Don’t you just hate it when you wake up the day after Christmas to a house that looked like a tornado ripped through it? Yeah, I hate it too. There’s no room to put all of our shiny new presents because we have too much freaking stuff! So this year, I am starting a holiday decluttering challenge. Over the next 7 weeks, we will be decluttering one category a week. By the end of the challenge, our homes will be lighter, and we will have space for all those new gifts! So let’s get right into the 7 sure-fire ways to declutter for Christmas!
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Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, which explains why our kitchen counters are always overflowing with stuff. And during the holidays? It’s even worse!
Between all the sweet treats that we receive from friends and the baking that we do together as a family, it feels like we’re drowning in stuff. I can hardly find space on my kitchen counters to even set a plate down!
I know that decluttering your kitchen sounds like a major undertaking, but it doesn’t have to be that bad. You can make this as detailed or as quick as you want.
Here are a few areas to focus on:
- Mugs and Glasses
- Plates and Bowls
- Pots and Pans
- Storage Containers
- Junk drawer/Cabinet
- Counters
- Front of Fridge (magnets and everything else)
Again, you don’t have to focus on all of these!
My advice is to choose a couple of areas that are particularly cluttered and work through one space at a time.
If you are feeling stressed and anxious whenever you’re in your kitchen, you can bet it’s probably because of all of the visual clutter. Having a clear kitchen counter is a great first step to decluttering your kitchen.
fridge, Pantry & Freezer
Once you’ve finished in your kitchen, the next space to work through is your fridge, pantry and freezer.
(For now, just focus on decluttering any old food. We will be cleaning out our fridges in October during the Holiday Cleaning Challenge.)
It should only take you a couple of minutes to get rid of any old, expired food. If there’s anything in your freezer with freezer burn, throw it out. My rule of thumb is that if we haven’t eaten it within the past 6 months, we probably never will.
And finally, once you have made your first purge of expired items. I recommend going back through your pantry a second time.
This time, look for food items that you can give away. Like that can of soup you know you’re never going to eat. Or those boxed dinners you still haven’t tried.
Box them all up and donate them to your local food bank.
Or check with your child’s school to find out when their next canned food drive is. They typically take place in the fall, so it’s the perfect time to declutter your pantry!
Clearing out your pantry and creating space is an excellent exercise.
It can seem a little scary to get rid of that much food. But you know you’re never going to eat it all anyway. And it really feels amazeballs to have a clean and organized pantry that isn’t overflowing with food.
Related Post: How to Plan for Holiday Shopping
Toys
You knew this one was coming, huh?
If you have any number of children, I’ll bet that toys are the #1 problem in your home. If your house looks like a toy store, you need to get rid of all those un-played with toys before the holidays. Your kids will be receiving an influx of new stuff anyway, so now is the best time to declutter their toys.
You can get your kids involved by having them tell you what they don’t play with anymore.
To make this easier, I recommend a few things:
- Talk to your child about how some children are less fortunate than us.
- Bring them with you to drop off a few basic donations – whether it be Goodwill, your local church, or homeless shelter. It doesn’t have to be a major donation – just bag up a few unwanted items and explain to your child what you’re doing.
- Next, sit down with your child and discuss which toys they don’t need anymore. Remind them of your previous conversations – that their toys can be sent to other children who don’t have any.
- By following these steps, there’s a good chance your kids will be more willing to get rid of their old toys next year. You can even make a family tradition out of it!
Visual Clutter on Flat Surfaces
Visual clutter can be anything that is left lying about in an untidy manner. Especially flat surfaces like nightstands, dressers, coffee tables, bookshelves, desks, countertops, or half-walls.
In our home, the visual clutter tends to multiply ten-fold during the holidays. I think this is because all the holiday decor competes with the visual clutter. It seems like double the amount of stuff because it is!
So take some time to go through and declutter that visual clutter!
Visual clutter can be tough to handle because most of the items that you leave laying about are probably items that you actually use on a daily basis.
Tips for handling visual clutter:
- Visual clutter competes for your attention, whether you realize it or not. Your brain processes what you see and then makes a decision or judgment. Even if you don’t really notice all that stuff left out on your bathroom counter, your mind does. This could be why you feel overwhelmed and anxious in your own home.
