-off. (Then, send me your address)
Declutter that packed pantry
Perhaps you tend to do lots of home cooking during the holidays or entertaining of family and friends. Take a quick spin through your pantry, and organize goods by type (think cans with cans, boxed goods with other friendly boxed goods) and items (all the beans like to hang out and the chicken broth is excited to see beef broth again). Toss expired items and the ones you know you won’t use. Giving attention to the main shelves of your fridge will have a similarly calming effect.
Declutter the living spaces
Take a quick look around the kitchen table/dining room. Is this surface a dumping ground for stuff? If so follow the same tips as I shared for your counters and clean them off. If you have lots of decor items that you are constantly moving on and off your table, consider allowing your table a holiday vacation. Your surface will serve you better if you don’t have to rearrange things to use it for the function it was meant for.
Take a walk through the living room. Are there toys filling the corners? Do you truly need all the copies of Good Housekeeping magazines from the last 4 years? Is every surface (mantle, coffee table, end tables, and shelves) covered in decor or clutter? Grab a box and minimize.
Again, allow your coffee and end tables to do their job. Create clear open space for you and your family to use them. Consider choosing just one or two NON-functional surfaces (like a sofa table or shelf) to display a collection of meaningful or beautiful items. If you have more stuff out than that, take the less than amazing items and pack them away for a short time. You will probably find that you don’t even miss them!
Be our guest
Have friends or family coming to stay? Let’s do a quick declutter of the guest room and guest bathroom.
If your guest room also serves as your I-don’t-have-a-place-for-this room you might have a little more work to do. How do you want your home to serve others? My guess is that you want your friends and family to feel comfortable in your home and able to relax. By clearing out the space they will be staying overnight in, you are giving them a mini-vacation in your own home.
If your closet and drawers are full of off season or extra clothing then sort through and donate some of these items if you have time. If not, remove what you can and store in your own closet or hanging racks in another space like a garage or basement. Clear the surfaces of the dressers and nightstands and leave just what is needed to make the space cozy and inviting. Shop your own house for a throw blanket and a few decorative pillows. Here’s a great link to a post from Style Blue Print with suggestions for guest room essentials.
Santa’s workshop
As we get closer to Christmas you may be in need of a kid-free gift wrapping station. My husband and I always utilize our bedroom floor or walk-in closet floor for this. So, if this is your plan (or if you have another room you will be using) make a quick sweep of this room as well.
Now, in here you are looking to either clear the surface you’ll be using to wrap or clear the floor. Think of things like laundry baskets or that pile of books you swore you were going to read this year. Add a basket or Rubbermaid style box to this space with your essentials like scissors, tape, name tags, and pens. This way you can simplify your Christmas wrapping by having all the items on hand. Since I lose the roll of tape about 53 times while wrapping, having a decluttered space really helps to keep the calm!
Wrap it up
The next few weeks are not the time to dive deep into a whole house pre-Christmas declutter. Take time to be with your family and friends and create precious memories in your home. Doing a quick organizing of your home will give you the mental space and the physical space to enjoy your holiday. Besides, there’s always the New Year resolution 😉
