Holiday Decorations

12.9.19

How exciting, the holiday season is upon us! As you are getting out your boxes and bins of holiday décor and making your homes warm and cozy for the season, I want you to take a good look at what is being left behind in the bottom of those bins. Are there items in your containers that are broken? There is no sense in keeping broking items, as they are taking up precious space. Okay, now broken items are discarded, what else is left? Is there a village that was passed down to you that you just don’t have the space to display it? Consider donating it to a local senior center or community center. If they don’t want it, simply bless someone else so they can enjoy it this holiday season. Keep going through those left-over items in you bins. Why are you keeping items that you are no longer decorating with? Obviously, you don’t love them anymore or else you would find a place to display them. Perhaps you moved and no longer have the “perfect” place to put something. It’s okay to find what works for your new home and let go of the item that no longer works in your current space.

Now that you have reduced the unwanted items and have found just the right places to put the objects that you do love, think about the best way to store everything after the holidays are over. Consider ornament bins, color coded containers, light holders. Remember to label your bins well. I find that a large sharpie and index cards work well. I make two for each bin and write what is in the bin and the room I use the contents in, and then tape it to the front and side of the bin with clear packing tape. Labeling makes it so much easier for the following year to grab the bin you need and place it in the proper room. Added bonus – cleanup will be easier, too. Everything will now have a space and therefore, everything will be in its place.

There have been times when I have dreaded decorating for the holidays because I didn’t have a great system in place. Then, about 10 years ago, I created this process and it has been a game changer. No more bringing every box into the family to unload it all and try to figure out where everything goes.  Another wonder resource is the Complete Guide to Christmas offered by Clutter Keeper!  Their site is a wonderful resource for organizing tips.  In this guide, they also offer a free Christmas Organization Planner.  Be sure to subscribe to their page for even more organizational tips!

Another great idea is to take a picture of your display shelves prior to putting out your holiday decorations. This photo will come in handy after the holidays when you are putting everything back where it goes instead of recreating the display. If you put your décor in the same rooms with the same way each year, take a picture of each room fully decorated. You can print these pictures and store them in their appropriate decoration bins and then the following year, and set up will be a breeze!

I hope this information has inspired you to reduce your excess holiday décor and also that it will make your post-holiday clean up a breeze! Feel free to share any other tips that you may have as well! Happy Holidays!