- Visual clutter can appear in many ways, from knick-knacks to paper piles, and too many pictures on the wall to laundry baskets full of unfolded clothes.
- Try removing all excess picture frames and knick-knacks, or you can try rotating through a few favorites.
- And take note of clutter hot spots – areas that tend to attract clutter no matter what you do. These spaces are how your family naturally uses the area in question. For example, your spouse might always empty their pockets on the kitchen counter. Since you can’t change other people’s habits, an acceptable solution might be to place a small dish or basket near where he empties his pockets. This will at least minimize the appearance of the visual clutter.
- Another clutter hot spot might be a pile of shoes by the front door. You can either work with your family to put their shoes up the minute they walk in the door, or use a large basket to contain them all.
Clothes
If you haven’t cleaned out your closet since 2019, now is a great time to get started! Look for anything you haven’t worn in the past year or anything that you know doesn’t fit you.
I’m not saying you need to get rid of everything… I’m just saying it doesn’t need to be taking up space in your closet.
- If you haven’t worn an article of clothing and you know you won’t be wearing it in the future, go ahead and donate it.
- Anything ripped or torn, trash it or turn it into rags.
- For clothing items that no longer fit, I understand the urge to want to keep them just in case. If you fall under this category, you can always box them up and move them to long-term storage. Set the alarm on your phone for a year from now. If they still don’t fit you this time next year, go ahead and donate them.
Related Post: 7 Holiday Tasks You Can Start Early
Paper Clutter
You know the paper clutter is a problem in your home! Unless you have gone paperless, I think it’s safe to say that we ALL deal with paper clutter.
So let’s spend a little bit of time getting the paper clutter under control in our homes!
Paper clutter tips:
- Gather all of the paper lying around your home. Use a large laundry basket if you need to.
- Bring it to a table or sprawl out on the floor.
- One by one, decide on every piece of paper.
- Create separate piles for everything – receipts, coupons, take action, to file, shred, school papers, artwork, personal paperwork, medical info, bills, creditors, etc. Your piles and categories will vary depending on your personal needs.
- Once you have your categories separated, make a commitment to set up an organizational system for each one of those categories!
- For receipts, use a glass jar to keep them all contained throughout the week or keep them all combined in a poly envelope in your purse.
- For coupons, another poly envelope can work wonders.
- If you still receive paper bills, create a budget binder.
- And for the weekly paperwork that might want to reference, use a file organizer, like this one from The Container Store
So take one week before Christmas to declutter your paper and get it all organized!
Purse and Wallet
And lastly, you can Declutter your purse and your wallet.
I can’t be the only one whose purse becomes a bottomless pit full of random items…?
If you struggle with keeping your purse organized, take a few minutes to get it all cleaned out before the holidays!
Dump everything out on your bed or the dining room table. Decide what you want to keep in your purse and get rid of the rest.
are you ready to declutter for christmas?
The holidays are approaching fast, which means there’s no time to waste! You can declutter one space in your home each week for the next 7 weeks.
And if you get started now, your house will be decluttered for Christmas and ready for decorations!
To recap, here are the spaces you should declutter before the holidays:
- Kitchen
- Fridge, pantry, and freezer
- Toys
- Visual clutter on flat surfaces
- Clothes
- Paper clutter
- Your purse and/or wallet
If one of these categories doesn’t apply to you, go ahead and skip it or choose to focus on another area, like your living room. But try to choose a space that tends to collect clutter during the holidays!
By decluttering for Christmas and getting rid of items you no longer need, want, or use, you can lighten your home and free up your energy for the most wonderful time of the year!
When you’re ready to start preparing for the holidays, grab a copy of this mini holiday planner! 👇
Set your holiday budget and start brainstorming gift ideas with two free printables!
Then, when November rolls around, you’ll be fully prepared and ready to go. 🙌
Related posts:
How to Save Your Sanity this Holiday Season
41 Merry and Bright Gift Wrap Ideas
How to Plan for Holiday Shopping
7 Holiday Tasks You Can Start Early
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