Are you thinking about the holidays yet? Stores put out winter holiday decor earlier every year. And the pace of life keeps getting faster.
Whether you’re dreaming of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Christmas with excitement or already anxious about your to-do list, I have some tips to get your home ready for the busy winter holidays. And don’t worry. These are easy tips you can start right now. You don’t need to buy cleaning or organizing supplies. You just need a little bit of time and this post to guide you.
Why start now? Getting rid of clutter you can see will instantly help you feel calmer and less stressed at home, which is exactly what we all need during the holidays. So let’s walk through this step by step.
Are you hosting a holiday meal? Then start decluttering in the kitchen.
If you’ve ever hosted a holiday meal for family or friends, you know that the kitchen is the epicenter of all the activity. It can get crowded, and you’ll need all the counter space you can get. So this should be the first room you declutter if you plan to cook a holiday meal or host a meal at your home.
Start by clearing the counters. You only want the essentials on the counters. Try to find another spot to store appliances that take up space but won’t be used much leading up to the holiday or on the day you host. Relocate decorative items, too. You’ll want every extra inch of countertop for laying out ingredients or dishes for your meal.
Next, clean out the refrigerator. This is another place where space becomes important. Storing dishes that are in progress or leftovers can be like a game of Tetris. Imagine how much better you’ll feel if you didn’t have to move aside old condiments as you’re putting pumpkin pie in the fridge. Go ahead and discard anything that is expired.
An organized pantry can help make holiday meal planning and preparations easier.
Then, declutter the pantry. I like to look for all the basics I know I’ll need for my holiday cooking or baking and see what I may need to buy more of a week or two ahead of the holiday. No one wants to start baking a cake or cookies and discover they’re out of vanilla extract. Check those little bottles now! You’ll also want to throw out any expired food from the pantry. Flour and yeast do expire, so look at the dates before you make your grocery lists.
* While you’re checking the pantry, you can look for any canned or boxed foods that you may want to donate to a local food drive. In the Atlanta area, you’ll find many non-profits where you can donate non-perishable food. Two examples are United Way and Intown Cares.
Do you have kids at home? You’ll want to declutter toys and games.
Kids easily acquire a lot of toys and games. Besides what you buy them, kids receive gifts from grandparents, other relatives, and friends. They’ll get more toys and games this holiday season.
Most kids are collectors, but if they’ve outgrown some of their collections, donate them for other children to enjoy. (Photo by Etienne Girardet, Unsplash)
Don’t wait to see whether all the new gifts will fit into your kids’ bedrooms, closets, or playrooms. Go through things now and find any toys your kids have outgrown. If they haven’t played with something for months, they may not play with it again.
If you donate those toys and games, they can end up making another child’s holiday brighter. Families who can’t afford new gifts for their kids depend on donations to either groups that distribute toys or shops that sell them for much less than new items.
If your children are old enough, they may be able to decide what they want to give away. Then your decluttering session becomes a way to teach the next generation how to consider their belongings and let go of what they no longer need. That’s a valuable life skill that will benefit them throughout their lives.
* Some places you may be able to donate toys include Second Life in Avondale Estates or your local community toy drive (churches often have these drives). You could also give items away via your local Buy Nothing group or Nextdoor. If you’d prefer to get a bit of money back, Once Upon a Child takes kids’ toys with all the pieces, and they must be clean.
Next, declutter other surfaces and corners.
Visual clutter anywhere in your home can cause stress and anxiety. Even if you’re not actively thinking about the mess, it’s there in the background of your brain.
So clearing clutter from surfaces like coffee tables, end tables, entertainment stands, or bookshelves can make a big difference in how a room feels. Sure, everything will look cleaner, but your space will feel calmer when you can clear stuff off surfaces. Even if you don’t have guests in your home for a meal or staying overnight, decluttering can help you feel less stressed during a busy time of year.
When surfaces are clear of clutter, it helps a room feel calmer, even during busy times like the holidays. (Photo by Francesca Tosolini, Unsplash)
You’ll also want to deal with anything stacked in corners of rooms. Sometimes we put things in a corner temporarily. Maybe you cleaned out a closet and put everything in a corner of the living room until you could decide where to donate it. Then life happens. We get busy and forget to move those donations to the car (or we leave it in the car for months!).
After a while, the stacks of things end up living in the corner. Now is a great time to clear them out. Then your home will feel clearer and more open. You’ll have less stress overall when the holiday season gets truly busy.
Make your decluttering plan and schedule time for it.
Here’s the key to decluttering in time for the holidays. Write out a short plan and schedule time for it. Your plan doesn’t need to be elaborate. It can be as simple as “clear kitchen counters, check food in pantry, declutter entryway, clean papers off coffee table.”
Then, break it into smaller chunks and put it on your calendar. Maybe you do 15 minutes tomorrow, 30 minutes a couple of days later, and 20 minutes a few days after than.
Just these two steps – making a plan and scheduling time to work on it – will make it easier to get started. It won’t feel as overwhelming as looking at a room and wondering where to start.
Enjoy a calmer holiday season with a clearer home
Next comes the best part. After even just a few short decluttering sessions, your home will feel lighter, and you’ll be better prepared for the busy holiday season. It will feel amazing not to have to stuff clutter into closets right before guests come over for Thanksgiving. Or to have to stack new toys on top of piles of older toys your kids no longer really play with.
I hope this short guide makes pre-holiday decluttering less daunting. You can always reach out to us if you need extra help getting your home organized and ready for the season.
Xoxo,
Michelle
Michelle Parravani, professional organizer and owner of Designing With Less