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8 Killer Hacks for Getting Organized After Christmas

The holidays are a joyous time with family and friends, but that seasonal glow can fade quickly when you’re faced with the aftermath: a house to clean up once all your guests have left. Getting your place back into shape can be a daunting task, but if you want to swing into the coming year with a clutter-free home try these tips to cut clutter and start the New Year on an organized note.

We hope you had the most Amazing Christmas this year. One of my resolutions for this year is to be more organized.  As another year comes to a close, I decided now is the perfect time to get a jump start on my goal. While I absolutely adore decorating my home for the holidays, I’m starting to feel a bit over-cluttered in my home.  Moreover, I’ve started to feel some anxiety on where I should start my Christmas de-cluttering adventure. There’s just so much to sort through and organize!  Whenever I feel overwhelmed by tasks such as this, I like to break it apart into bite-sized, easier to handle pieces.

 Step One for Getting Organized After Christmas: Disassemble the tree

This always makes my heart so sad.  My family and I enjoy putting up the tree every year.   This year was particularly special for me because my parents come down to Texas from Illinois and helped us decorate the tree.   Save yourself a headache next year and take the time to properly put away all your ornaments.  Use the original boxes and utilize helpful organization elements, such as our Amazing dish packs, which are quite handy for storing ornaments. Use as much care taking your tree down as you did putting it up to save you some headaches next year.

Keep Christmas lights from tangling by wrapping them around the empty tubes from your wrapping paper. Loop the cord around the roll, starting with the side opposite to the plug, then insert the plug into the tube’s opening. If you’ve already thrown away your gift wrap tubes, paper towel tubes work, too. You can repurpose used wrapping and tissue paper (if you haven’t recycled it yet) to wrap around them as you store them neatly into their boxes.

Take Down Decorations Room by Room

I like start in the center of the chaos (my living room, where our tree is) and work my way around in a circle.  I start in my living room and work my way around to each bedroom, the bathrooms, hallways, and the kitchen.  Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day and you can do a little at a time. That’s the beauty of starting early.  Once again, taking the time to put everything away properly will make next year’s Christmas all the more Amazing.

Remove linens, towels, etc and wash

Is there life after laundry? Make sure to get those Christmas towels, place settings, napkins, table runners, rugs, and so on into a good wash.

Take down Christmas cards

I love receiving Christmas cards and try to keep them out as long as possible.  I can’t stand throwing them all away, so I always look for ways to recycle or reuse them.  Martha Stewart outlines a few of my favorite ways to reuse Christmas cards.

 Take down the outdoor decorations

This can be quite difficult, depending on the amount of effort you put into your outdoor Christmas displays. Make sure to roll the cords correctly and keep extra bulbs handy.  Replace any bulbs so the lights will be ready to go next year.  Use boxes and bins to help store these items and make them easier to stack.  An extra-large box will help store any blow-up or awkwardly shaped item.

 Use this time to get rid of what you don’t need

Did you get some great new gifts for your kitchen or other places in the house? Wonderful! Although you probably don’t need two knife sets or three pairs of house shoes lying around. Either discard old ones or donate them if they’re still in good condition. If you have kids consider donating that old pajama set that was recently replaced by a brand new one (thanks, grandma!)
This is also a great time to consider re-gifting those “really, you shouldn’t have!” gifts. Hold an after-Christmas White Elephant exchange. Are you inviting friends for New Year’s Eve? Maybe you’re hosting a Super Bowl party this year? Ask everyone to bring a wrapped white elephant for a post-Christmas gift exchange. Stuck with unneeded or already read books? Consider an online swap! Websites like Paperback Swap and Book Mooch make it easy to turn that book into a welcome read.

 Clear the fridge

Fairly soon the Christmas feasts and treats will no longer edible and must be tossed away.  If your Christmas was anything like mine, your fridge (and stomach) was frequently used and abused. Start fresh in 2018 and clean out your fridge. Go the extra mile by using a vinegar solution (or your favorite cleaning solution) to freshen and clean your fridge.

 Put items into storage

The final step in clearing away the Christmas clutter: put it away!  If you followed the previous steps, you should be well-equipped in this step.  Everything should be neat, easily stackable, and safely snuggled into their boxes. Whether you have your own storage area in your home or need to use a self-storage space as an extension of your home, be sure to utilize climate controlling. Many of these items will be affected by the high and low temperatures and other elements.