How to Do an Easy Pre-Christmas Declutter

Lower your stress this year by doing a pre-Christmas declutter.  

Find out which areas you should declutter before the holiday so you can make space to enjoy the holiday season.

Pre-Christmas Declutter

When you’re ready to start decorating for Christmas, it’s the perfect time to also declutter for Christmas.

What to Declutter Before Christmas

To start the season off on the right foot, declutter the areas of your home that will be most impacted by Christmas clutter.

Christmas Decorations

As you pull out your Christmas decorations from storage, declutter the ones that you haven’t used in the past few years.

This is the perfect time to donate Christmas decorations.

Kitchen

An often-overlooked area to declutter before the holidays is the kitchen.  We spend a lot of time in our kitchens during the holidays.  Take some time now to declutter and make room for Christmas cooking.  Declutter things like stadium cups, extra coffee mugs and water bottles, food storage containers without matching lids, and expired food.  This is a good time to go through your spices and seasonings and replace anything that has expired.

Dining Area

If you’re like most families, your dining room table is a catch-all for things you don’t want to put away.  Sort through your papers and miscellaneous clutter and put everything away.  Clear the space for your holiday dishes, platters, and decor.

Family Room

Declutter your coffee table, end tables, shelves, throw blankets, and pillows.  Donate the throw blankets and pillows you don’t use and discard any that are worn.  This will allow you plenty of space to bring out your Christmas throws and pillows and get ready to watch your favorite Christmas movies.

Coat Closets

Decluttering your coat closet is essential for having enough space for guests to hang their coats.  Make sure you have plenty of extra hangers too. If your coat closet is rather small you may want to swap out your summer and fall jackets for your winter ones.  Don’t forget to declutter your shoes and remove any summer flip flops to make room for your winter boots.

Linen Closets

Before hosting guests for the holidays, it’s a really good idea to declutter your linen closets.  Pull everything out and look through your bed linens and bath towels.  Discard anything that looks worn or stained, then make a list to get these items replaced.  Make sure you are fully stocked up on toilet paper, facial tissues, room deodorizers, cleaning products, extra pillows, blankets, and toiletries. It’s a good idea to have a bin of travel items like deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, mouthwash, toothpaste and toothbrushes just in case your guests forgot something.

Toys and Books

Now is the perfect time to let go of toys and books that your kids have outgrown.

Work with your child to declutter the toys and books they no longer need so you can make room for this year’s Christmas presents.

Calendar

Make sure you’re not over-scheduled during the holiday season.  If possible, try to limit the number of commitments you make in December.  We often underestimate how much energy we put into the holidays even if we’re not hosting people in our homes.  

Give yourself time and space to enjoy the season.

Priorities

This is a good time to have a family meeting to talk about what everyone really values during the Christmas season.  

You may think it’s essential to see the Nutcracker every year and you always buy tickets for your family because it’s a tradition.  In reality, your family may not really enjoy going to the ballet every year.  You may be surprised to hear what your kids really love about the holidays.

Find out what’s really special to your family members and eliminate the extras that aren’t necessary.

You’ll save time and money by focusing on what your family truly values.

Resting Area

During the holidays, it’s nice to have a place of refuge.  Take time now to set up a space for yourself to go when you need to rest.

It could be as little as decluttering your nightstand to make space for you to have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine in bed while reading a book.  You could also use your car as a quiet space to have a private phone call.  Whatever your situation, find a space for yourself, and do a few things to make it nice.  During the hustle and bustle of the season you’ll be glad to be able to take a few minutes to relax and unwind.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful clutter and stress-free holiday season.

-Kelli Siebenahler, Gracing My Space