It's the most wonderful time of the year! And for me, it really is. I love the holiday spirit and cheer. And although December is in many ways the saddest time of year (cold, fewer daylight hours, and a lack of work & money for many), the fact is that society bands together during this time to spread light, gifts, food, music, and joy. THAT gives me hope in humanity.
However, in the process of trying to spread all this light, gifts, food, music, and joy... we tend to accumulate a lot of clutter and usually participate in thoughtless consumerism. In this post, I'll be addressing the mountains of holiday décor that can accumulate in our homes.
Two Tips for Minimalizing Holiday Décor Clutter
My two tips are (1) only keep the amount of décor that you can store guilt-free and (2) only keep as much décor as you actually put out each year. Now I will go into depth into what each of these two tips mean and how to apply them effectively:
1. Only Keep What You Can Store Guilt-Free
If you feel bad every time you walk into your garage all year round because it is half full of Christmas décor, then that is a sure way to make Christmas decorating a whole lot less cheery. Make sure your décor is adding joy to your of life like it is supposed to, rather than sucking the soul out of you like a ghost of Christmas past.
A few key rules for making sure you are storing your decorations guilt-free are:
Don't pay extra money to store your holiday décor (no special holiday storage units allowed).
Don't sacrifice space for something more important to you (like your parking spot or home office).
It should be fairly painless to get out and put away the décor each year. If you have to do gymnastic stunts on a ladder or crawl through the candy cane forest (a.k.a. your attic) to get ready for the holidays, then you're doing it wrong.
If you are breaking any of these 3 rules, it's the year to do some serious paring down. (There are some exceptions of course, but if you struggle with clutter and are reading this post, I doubt you are one of them.)
If you agree that you are breaking one or more of these rules and that you need to downscale your holiday decorations, then make sure to read my tips for "How to Declutter Holiday Décor" after reading tip #2 below.
2. Only Keep What You Actually Put Out Each Year
If you aren't breaking any of the three rules above, that doesn't mean you don't have any décor clutter. It just means that you are not raging out of control. You could probably still use some paring down in order to simplify your holiday decorating time.
This tip means that what you put out, is all you keep. So, if you can't find a spot in the house for that big nativity set or 3rd miniature Christmas tree, then it has to go. Unless you don't struggle with clutter or you need extra décor for your job, you should not have things left in those red and green totes after your decorating has been done.
Now, this DOES NOT MEAN you have to get rid of your favorite or sentimental items, on the contrary. This means you must find places to display what you care about and truly love and let the rest go.
How to Declutter Holiday Décor
Following the general principle of tip #2, as you decorate this holiday season, make sure the items you really care about and love are put out first in places that make you the happiest. Then fill in the gaps with pretty pieces you also enjoy. When the empty spaces are all used up and you like the way it looks, go back to all the décor you have left and... let it go.
If you are having a hard time letting something go, here are a few tips to help:
Could you gift this item to someone who has less than you or who would appreciate it more?
Could you donate it to a local charity that will give it to someone who has no holiday décor this season?
Remind yourself that it did not make the "love/sentimental" list and it just does not fit in your house or with the rest of your decorations. There is no reason to keep décor you are not going to put up. It is just costing you emotional energy and physical space.
If you don't want to let it go because it was expensive or you feel like you just bought it, remember that the money was already spent and you cannot get it back now by keeping it in its box.
Let me know what tips from this post helped you the most in the comments below!
Want to help others reduce clutter this year? Help by not GIVING more clutter as gifts. In my Low-Clutter Gift Giving Guide, I address the clutter we give as gifts during the holidays and what you can do to reduce it.
Happy Decorating!
~ Elena
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