7 Tips for Decluttering After the Holidays

For many of us, the lull after the holiday rush and the passing over into a new year makes us want to cleanse a little. That often manifests in a diet plan (go with a healthy one), addressing the extra slices of pie or several nights of one-too-many drinks. But there are other changes that can make January, and possibly the rest of the year, feel better.

It’s amazing how good it feels to tidy up the house after a couple of weeks—or months—of letting things go. Taking down all those decorations can seem like a real chore before it’s done, but it is one step to putting the world back to right. And, for those willing to take a few more steps, well, a lot can be done to declutter after the holidays.

A decluttered house makes us more mindful and provides true health benefits, so it is totally worth doing, probably more so than that annual after-the-holidays diet.

Decorations

Some of us can’t wait to get the decorations down, watching the clock for Christmas Day to pass. Others like to linger on the task, content to get to it after New Year’s. Regardless, every year we seem to acquire more holiday-themed stuff to stick in the attic, so it only makes sense to get rid of some every year as well.

• Tip #1: Ditch some of the decorations now. Getting rid of decorations after the holiday season is much easier than doing it at the beginning of next year’s celebration. Plus, it’ll mean fewer boxes to stow away.

Clothing

Dressing the part during the holiday season, whether that means jingle-bell socks or a week’s worth of sweaters, is something most of us do. Then, those clothes either take up room in the closet or find a box at the top of the closet. Next year, like with decorations, we buy more, and the box seems to grow.

• Tip #2: Donate the duds and join the thrift store circuit. There are plenty of holiday outfits to buy used (and inexpensively) every season, so it makes sense financially and environmentally to go that route and put the clothes back into the rotation each year.

Toys

As clothing goes for adults (and children), toys go for the kids. By the end of the year, many toys have met their end with the kids, be they replaced, broken, or simply outgrown. It’s time to trim down the collection to something more manageable.

• Tip #3: Turn over the toys. It might be good practice to establish a shelf, box, or even a closet to limit the volume of toys that can clutter a house or room. Once the box is full, it’s time to start turning the remaining toys over to new owners.

Cards & Gifts

It’s a tradition that we exchange gifts and cards with all sorts of people each year, and most of the time we are giving and getting gifts no one wants. The result is a bunch of stuff that we feel like we should keep for sentimental reasons. Forget about it!

• Tip #4: Get rid of gifts that aren’t useful. It’s harsh, maybe, but more than likely, that item being deliberated over is going to find its way elsewhere. So, just get on with it and keep the clutter at bay. On that note, do you ever read Christmas cards again?

The Kitchen

Lots of us spend our holidays in the kitchen, a few of us cooking and most others eating. All of the cooking and eating, then, equates to a kitchen that is overequipped and a fridge that is overstuffed. After a couple of days, leftovers shouldn’t be in the fridge anymore, and all that extra crockery has got to find somewhere else to be.

• Tip #5: Fleece the fridge the first week of January. That means cleaning it completely, tossing all the old stuff, wiping all those spills and crumbs clean, and getting a fresh go. This will probably help with that diet plan anyway.
• Tip #6: Curb the cabinet clutter. Take stock of what extra plates, dishes, pots, and pans were actually used over the holiday. If something didn’t make its way out over the last month, when will it ever be needed? Donate it somewhere.

A Declaration of Decluttering

Source: Minimalist Home/Youtube

For some of us, it can be really difficult to get rid of stuff, but at some point, we’ve got to do it. With the holidays behind us and none on the immediate horizon, isn’t now the perfect time?

• Tip #7: The idea of decluttering is to make life easier/better, so remember that when deciding on what stays and goes. Is this item improving life or causing storage issues? Answer as honestly as possible.

Related Content:

• Decluttering Your Home Can Help You Practice Mindfulness
• Release and Let Go: 12 Ways to Declutter Your Life
• 10 Easy, Money-Saving Ways to Clean Your House with Fruits and Vegetables

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