I love decorating for Christmas. But as much as I love decorating, I really love taking everything down. There is just something so fresh and orderly about removing a large amount of clutter from your home that really gets my decluttering bug going!
We are not the family that leaves their Christmas tree and decor up through the New Year. In fact, we have come very close to taking everything down on Christmas night. No joke!
Most years we will have everything taken down, sorted through, organized, and put away by the 27th or 28th of December, depending on when we have family Christmas celebrations scheduled.
When packing away our Christmas decor, we follow a simple 6 step process that helps us purge the unnecessary, organize what we plan to keep, and clean up the house to get ready for the new year.
1. Collect All Decorations
We gather all of our Christmas decorations on our kitchen table from all around the house. This doesn’t include the Christmas ornaments, tree lights, star topper or tree skirt. We pack those away separately.
This allows me to see what I have and what I’m missing. I will automatically purge anything that I don’t LOVE. Those items go in my consignment tub in my laundry room. Everything else gets ready to be packed away by wrapping breakables.
2. Get Rid of Unused Items
We will then bring in our Christmas tubs from the garage. If there is anything left in the tubs that was not put out for Christmas, it gets put in the consignment bin before I store away everything from the table. If I didn’t love it enough this year to put it out, I probably won’t next year either so there is no need to continue to store it.
3. Make A List
As I pack everything away, I keep a post-it note and pen handy. I make note of items I would like to purchase next year. For example:
- If I used up all of my Christmas candles, I will mark down to purchase a couple new ones the following year.
- If I decide to consign my tree skirt, I will make a note that I need to replace that next year.
- If I had a bare spot in my decor that I want to fill, I will make a note of where that spot was with a few ideas of what to look for next year.
Once everything is packed away, I tape this note to the outside of the Christmas bin so that I can easily access it next year when Christmas items go on sale in October and November. Some years, if I’m really on my game, I will look at after Christmas clearance to fill in these gaps and really save big.
{Note: I don’t make Christmas decor purchases every year. If it’s something I need and it’s in the budget, I will probably purchase it. Most years, I’m completely content to put out what I have and already love.}
4. Limit Your Storage Space
I only keep 3 bins in my garage that are dedicated to Christmas decor. This includes everything for our tree, lights for both the tree and those that hang on our house, miscellaneous decor, stockings, etc. I store my Christmas wreaths on top of the bins. If I can’t fit everything into these 3 bins, I start purging more. My house is not huge and there is no need for me to store items that I don’t love and use.
5. Categorize Your Storage
I do my best to store like items together. Everything that goes on our Christmas tree (ornaments, garland, tree skirt, star topper, etc.) gets stored in one bin. All of the lights get stored in another bin. All the rest of the Christmas decor is stored in the third bin. This makes it much easier the following year when we decorate for Christmas.
6. Clean, Clean, Clean!
Once everything is put away, I give the house a good cleaning. I dust the furniture and mop the floors, especially around where our tree was located. This is just the final touch to creating a clutter-free home before the new year begins!
This was super helpful for me. I tend to hold on to decorations year after year even when I know I won’t be using them.
Thanks, Megan! I’m so glad it was helpful to you! I just checked out your website! It’s so nice to get to know someone else who is new to this blogging thing! 🙂 Plus, another teacher!