Cleaning up Your Decorations After the Holidays: Do’s and Don’ts

The holiday season was a wonderful time for all of us. Amongst the noise, the stress, the holiday rush, emotional tears of joy and confusion, we loved every piece of the celebration. We hope that you did, too. Most of us are probably cleaning up, which is not usually a top activity in our wish lists, but a great way to begin the new year anew.

It’s time to get up from that cozy couch and toss the wine glass at the sink to get the house back in shape. Before you know it, you’ll have the kitchen and the rest of the house cleaned and your decorations stored for 2017’s celebrations. Here are some tips to follow and to avoid when cleaning up your homes for this New Year.

Get One, Toss Two: Santa’s Rule

This simple packing idea would be a powerful way to declutter and cut down on accessories inside your home especially with holiday gift stack at your Christmas tree. For every gift that you receive, you should toss two counterparts to storage unless it is being utilised every day. As you put away holiday decorations and gifts, give some extra room for the new things that you have received during the holidays. If you received new vases for Christmas, you can tuck in two of your older vases to the storage area. Received a new jacket? Toss two of your older or rarely used jackets to your donation bag. Whether you store, donate, or sell extra accessories and items in your home, you end up reducing clutter at home and disconnecting from your material possessions.

Mailing Box Challenge

The goal for this activity would be filling every mailing box with suitable items for donations, items that can be recycled, and items that can be stored. Most of your decorations for this year’s celebration will most likely land on the mailing box for storage. Items that are staples for certain seasons can be stored for later use to avoid buying new ones. The box for donation is the one where you can stuff your things that have been hanging around your closet or storage rooms for years but are not being used anymore or remain to be unused.

Sort Before You Store

The most important thing to avoid when storing your holiday decorations is to avoid stashing everything carelessly. During this time of the year, everyone seems to be too eager to finish up clearing things up and getting back to their normal schedule. To start the year right, sorting out everything inside your home — things to keep, donate and store — should be marked properly to make it easier to get them whenever their services are required.

Patiently storing and clearing your holiday decorations and gifts is not as hard as you think it is. It is all worth it if you would want to start your year refreshed and right this 2017.