With Christmas over and a new year approaching, decluttering after Christmas is an ideal time to re-evaluate what you have and what you can dispose of or give away.
Christmas decorations (which didn’t get put up), are an ideal first casualty in the decluttering after Christmas war.
Use storage boxes
Clear storage boxes with lids are ideal for Christmas decorations. You can see through them so you know what you have.
Before putting them away, clear out the old and out of fashion decorations.This helps to keep the boxes uncluttered and free of old decorations which you know will never be used again.
Evaluate your storage space
Getting your Christmas decorations down from the loft or out of the garage or shed, is an ideal time to evaluate where and how you should store them.
If you have just ‘dumped’ them there, try to re-organise. Getting rid of unused items should also free up some space and you would be so much more organised for next year.
Wrapping paper, boxes, bags and labels
Wrapping paper and containers for presents which didn’t get are ideal to keep for next year.
I know I shouldn’t be encouraging you to keep stuff when I’m writing a piece about getting rid of items you no longer use. But this will save you time and money in the long run.
Present bags and boxes are ideal to keep and keep using over and over again for years. You can store the present or bottle bags in the boxes you are keeping to use up valuable space.
It makes sense to keep present bags in these boxes as it makes it easier to identify for next year
Wrapping paper can be stored in clear wrapping paper containers. These are readily available on Amazon and as they are clear you can see whether they are for birthdays or Christmas.
These containers protect the easily damaged paper from being damaged and stored very effectively for next year.
Presents and gifts
As we receive our gifts over Christmas, this is an ideal time to dispose of or give away items we no longer use.
As most of us have a few days off over Christmas, this is an ideal time to go through what you do not need and free up spaces in our wardrobes, cupboards and drawers.
Sock drawers are a great example of clearing out the old socks which have built up over time.
As most of us will receive similar gifts like these, clearing these out will make you feel good about your new items.
Wardrobes and drawers.
Check for old clothes no longer worn. Decluttering after Christmas for these items will provide you with more space for your new clothes.
Just putting new clothes into already jammed wardrobes will not help your ability to identify items you need to wear. You will simply forget about them as you cannot find them.
Electronics and gadgets
We live in a world dominated by electronic gadgets.
These electronic items are mostly stored in cupboards and drawers, so are easily forgotten.
Old phones and chargers are a great example that people seem to keep for posterity reasons. We feel attached to keep because, quite frankly, they have been attached to us for so long.
You can get money back on valuable electronics like mobile phones, through various high street shops in the UK. This is a great way to declutter and earn money at the same time.
Electronics should be recycled because of their components, you cannot simply throw these away. You will have to take it to your recycling depot.
Simply get a cardboard box and store them in there, ready for disposal. Just make sure you have ‘wiped’ any personal information from them.
Children’s toys and games
Childrens toys are an ongoing annual event. Decluttering these are also ongoing event throughout the year.
Children get toys for birthdays and Christmas and generally when adults are feeling generous.
Anyone with small children will know how cluttered their toys and games get.
Broken or old toys should be removed without the children seeing you do it.
As new toys replace the old around Christmas, children will focus on their shiny new toy. This is an ideal time to dispose of unwanted toys.
One trick to use when clearing out old toys, is to keep them elsewhere ready for disposal.
If the child cries out about missing their favourite or old toy, you can simply say you’ve found it and put it back.
Food and drink
As we eat our way through the festive season, this gives us an opportunity to clear out old food from storage cupboards and freezers.
Freezers are a particular culprit in storing food which is out of date and lurking in back of the freezer.
You cannot freeze food forever, it will go out of date. If that’s the case, you need to dispose of it.
Sauces, pickles and storage jars. So if you have more than one of the same type, empty the contents into the same jar, freeing up space.
This saves from having multiple jars clogging up valuable space.
Finally, use your time effectively. If you have spare days whilst not at work, this is the time to get decluttering after Christmas and ready for the new year.
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