How to Declutter Before Christmas
Christmas is fast approaching. Do you want to declutter your home before the holidays?
As we love to enjoy the festive season, we’ve always liked cleaning and decluttering during the fall so that we feel less stressed and overwhelmed when the holidays come.
Autumn is also the best time of year for decluttering your home if you’ve never tried.
Get your home decluttered for the holidays. When you’re going to clean out all the spaces, be ruthless with the things that you no longer use or love.
Hosting parties and welcoming overnight guests during the holidays will become less stressful if you have a clutter-free home.
You will have enough space for both your guests and the items they bring into your house.
A decluttered house will make your life so much easier.
Are you ready to get your home clean and tidy for Christmas and the New Year? Here are the seven areas you will want to declutter.
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7 Areas to Declutter Before the Holidays
1. Declutter Your Entryway
Since the entryway is a high-traffic area, you need to declutter this space regularly to keep it functional and clutter-free.
If, like me, you live in a region with a long, cold winter, autumn is the ideal time for decluttering and organizing. Tidy up the entryway and get ready for the family and guests.
Take off your shoes as soon as you enter the door, and place them on a quality boot tray. This helps to protect your flooring from all salt ice, snow, and dirt.
Put away summer shoes like sandals and flip-flops. This will make room for household members and guests to place their winter boots.
Since bulky winter jackets and winter gear can also take up a ton of closet space, don’t forget to declutter and organize the front entrance closet at this time of the year.
2. Declutter Your Home Decor
It’s time to prep and clean your house for the holiday season. Throw away or recycle all the broken seasonal decorations. Donate all the unwanted wrapping paper, Christmas lights, ornaments, and decorations, etc.
Only keep those decorations you truly love.
Too much home decor can make your house look crowded and cluttered, and decorative accessories can often take up storage space.
Are there any souvenirs or decorative accessories on your shelves that don’t bring you joy or that you just keep because they are not broken? Purge them now and start to decorate your home with style and intention.
3. Declutter Your Closet
When was the last time you cleaned out your cluttered closet?
The season change is the time of the year to do a thorough declutter of all the clothes, shoes and accessories.
How to clean out the closet and get rid of clothes?
Here are the easy steps you can follow. First, empty the closet, put them all on the bed.
Purge any items that have gone out of style or that don’t fit you anymore. If you don’t love them or haven’t worn them in years, just let them go.
Do not keep things sitting in the closet, taking up space if you know you will not wear them again. Bag up those clothing items to sell or donate.
Don’t forget to take the bags to your car as soon as possible. Any clothes that cannot be repaired and broken accessories also need to go.
Now, put things back in your closet. Store them by category or color.
Follow the “one in, one out” rule. When you bring one item into the closet, purge one item. It’s one of the best ways to keep your closet organized.
4. Declutter Your Kitchen
Taking everything out and getting rid of unnecessary and duplicate items.
Duplicate cooking utensils and kitchen gadgets can take up your valuable kitchen storage space. Only keep the one that functions best and that you use regularly.
Clean out and organize your pantry shelves to maximize cabinet space for the holidays. Toss the expired items, and minimize the spices and condiments.
I usually keep less than 10 condiments that I use regularly. Toss the old spices that have lost flavor and stock up on the spices that you use regularly.
Make the refrigerator ready for the extra groceries and Christmas cooking. Toss the expired food from the fridge and freezer. Clean the interior with warm soapy water.
Use containers to keep items in place and easy to access. You may also want to line your shelves with washable mats that can keep your fridge shelves clean.
Related decluttering your home posts:
How to Get Motivated to Declutter Your Home
How to Declutter When You’re Overwhelmed by a Messy House
5. Declutter Your Playroom
Fall is the best time for a huge decluttering.
With so many things going on during the holidays, it’s the perfect time for a pre-Christmas declutter to make room for new toys.
Decluttering kids’ stuff means clothes, toys, books and crafts, all included.
Children grow so fast, and outgrown clothes can be donated or stored to pass on to another child.
Get rid of the broken toys and give outgrown items to charities.
Reorganize your kids’ artwork and crafts. Set up a system that can display your children’s artwork. You may also want to use a clipboard to hang their artwork.
With limited space, it’s impossible to store every single piece. Digitizing the art pieces is the best way to preserve all the memories.
Some children have a hard time letting go of anything. When my child was little, we encouraged her to give away the old toys that she no longer played with. She liked this idea as she knew she was helping other kids and she needed to make room for new toys as well.
6. Declutter Your Garage
Many families tend to use their garages as storage, and very often, unused items get dumped in the garage.
Cleaning out the garage helps free up space so that you can park your car in it.
Declutter your garage before the holidays. Toss out items you don’t need anymore.
Take out the old furniture that you’ve been wanting to reupholster for years. Ask yourself if you would work on it any time soon. If not, take it to the thrift store.
Get rid of the old paint cans that you won’t use anymore. Safely dispose of paint and paint cans in your area.
Check your tool collection and eliminate duplicate tools if your toolbox is overflowing.
Purge the old sports gear you no longer use. Donate the gardening tool you no longer need. They can take up a lot of space.
Camping gear or sports equipment can make the room look cluttered if they are lying around the garage. Pegboard, rack and storage shelves can help to keep them well organized.
7. Declutter Your Office
If you’re like me, keeping a bunch of gift bags, gift boxes, wrapping papers, tissue papers, Christmas cards, and birthday cards, it’s time to declutter and purge the excess.
You’ll find it easier to locate what you need when the holidays are approaching.
Organize your gift-wrapping station and check if you really need to buy extra wrapping paper, tape, and scissors. Assess them before making a purchase.
Unclutter your book collection. Sell or give away books you won’t ever read again. Declutter your bookshelves to make room for new gifts (books) coming into your home.
Related cleaning and organizing your home posts:
Easy Spring Cleaning Tips for a Sparkling Home
How to Clean Your House Fast and Efficiently
Final Thoughts on Decluttering Before the Holidays:
Having a pre-holiday declutter in the above seven areas will make your home ready for the festive season. Everything gets organized, making it easier to find things.
Knowing what you really need to buy helps make life easier, save money, reduce stress, and find more joy this holiday season.
If you’re looking for ways to simplify Christmas and enjoy the holidays more, check out the following posts for inspiration:
5 Simple Ways to Have a Debt-free Christmas
Free Printable Christmas Planner
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