6 Quick and Easy Steps to Declutter Before the Holidays

The holidays are just around the corner, and as you shop for and cook your Thanksgiving feast and prepare to put up Christmas or Hanukkah decorations, you'll enjoy it all even more if you do a quick clear-out while you have the chance.

Not only can you make room for the Christmas tree, but you can help the whole family feel less overwhelmed by holiday bustle, and give yourself more space to savor what the season has to offer.  You'll feel better prepared for holiday guests, and more ready for a fun and relaxed celebration.

I know you're extra-busy, so this is not an intense purge.  It's a quick, refreshing chance to set the stage, with the added benefit of beginning the New Year with less clutter and more freedom.

So set aside 15-30 minutes for each step in the process, and let your success in one area carry you to the next with renewed energy!

The quick clear-out

1.  Start in the kitchen.

Many holiday traditions involve food.  Crowded counters and crammed, hard-to-access cupboards can steal some of the joy from preparing your special dishes, so make meal and treat preparation much easier by doing a quick purge to reset your kitchen.  It's worth the time to make your space roomier and more inviting.

• Throw away old foods from the refrigerator as you empty it completely.  Mix 1 cup hot water, 1/2 cup white vinegar, and 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (or 10-15 drops lemon essential oil) in a spray bottle.  Spray inside the fridge, let sit for a couple of minutes, then wipe with a damp cloth.  Restock only with what you use, plus a fresh box of baking soda.  (You probably don't need four types of barbecue sauce or three types of mustard!)

• Clear the old notes and photos from the refrigerator door, then spray and wipe it with your cleanser.  Leave the door bare.

• Quickly remove the following:  5 mugs; 4 old storage containers; 3 single-use gadgets; 2 excess serving pieces or table linens; 1 under-used small appliance or piece of cookware.  If you have time, cycle through that list again.  Clean your countertops with the lemon spray.

• Clear the pantry of foods past their expiration date and foods you're never going to eat.  Toss the outdated, and give usable items to a food bank.  Don't forget to remove faded spices (older than two years), but only replace what you use regularly!  That dried fenugreek you bought for one Indian dish last year (and used just 1/4 teaspoon) doesn't qualify.

2.  Welcome guests.

Even if you aren't housing overnight guests, you'll want to be ready when your neighbor drops by or your cousin brings his fiancé to dinner.

• Clear out the coat closet and donate excess cold-weather gear.  Add more hangers if necessary, hooks for bags and umbrellas, and a shoe rack for outdoor shoes.*

• Inspect the linen closet.  Repurpose stained and frayed items (pet shelters welcome old towels), donate duplicates, and wash or air out items you haven't used since last winter.

• Make space in the guest closet for a luggage rack and a few empty hangers.  Clear out hobby supplies you haven't used in years and storage boxes you never open.

• Stock up on tea bags, cocoa packets, honey sticks, peppermint stirrers, and an insulated carafe for hot water.  Simply boil the kettle and serve your guest.

* This blog is powered by reader support.  If you buy through my links, I may earn a small commission.

3.  Refresh the bathroom.

In the bathroom, pristine and uncluttered beats grungy and crowded every time.

• Dump half-used products down the drain (where they'd go anyway) and recycle the bottles.

• Discard unused or expired medications in a sealed bag mixed with coffee grounds or kitty litter to discourage scavengers.

• Toss old makeup and simplify your routine.  Do you use three types of foundation or five colors of lipstick?  Keep only your favorites.

• Use your nice towels and get rid of the mismatched junk.

• Clear the counter of all but hand soap and maybe a plant.  Store the products you use every day in the space you made by decluttering.  

4.  Get ready to live in your living room.

For many of us, the living room has become the space where we watch TV.  At least for the holidays, wouldn't you rather encourage conversation, games, reading, and listening to music?

• Permanently remove one piece of furniture to make the room more spacious.  Consider the chair no one likes to sit in, the desk that's a constant pile of clutter, or the extra bookcase.

• Arrange the seating to face each other instead of the television.  The TV is there, but not the center of attention.  Place a low table in the center of the conversation group.

• Declutter 10 or more games, CDs, DVDs, and/or Blu-ray discs you no longer play or watch.

• Fill a basket with holiday books.  Plan to visit your library.

• Remove all knickknacks and clean all flat surfaces.  Maybe it's time to let go of items you barely notice any more!  Leave end tables bare except for lamps.  Choose one item, such as a tray of gourds and pinecones, to decorate the coffee table.  (Change to a blooming poinsettia or something else after Thanksgiving.)  Decorate the mantel or sideboard with several candles and a garland of autumn leaves.  After Thanksgiving, remove the leaves and add one favorite collection, such as the crèche set or your Santa figurines.  Toss a holiday pillow or two, decorate the Christmas tree, and call it done!

5.  Streamline your wardrobe.

Make getting dressed each morning or ready for evening activities much simpler when you pare your wardrobe to pieces you actually use because they make you feel attractive and confident.

• Toss hopelessly stained, ripped, faded, and stretched-out clothing, or cut up for rags.

• Donate clothes that don't fit.  This includes clothing you could wear if only you lost that extra 20 pounds.

• Consign or donate clothes you've never worn.  (You can see tags hanging.)

• Remove items you haven't worn in two years or more.  There's probably a reason for that, and they're just taking up space.

• Donate shoes that hurt your feet.

6.  Simplify your children's spaces.

Much of holiday gift-giving centers on children, and that's wonderful.  You can increase your kids' pleasure in new toys and clothes by teaching them to purge some of the old now.  I just published a fairly comprehensive guide to reducing your children's toy stash, and you can go that route if you have an hour or more to spare.  But if all you have is 30 minutes, be sure to do the easy stuff.

• Throw out trash – toys that are broken, tattered, missing pieces, unrepairable.

• Toss the freebies that came with kid's meals, as party favors, from the dentist or pediatrician, etc.

• Trash hopelessly stained or ripped clothing and pack up the summer pieces that are in good condition.  You can either save those for a younger child or donate them.

• Sort what remains, like with like, if you have time, or if your children can do it themselves.  Put things away in bins, baskets, or repurposed shipping boxes.  Items will be neater, easier to find, and simpler to put away.

• Wash and donate toys that have been outgrown or neglected as you come across them.  They'll be appreciated by a daycare center, preschool, or family homeless shelter.

A decluttering checklist

You can use this decluttering checklist whenever you see clutter creeping back.  And if you have time and energy to do even more, use this weekend declutter guide, remove these 20 things you probably own too many of, or try some five-minute minimalism.

As you clear things from your home, remember to focus on what you're making room for.  Take just 15-30 minutes a day so you can celebrate with a lighter home and a brighter outlook, and get a head start on a New Year of being satisfied with less.

Subscribe to receive the free printable checklist

6 Quick and Easy Ways to Declutter Before the Holidays