What to do with the after-Christmas clutter? DIVIDE AND CONQUER!1. Make piles and then put them away. One for trash. One for recycled paper, bows and tags. One for presents of each family member. One for food items. One for returns. And then after step 2, one for Goodwill.
2. Clean out old to make room for the new. As you put all the stuff from step 1 away, take note of what you already have. For example, if you got a book for Christmas, take one book out of the bookcase you don't want or need and put it in the Goodwill pile. If your kids got a ton of stocking stuffers, take that basket full of little "stuff" from their room and find a new home for it. Take a good look at EVERYTHING before you go out and buy more storage for more stuff. You'll be suprised at what you have and what you won't mind parting with.
3. Put some away for later. Do your kids really need all these presents all at once? It's a long year until next Christmas and a wise mom would stash some away when the "boredom bug" hits in a couple months. Or put away their old toys, and bring them out again, and they'll be new! And hide some of that candy and chocolate- once the family gets back into "the grind" after the holidays, you're gonna need it!
4. Don't clean until after the decorations are put away. Put them away first, and then clean away. It will feel SO GOOD having your space back to normal and you will be motivated and it will be a breeze to clean once you follow the first three steps!
Image from Better Homes and Gardens
great tips!!
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