This post shares the best list of things to declutter before Christmas to help you have a peaceful, relaxing, slow Holiday.
Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed in your own house? Christmas is supposed to be a joyous time of the year. Instead, you find yourself in a rut, consumed with being unable to find what you want when you want it.
This year, choose to be proactive in making your home a peaceful holiday sanctuary by decluttering extra possessions that leave you feeling burnt out.
Here is a room-by-room list to help you declutter your home before Christmas. Now you can unlock the secret to a more restful season.
Before you begin: taking the stress out of decluttering
I get it, the thought of decluttering your entire home before Christmas sounds impossible. But let me assure you, it isn’t. Once you begin on this journey, you will find yourself moving quicker and quicker through the process as you gain confidence in your new skill.
If this is your first time doing a full home declutter, take a deep breath and enjoy the process. Check in with yourself regularly and reflect on how it feels to let things go. Consider taking before and after pictures to help encourage yourself when you need motivation.
If you have already done a full house declutter and are only looking for a few helpful tips, this may just be the place for you! As a self-proclaimed minimalist for the past five years, I have a lot of insight for keeping your house neat and tidy – even while adding a husband and a toddler!
A note to those who feel overwhelmed and guilty
Decluttering can be an overwhelming process, filled with feelings of shame or guilt. Maybe you look around and feel shame for not keeping your home in tip-top shape. Or maybe you feel guilty for getting rid of things that cost money or were gifts.
It’s okay to feel these feelings. However, please don’t give in to them. Use them to spur you on to greatness. Decluttering isn’t just about tidying up—it’s about making room for peace, joy, and the people you love. Letting go of the unnecessary makes space for moments that truly matter this holiday season.
Decluttering home decor
The first thing you will want to do to declutter before Christmas is to take a look at that pesky home decor. For this section, you will mainly be concerned about your living room and dining room, and maybe a multi-purpose room or home office if you have one. Here, you will focus on getting rid of any unwanted clutter to help your home feel more relaxed and ready for Christmas fun.
Follow this list to get started!
Clear the floors
If you want the quickest way to make your home feel less cluttered, look no further than cleaning those floors. For some reason, it is so easy for everyone in the family to leave things everywhere! Take a few minute to pick everything up off the floors. Make sure you are putting things where they belong; or, better yet, start a donate pile and get ready to let go of some things. Once your floors are cleared, give them a good vacuum or mop.
Anything on surfaces must go!
You know how fast things can pile up if you have a coffee table, bookshelf, end table, entertainment center, or anything else with a flat surface. Set a timer and ruthlessly go through everything that sits on your surfaces. Chances are, if something is resting on a surface, it doesn’t have a home. Either find a permanent place for your item to belong, or add it to your donate pile.
Related Post: The Ultimate Thanksgiving Cleaning Checklist You Need
Extra throw pillows, blankets, and knickknacks
I don’t know of a single Christmas where I haven’t received a blanket or some other form of “cozy” home decor. So, before Christmas even has a chance to roll around, consider a big declutter of any extra blankets, throw pillows, or random knickknacks you may have.
Once you have finished with these three steps, take a deep breath and look around. Is your home feeling more peaceful?
Now let’s continue.
Declutter Old Christmas Decorations before you put them out
Every year, we tend to accumulate new Christmas decor. This is normal as styles change and you find new decorations you love and can’t live without. But instead of keeping everything from the last 20 years, consider going through and donating any decoration you own, but wouldn’t buy today.
Once you have paired down on your decorations, have a blast putting them out! You may notice that your home reflects your style more than in years past because you are only putting up what you truly love.
Declutter the garage and storage areas before Christmas
Now that you have some space cleared from where your Christmas decorations once sat, you may feel motivated to clean out some other storage as well. Consider getting rid of any bikes your family has outgrown, or camping gear from that one trip you took 10 years ago.
Feel free to be ruthless when it comes to clearing out your storage areas. For most people, things stored are things forgotten. These are things that are likely to never be used again, so you might as well donate them so they can enjoy a new life with someone else.
Declutter the bedrooms before Christmas
Clear the closets
Christmas is the perfect time to clean out your closet because it falls in the middle of a season. Instead of waiting until the season is over to decide whether you wore something, you can clear up some space in your closet by deciding now. Go through all of your “winter” clothes and ask yourself which ones you truly love and would buy again today if you saw them in a store. Go ahead and let everything else go.
Clean out the kids toys
Kids accumulate so many toys so quickly! Before you have an influx of new toys come into your home, go through and get rid of anything your children have outgrown. If there are any broken toys, you can also let those go. And if there are toys you never see your kids play with, you can donate those with confidence.
Declutter the bathrooms before Christmas
Although you may not think you need to declutter your bathroom before Christmas, I’m here to show you why it’s a necessity.
Clutter tends to accumulate so quickly in the bathroom. Anything from skincare to razors to styling tools and so much more are constantly brought in. Take some time to go through each of these following categories and declutter anything that no longer serves you.
- Makeup – throw out any expired products and only keep ones you love
- Hair care – only keep the items you regularly use
- Feminine products – don’t feel compelled to keep products you loved five years ago but no longer use
Declutter the Kitchen the week before Christmas
One thing you can count on with Christmas is lots of yummy food in your tummy. Whether you are a baking fanatic or tend to burn everything you touch, chances are, your kitchen requires a good declutter.
Cupboards and drawers
Now is a good time to go through all of your cupboards and drawers and declutter anything that you haven’t used in a while.
Pantry
Before you bring in a bunch of new baking ingredients and savory snacks, consider doing a full pantry declutter. Throw out anything that is past the date. Consider donating non-perishable goods to your local food pantry if you know you won’t use them. Finally, get rid of any ingredients that were a one-off purchase that you don’t know how to use.
Once you’ve cleared everything out, take some time to organize it when putting it back. Make a note of what ingredients you have and what you still need before doing any more Christmas shopping.
Fridge
Right before Christmas, you’ll want to declutter and clean out your fridge so that you’ll have room for all those tasty leftovers. Look through everything and throw out anything that is expired. I’m always surprised by my condiments’ short expiration dates. Make a plan to eat up anything perishable before Christmas so that you have maximum storage for pre-Christmas ingredients and after-Christmas delights.
Related post: Christian Minimalism: How a Popular Concept Points to God
Well, there you have it: a complete guide to help you declutter your house before Christmas! Comment below on where you plan to start!
