Clearing Out Clutter for the New Year
I am no Scrooge. I love Christmas as much as anyone. Putting up the tree with all the ornaments, wreaths and bows is a fun time for me and the family. But once Christmas is over, I am ready to put up the extra stuff and clear out the clutter. In the past few years, I have come to really appreciate the simpler, more minimal look of a house without clutter. This is a goal that I rarely achieve, but I regularly pursue. Before you pack up your Christmas decorations, think about these ideas and tips.
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Clearing out Clutter for the New Year
Don’t pack away junk!
I used to accept all kinds of Christmas decorations from anyone who wanted to share because the decorations were fun and festive. But I don’t really do a ton of holiday decorations, so if I don’t love it, I don’t keep it. I have some very special holiday decorations that have sentimental value. These things get packed away year after year with much love and care. But ornaments that are broken, smashed bows, chipped Christmas mugs and other holiday items that are no longer useful get discarded. Why should I cram my valuable storage crates full of stuff I don’t want?
Label the Crates
Make your life easier next Christmas season and label the crates when you store them back. Keep the ornaments all packed together and make sure you include the ornament hooks in the same box!
Take out Batteries
Many holiday items have batteries. Before you pack away that singing Santa or musical ornament, make sure you remove the battery. If you store the totes in the attic, it will get hot up there over the summer months. You don’t want the batteries to leak or start to rust.
Clear out Christmas Books
We have always had special Christmas books that we pull out every year. But a funny thing happened a few years ago. The kids grew up and no longer read the small picture books. There are some classics that we have saved for the future but there were some that we passed on to other children.
Think about how you redecorate
Most people just put the same stuff back in place that they had there before they put up the Christmas tree. But since you are going to have a cleaned out area and bare shelves, this is the perfect time to think about how you redecorate. Only put back half of what you had there before the holidays. Experiment with putting things in different locations but only use a few of the items. You may find that you like a more minimal approach to decorating.
How do you plan to clear the clutter for the New Year?
