When the holidays arrive, our homes feel fuller and our calendars get more crunchy. The overwhelm can creep in when we see how long our to-do lists are getting. Declutter these 8 things before the holidays so you have more room to actually enjoy the holidays.
If your decluttering has been a slow and steady process, it’s likely on your mind year-round (even during the holiday season). If you’d like to put decluttering on pause during the holidays, consider letting go of a few extra things in advance. This pre-holiday decluttering will save you from trying to balance all the extras you navigate over the holidays with all of the stuff you deal with on a day to day basis. Continuing to add more and more to your schedule and home is bad math. Really, it doesn’t work. There is always fall out.
Try a little subtraction first. Remove things that get in the way of you enjoying your life or being present in your own life. This is not surface level decluttering though it doesn’t have to be really big things either. Use the list below to declutter before the holidays and then let the decluttering (and anything else that can wait) go while you experience some holiday magic.
8 Things to Declutter Before The Holidays
You don’t have to declutter everything before the holidays (especially not these 7 things) but make a little space in your home and your heart for peace, love, comfort and joy.
1. Declutter holiday decor you didn’t use last year.
If you started simplifying your holiday decor last year, reflect on how it felt decorating with less. If you liked it, let go of the holiday decor you didn’t use last year. Declutter before the holidays so you can avoid any decluttering decision fatigue when it’s time to decorate. If it’s more convenient to declutter after you decorate with whatever is left over, you can try that decluttering approach too.
2. This year, declutter all of your holiday “shoulds” and “supposed tos.”
It’s nice to hold on to some holiday traditions but when you feel bogged down by everything you think you should do or that people told you that you were supposed to do, it’s time for some serious decluttering. You are allowed to celebrate any way you like. You can have a quiet holiday season. Give yourself permission to serve pizza on Thanksgiving if that’s what your family likes. You can put up a Christmas tree tomorrow and leave your lights up until Valentines Day if you want. I usually leave my curtain lights up until it’s time to change the clocks in the spring (to add a little light to the shorter days).
3. Declutter kid’s toys before the holidays.
Prevent the build up of more stuff in your kid’s rooms by decluttering their toys before the holidays. Include them if they are interested. Encourage them to choose toys in good condition for donation. If you want to slow the flow of incoming toys for your children, talk to the people who give those gifts and gently ask if they’d be open to gifting an experience instead of more stuff.
4. Medicine drawers and cabinets should be decluttered before the holidays.
Tis the season when someone in your family comes down with something. Make it simple to find the treatments you need without sorting through expired cough syrup and other medications.
5. Declutter blankets before the holiday season.
Go through all of your cozy blankets. If there are some you don’t use, or that aren’t your favorite, donate them to a shelter. If you’ve been gifted other items that keep you warm, like fuzzy socks and robes but you don’t really use or like them, put them on the donation list as well. These are items people could really use this time of year.
6. Maybe it’s time to declutter your wish list.
Most of the declutter before the holidays articles I looked at suggested getting rid of things to make room for more things. For instance, one said to declutter sweaters because you always like to get new sweaters as gifts. If what you really want in your life is more of the good stuff (time, space, energy, freedom), then it’s time to stop buying things you don’t need and encourage a different kind of gifting. Decluttering helps but long term change requires putting a stop to the inflow of new stuff. Don’t make space for more stuff. Make space for more life.
7. See if your freezer, refridgerator or pantry needs decluttering.
If you like to bake, entertain or cook more during the holiday season, it’s time to make room for all that butter. Do a pre-holiday declutter removing all expired food and things you’ll never eat. Even spices go bad eventually. If you have unopened items to donate, bring them to your local food bank. For more kitchen decluttering, try this.
8. Declutter and recycle junk mail and holiday catalogs.
It’s the time of year when everyone tries to get your attention with holiday catalogs, email and other creative marketing. Toss it all. I recommend making a decision about your mail before bringing it in the house. Most of it can go right in the recycle bin. Don’t let the discount offers get you. You know what they say, “You can save 100% by not buying it.”
Imagine what it would be like to feel lighter and healthier through the rest of the year. Don’t let this list stress you. Allow it to soothe you.
