The holiday season is a wonderful time of year with family, friends, food and fun. We decorate our homes from top to bottom and we excitedly shop for the very best gifts to present to our loved ones. We celebrate the year we’ve had and make plans for the year ahead.
For some of us a move is on the way, perhaps a new home for an expanding family or a downsized condo for a soon-to-be empty nest; for others it’s simply time to let go of unused items and closet fillers. Either way, your holiday décor cleanup is a great time to declutter and usher in the New Year with a less cumbersome home.
Go room to room
Make a plan to declutter one room at a time. You’ll be able to focus on the task at hand in that specific space. Once you complete that effort, move on to the next. You’ll enjoy a feeling of accomplishment as you mark each room off your declutter to-do list.
Freshen up the fridge
Don’t forget about the refrigerator. Your fridge was probably filed to the brim this holiday season as you stored away foods for all of your holiday celebrations. Sort through the leftovers and toss any that have lingered for too long. Pull out shelves and trays to cleanup spills and stray crumbs.
Give the oven some lovin’
From honey hams and roasted turkeys to Southern sides and pies, your oven most likely took a beating. Pull out the oven racks and wash away sticky spills. Wipe down the inside of your oven to remove baked-on residue from that chocolate pie overflow.
Trade out toys
Did Santa bring your little sugarplums an assortment of new toys? Now’s the time to trade out the old to make room for the new. Fill a box (or two) with the toys your children have outgrown and donate them to a local resell store. If you uncover broken toys, toss them out.
Clear out closets, weed out wardrobes
Sure you switched out your warm weather clothes for your winter wardrobe, but did you sort out unwanted garments? Go through your closet and wardrobe and pull out any clothes you no longer wear. Take a look at your shoes as well. You’ll appreciate the extra space you uncover when you go to put away the trendy new duds you unwrapped.
Look through your linens
Got dingy towels and washcloths? Get rid of them. Holey sheets? Toss them out. Don’t keep aged linens on your shelves if they are threadbare and yellowed. Most likely you aren’t using them and they are taking up much needed space in the linen closet.
Hone down holiday decor
Do you have extra boxes of holiday decor stowed away in the attic that haven’t seen the light of day for years? In the words of Elsa, let it go. Sort through extra decor to decide what you can part with and what you’ll keep. There really isn’t a need for seven different holiday wreaths or broken ornaments that don’t earn a place on the tree.
