A Guide to Seasonal Simplicity: How to Organize and Declutter Before the Holidays

Today I am sharing tips on how to organize and declutter before the holidays!

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October has officially passed and November and the holidays will soon be upon us! From Thanksgiving to Christmas, November and December are months that are filled with nonstop holiday gatherings, parties and celebrations. My family alone has about five separate Christmas parties, so I know both how much fun the season can be, as well as how stressful it can sometimes be. That is why I wanted to write this post; to share how to organize and declutter before the holidays so that your holiday season can be as stress free and fun as possible!

While I haven’t started decorating for the Christmas season just yet, I have so many friends and family who already have their entire home decorated for the holiday! I am not going to lie, I was pretty tempted to pull out a few of my Christmas decor bins after seeing their homes decked out, but my husband Mike convinced me to wait just a little longer.

I do love hosting a big Thanksgiving feast, so holding out on the Christmas holiday decorating is actually okay with me. However, I also love going all out on my Christmas decor and the thought of dragging up all of my bins and sorting through my decorations is not the most enticing thought. Over the years, I have developed some strategies make decorating just a little bit easier on me and I hope these tips can help you as well!

I will admit, I do not organize and declutter before the holidays every single year, but I wanted to share my process with you in case you are feeling a little extra stressed this holiday season. Do not let the pressure of having a perfect home for your guests ruin what should be a magical time of the year.

Declutter And Set Realistic Goals

Before you pull out bins, bags and tubs full of holiday décor, first take a tour of the areas of your home and evaluate what items you may no longer need or use that could be disposed of. I like to take a room by room approach so I do not get too overwhelmed trying to declutter my entire home in one sitting.

This process could be spread out over days or even weeks. Try to be very realistic with your timeline, otherwise you will stress yourself out trying to get everything done at once. Also, be realistic with what you actually use or do not use.

I can be guilty of this with my decor. I find a piece that I love at a thrift store or antique mall and will hold onto it for years even if I am not using it. I always think in my head, “but what if I do end up finding the perfect spot for it one day!?” Those kind of thoughts are not your friend haha If you haven’t used something in over a year, it is time to either get rid of it or donate it back to your local thrift store!

Take A Room By Room Approach

In my kitchen, I will look through my drawers and figure out what items I use every day for cooking and baking, what are some items that I hardly ever touch. Look over your kitchen countertops. Are there spaces that you could make more clutter-free by perhaps storing things like small appliances or utensils in cabinets and drawers? I love to decorate my kitchen counters with Christmas decor, so decluttering them is a must! Check your fridge, freezer or pantry for ingredients’ expiration dates and toss them to free up some storage spaces on your shelves.

Next go through your living room and do a quick inventory of what you store in your bookshelves, ottoman or baskets. Can anything be thrown away or donated? If you have a lot of decor on your coffee table or side table, maybe free up some of that space for Christmas decor. I store some of my every day decor in my basement to make room for the seasonal decor, and once the season is over, I return those items to their original places.

Check your bathroom closets and medicine cabinet for any toiletries, towels or soaps that can be thrown away. I do not know who needs to hear this, but that tiny sliver of bar soap in your shower corner probably is not doing its job anymore haha Time to dispose of those ratty towels with holes, or even move them to your garage for future DIY projects. I am all for getting the most use you can out of a product or item, but sometimes you have to let your deeply used, dysfunctional items go.

Donate Your Used Items and Toys

I find myself changing out my decor a lot. I guess I am the kind of person that likes to switch things up and start fresh in any given space. This can sometimes mean I accumulate a pile of decor in my basement storage that I probably will not end up using again. I try really hard not to be wasteful, so it is important for me to make sure I am truly ready to let go of a piece before I donate or gift it. Use the one year rule; if you have not used the item in a year, it may be time to let go!

If you are like me and find that you have storage space filled with old decor, consider donating that to a thrift store or even gifting it to a family or friend! I am always texting my sisters pictures of decor I no longer use and ask if any of them would like it for their home. I would say the majority of the time, they take me up on the offer. It is a great feeling to be able to help out my family and ensure my home decor gets a second chance at life in someone else’s home haha

Another huge area to declutter is your kids room! I go through my kid’s toys every year before Christmas to throw away all of the cheap, broken toys my boys like to collect whether from a drive through or a dollar store with their saved up money. Knowing Santa and family are about to bring them many new toys, going through their old ones is a must. Plus, it is wonderful to donate or gift some of their older but nicer toys to families in need through toy drives or thrift stores.

Holiday Decor Storage And Organization

I have actually written an entire, in depth blog post about my Christmas decor storage and organization that you can read here. However, I wanted to highlight this process in this post about how to organize and declutter before the holidays, as it will certainly set you up for a more stress free holiday season next year!

Each year I store all of my Christmas decor in various plastic totes and bins that I’ve collected over the years. The larger, deeper totes are great for decor and garlands. These totes keep everything organized together and are easy to transfer to the basement for an easy year long minimal Christmas decor storage solution.

I also like to use longer, thinner totes to store Christmas picks and stems.  I also use resealable gallon size bags for storing smaller items like ribbon, small ornaments, and decorative items and filler. I use a permanent marker to label my bags and write down where I used specific decor items. I have several artificial Christmas trees that we tear down and place in tree storage bags similar to this. We label each one on the outside of the bag to know which room it will be set up in next year.

After I take down and place all of my items in a central location, this year being my dining room table, I usually divide Christmas decor into the following categories, each getting their own storage tote:

• Christmas Tree Ornaments
• Decorative Items – things like bells, stockings, skates, etc. 
• Christmas Picks and Stems
• Christmas Garlands

Having it all organized separately will help to give me an idea of where to start next year and also help me when bringing all of the decor up where it will be used to decorate. As always, I take inventory of my decor and decide what items I would like to keep for next year and what items can be donated. If I did not use an item for decorating, it is probably time to donate it!

Well friends, I hope this little guide on how to organize and declutter before the holidays helps to keep your holiday season as stress free and fun as possible! Remember to set realistic timeline goals, take it room by room, and to donate or gift used items or toys. It is okay to not want to be wasteful, but remember that it is okay to let go of items you have not used in the past year. How do you organize and declutter before the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!

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