Holiday decluttering‹‹

The next few weeks are busy ones for a lot of people. Family might be coming to visit or you may go to see them. How can you survive the rest of the month without adding a lot of clutter?

Travel

Are you traveling this holiday season? Overpacking can be an issue. You never truly know what the weather will be, but you can get an idea before you go. Take as few clothes as possible. Pack things that are versatile and that you can wear different ways. Pack the day before to avoid rushing.

Make sure you arrive at the airport in plenty of time because the airports are very busy in December.

Guests

When you have guests in the house, it can add stress. Making everyone feel comfortable without completely disrupting your life can be difficult.

If possible, put a plan for meals in place so you can shop beforehand. Get the guest room together ahead of time. Wash all of the linens and/or towels you might need. 

Consider your guests’ favorite foods and activities if you know them. Plans may be scrapped, but it’s much better to have a plan than not plan and have nothing to do.

Decorations

When you put up decorations, look for damaged items. Throw out what doesn’t work and give away or donate the things you no longer use.

As you take down decorations, organize them in a way that makes sense to you. Label the storage containers before you put them in the closet, crawl space, attic or garage.

Wrapping paper

We all love to save wrapping paper to reuse next year, but if it’s not salvageable, recycle it. Store rolls, flat wrapping paper, gift bags, boxes, tissue paper, tags, ribbons and everything else in a container where it won’t get damaged over the next year. Toss anything you don’t need.

Cards 

It’s nice to save holiday cards, but they don’t serve much use after the first of the year. If you are sentimental about the cards, take photos of the ones you love and then recycle them all.

You may have extra unused cards that you didn’t send this year. Of course, you can save them for next year, but put them away somewhere you will remember, maybe with the wrapping paper, so you can find them when you need them next year.

Gift giving

When you give gifts, consider clutter free gifts like activities and experiences to reduce clutter before it begins. Gift cards can be good too because the recipient can then get what they really want.

Enjoy the holiday season. Keep in mind the clutter as you go. If it gets to be overwhelming, contact me for help.