The ritual of bringing out the Christmas decorations and putting up the tree is my way of getting into the spirit of the Holidays. I love to sit and look at the lights in the Christmas tree, and the collection of holiday cards displayed on the inside of the the front door gives me pleasure too - briefly. By New Year's Eve I am done with all of it. What starts out as beautiful seasonal decorations turns into more clutter than I can stand and it all gets packed away for next year before we ring in the New Year.
BUT - there is always a collection of stuff that seems to take weeks to find all their appropriate storage spots.
What to do with:
~ The beautiful holiday cards
~ Those thoughtful gifts that you really have no use for
~ Bits of ribbon and gift boxes that seem too good to just throw away
~ The items that need to be returned or exchanged
~ The three Christmas decorations that did not get packed into the decoration box that is now neatly stored on the top shelf in the garage
~ And last, but not least, if you have children there is that mountain of new toys on top of the mountains of toys they already have
Make a Plan
It can all get to be completely overwhelming, so you have to come up with an easy plan and stick to it until your house is back in order. As they say at Nike - Just Do It.
Clear the Horizontal Surfaces
I like to get the horizontal surfaces cleared off first. Collect up all the wrapping things and get them stashed in the wrapping box. Cruise through every room of the house looking for the stray decorations and make one last trip to the garage storage with those.
The Holiday Cards
The holiday cards always pose a dilemma - are you going to write back to some people? Keep those cards in your to-do file. Are you really going to create that wonderful craft project you saw in a magazine with the rest of the cards? Be realistic about that probability. Yeah, I didn't think so. Let them go. You enjoyed them, now they are done.
Oh, You Shouldn't Have, Gifts
The gifts that you really have no use for might make a great donation to your favorite charitable cause. If you know that you will not use an item - don't keep it. Let someone else enjoy it, or return it to the store if you can.
Returns and Exchanges
There are always those gifts that are good, but just the wrong size or color - just a quick exchange is all that is necessary. Make the time to do that and give yourself a deadline so it gets done before the receipt expires.
Toys, Toys, Toys
How many toys can your child play with at the same time? How many do they play with on a regular basis? Do they really need all the toys accessible all the time? How about taking some of the toys that they may have lost interest in, and storing them in a bin in the garage, to make room for the new Christmas things. In a few months you can rotate the toys again and keep all the toys more interesting in the process. While you are sorting and rotating, you can cull out the broken bits and pieces too.
My goal is to start the New Year with a clutter free house. Once the tree is down and the decorations put away I am inspired to spruce up the living room a bit. Seems like a good time to try a new furniture configuration and switch the accessories around a bit too.
May Your New Year begin with order in the house!
Sandra J. Carroll is the owner of Creative Changes, a professional organizing company, and is known to her clients as the Clutter Conquerer. Aside from her many years of business experience, living and cruising on a 30-foot sailboat for 4 years gave Sandra unique training in space efficiency and organization.
Creative Changes specializes in simple solutions to clutter, space challenges, time management and inefficient storage. Sandra's Organize to Sell system is an effective and budget friendly option to home staging.
Request your free e-book, "
BUT - there is always a collection of stuff that seems to take weeks to find all their appropriate storage spots.
What to do with:
~ The beautiful holiday cards
~ Those thoughtful gifts that you really have no use for
~ Bits of ribbon and gift boxes that seem too good to just throw away
~ The items that need to be returned or exchanged
~ The three Christmas decorations that did not get packed into the decoration box that is now neatly stored on the top shelf in the garage
~ And last, but not least, if you have children there is that mountain of new toys on top of the mountains of toys they already have
Make a Plan
It can all get to be completely overwhelming, so you have to come up with an easy plan and stick to it until your house is back in order. As they say at Nike - Just Do It.
Clear the Horizontal Surfaces
I like to get the horizontal surfaces cleared off first. Collect up all the wrapping things and get them stashed in the wrapping box. Cruise through every room of the house looking for the stray decorations and make one last trip to the garage storage with those.
The Holiday Cards
The holiday cards always pose a dilemma - are you going to write back to some people? Keep those cards in your to-do file. Are you really going to create that wonderful craft project you saw in a magazine with the rest of the cards? Be realistic about that probability. Yeah, I didn't think so. Let them go. You enjoyed them, now they are done.
Oh, You Shouldn't Have, Gifts
The gifts that you really have no use for might make a great donation to your favorite charitable cause. If you know that you will not use an item - don't keep it. Let someone else enjoy it, or return it to the store if you can.
Returns and Exchanges
There are always those gifts that are good, but just the wrong size or color - just a quick exchange is all that is necessary. Make the time to do that and give yourself a deadline so it gets done before the receipt expires.
Toys, Toys, Toys
How many toys can your child play with at the same time? How many do they play with on a regular basis? Do they really need all the toys accessible all the time? How about taking some of the toys that they may have lost interest in, and storing them in a bin in the garage, to make room for the new Christmas things. In a few months you can rotate the toys again and keep all the toys more interesting in the process. While you are sorting and rotating, you can cull out the broken bits and pieces too.
My goal is to start the New Year with a clutter free house. Once the tree is down and the decorations put away I am inspired to spruce up the living room a bit. Seems like a good time to try a new furniture configuration and switch the accessories around a bit too.
May Your New Year begin with order in the house!
Sandra J. Carroll is the owner of Creative Changes, a professional organizing company, and is known to her clients as the Clutter Conquerer. Aside from her many years of business experience, living and cruising on a 30-foot sailboat for 4 years gave Sandra unique training in space efficiency and organization.
Creative Changes specializes in simple solutions to clutter, space challenges, time management and inefficient storage. Sandra's Organize to Sell system is an effective and budget friendly option to home staging.
Request your free e-book, "
70 Practical Tips to Organize Your Home & Office
" at http://www.creative-changes.com
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