Purging your holiday clutter before the actual holiday rather than after is a good idea for several reasons. Getting better organized can help reduce the stress of the holidays and can help both the holiday celebrations and pre-holiday planning run more smoothly. Getting rid of visual clutter can make you feel calmer regardless of what else is going on (I know it does for me!). It?s also a good idea to free up space for the gifts you will be receiving ? an avalanche of them if you have kids at home. How to do it? Start with the basics.
Remove non-holiday related clutter.
I hope that you?ve been keeping up on sorting papers and getting toys put away; these two areas are a struggle in our house but maintaining these two categories seems to have the most impact in our home visually. If you?ve let it slide, get to it before bringing out the holiday decorations! You want beauty, not more chaos.
Check out these Christmas Organizers
On to the decorations.
I like to take everything out and sort the decorations. Get rid of any that are broken, unless very sentimental or truly irreplaceable (e.g baby?s foot- or hand-print). Get the ?keeper? broken ones fixed! If they?re precious enough to keep, honor them by displaying them.
Have any decorations outlived their usefulness to you but could still benefit someone else? For example, I bought a large box of Christmas cards many years ago that are all the same card. It?s about time they blessed someone else and my Christmas card recipients received something new (how embarrassing!).
Have a lot of scrapbook or craft supplies? How about using some to make custom cards for close friends and relatives? Put the kids to work, too. In my experience, kids love to make hand-made cards!
Do your decorations still match your tastes or other home decor? Have you been keeping boxes of decorations that you used to use but that no longer fit your life? Pass them on! As I?ve gotten older and have gotten to know myself better, I?ve realized that I really like the bright, rich colors and don?t really want to have just the traditional red and gold around Christmas time. I think that it looks stately and clean but I want a little more pizzazz, a little more pop, so have added in blue and purple decorations. The glass tree balls are so inexpensive, you could pass on the colors that no longer work for you and try out some new ones.
Finally, the biggie ? toys.
You know that the kids are going to get way too many presents, regardless of how many times you tell the extended family not to buy so much. Plan for it now. Go through things on your own for little kids (so they don?t start playing with everything that you?re trying to get rid of) and together with the bigger kids. The older kids may even be enticed into letting more go by offering to list items on Craigslist and giving them the money. You could also box up possible giving-away toys until after the holidays, then let the child pick what gifts they would prefer to keep out of everything, just in case you get a lot of lame duck gifts.
Remember that your goal in the long run is to make life easier and your home less stressful. Even on days where you don?t have a lot of time, see if you can get rid of just 5 things or even 1 if that?s all you see. Even just get a box set up to hold items that are leaving. Baby steps started early will see you to a happier, more relaxed holiday season.
What else do you let go of at this time of year?
Source: http://thehouseholdhelper.com/seasonal/purging-holiday-clutter-before-the-holiday-gets-rolling/
dj am bully bohemian rhapsody bohemian rhapsody spike lee carson daly heejun han
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.