Can you believe that we are halfway through December? Christmas is right around the corner and taking one day to declutter just might save your sanity! Today I am sharing 10 things to declutter before Christmas.
If you know me, you know I don’t love clutter. Because organized clutter is still clutter! I have several blog posts on here that I have done that can help you get organized and declutter. I did a post a while back to help you declutter everyday things. You can read that here.
Christmas is a great time to go through a few things you normally wouldn’t consider tackling. Most people get Christmas gifts and keep adding to their “stuff”. How about we do this year differently and declutter first?
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1. Holiday Decorations
If you are like me your taste has changed over the years. Or you find new decorations and stop putting up some of the older things that you used to like. There isn’t anything wrong with it! But stop letting it keep taking up space in your home. Go through all the Christmas decorations you didn’t end up putting up this year. Make a choice to either keep it, trash it, or give it away. I call it the 3-box method! I go into more detail about this in my blog post My Top 5 Home Organizing Tips.
2. Clean Out Your Clothes Closet
I know a lot of people get new clothes, shoes, or handbags for Christmas. Take a quick look in your closet. You don’t need to get overwhelmed by it. Try choosing 10 things that you haven’t used or worn in the past year. Either donate if they are in good shape or put them in the trash if they aren’t. After the first of the year maybe we can do a bigger dive into our closets!
3. Gift Wrapping Supplies
Do you keep and reuse bows, ribbons, and boxes? But do you really reuse them, or do they just sit in a closet somewhere in your house taking up space? While you have all of your holiday gift-wrapping supplies out, take a few minutes to go through it all. Throw out the things that you won’t use and are taking up space. I know I have a lot of old gift bags that I need to get rid of. And I know I will never end up using them. I had good intentions when I kept them but it’s time to say goodbye!
4. Games
When we have all of our kids visiting for the holidays, we love to play games with them. It’s a fun way to spend time together. But games tend to lose pieces over time. Go through the ones that you think you might be playing and make sure they have all the pieces. If they don’t toss them or if you are able to order new pieces do that before everyone arrives.
5. Towels & Linens
Did you know that towels and linens have a lifespan? Generally, it is between 2-5 years. Granted most people keep them for longer than this and if you only use a certain set for guests, they probably can be used for a longer time due to not being used as often.
Take a quick look at your linen closet to see if you need to replace or throw out any of your towels and linens. Are any of them stained, ripped, or not feeling soft any longer? There are usually some great sales this time of year to grab some new towels and linens!
6. Snack Drawer
If you are going to be having holiday guests, you might want to take a quick look at your pantry and your snack stash. Believe it or not, they expire quickly. We usually stock up on snack-size chips during the summer for going to the beach and don’t go through them all. A lot of times they expire so check the expiration date on your snack before your guests arrive so you don’t get embarrassed giving them expired snacks.
7. Batteries
A good rule of thumb is to include batteries with any gift that requires batteries. But not everyone does this. We have a “battery drawer” and try to keep it stocked up with all different size batteries just in case. Christmas is a good time to make sure you have working batteries and to go through and get rid of the ones that are not working. Have you ever gone into the drawer to get a battery and thought yes there is a box of AAA’s only to find out the box is empty? Now is the time to go through the battery drawer and get rid of the old and in with the new!
8. Food Storage Containers
This is a great thing to do several times a year but this time of year especially! Wishful thinking that you might have some good food leftovers to fill those food storage containers. Go through that dreaded kitchen cabinet of food storage containers and toss any food storage containers that don’t have lids. And organize the ones that do! That way you will be prepared to fill them with yummy leftovers for Christmas! Lol.
9. Fridge/Freezer
How often do you clean out your refrigerator and freezer? I honestly don’t do it often enough. But these also get cluttered easily! And dirty! Take the time to do a good cleaning and check the expiration dates on all the food in both your fridge and freezer. That way you are making room for all of the good food that you will be filling it up with over Christmas!
10. Jewelry
Jewelry breaks and you can lose earrings. Take a quick look through your jewelry to see if you have anything that is broken, lost earrings, or things you aren’t wearing anymore. Depending on what it is you can always sell that broken jewelry for cash if it is gold or silver. If you don’t think you are going to wear it anymore you can always sell it also. If it’s broken and just costume jewelry, you will just need to throw it out.
So, do you have anything that you need to declutter before Christmas? I hope these tips helped you! I know it always makes me feel so much better when I declutter and get rid of things that are just taking up “space”. What is on the top of your list that is taking up space in your home?
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