Post-Christmas Decluttering
December 28, 2010 by Marci
photo from potterybarn.com
Now that Christmas is over, it is time to put away all the toys and goodies that have made their way into our homes. It’s times like these when we realize that maybe we had too much stuff to begin with!
I believe that everything should have it’s place. That’s why we make room before Christmas with the pre-Christmas toy purge. As I’m trying to put other things away, I’m finding out there are are other areas of our house that could have used that too! Looks like it’s time to declutter again!
Call me crazy, but I like to declutter. It’s like losing weight. I feel much lighter and freer and less stressed. Do you need to declutter? Here are some tips to follow.
- Start small. Don’t start with an entire room. Chose a shelf or a drawer or a corner.
- Save, donate, toss. Gather all items from a space and put them into one of 3 catagories. Save. Donate to someone else. Throw away.
- Do you love it? Do you need it? Look at that “save” pile again.If you don’t love it or need it, put it into another pile.
- Move quickly. Don’t think too long. Just move. The quicker the better.
- Set a timer. Determine the time you want to spend decluttering before you start. Set a timer and see tip #4. When time is up, get rid of the “toss” pile immediately. Take the “donate” pile to the car and get rid of it your next trip out of the house.
- Find a place for all of the “save” items or else they will become clutter again!
Hope that helps you handle your post-Christmas clutter! Any other tips you’d like to share?
Comments (6)
Hey Marci,
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. These are some great tips.
great tips – I use all of these with my organizing clients! starting small is something I really emphasize if they’ve got a LOT of clutter to deal with. Seeing even a little improvement helps keep the motivation on the up and up.
I am right there with you Marci! I enjoy decluttering and would do so much more of it if I could my hubby and daughter on my same page.
Prior to Christmas we did some purging – a little. My 4 year old is having a really hard time parting with anything anymore. Do you have any suggestions on how to encourage parting with toys with children? Talking about selling them at a yard sale for her to have her own $ to save or spend as she wishes and/or donating to a less fortunate child works SOMETIMES. With a baby on the way, we need to purge A LOT more. I’m also very tempted to NOT bring in many of the baby toys that I have been able to stow away…especially the electronic ones. Hmm…may just do that! 
Happy New Year to you and your family.
we just did this and it’s time to start all over!
Just found your site, and love it. Thanks for these tips – this is exactly what I’m doing this weekend, and I needed the extra motivation! Happy New Year!
Oh, I like #6….very important!!