Clutter Free Christmas Decorating Ideas

How to Prepare and Have A Clutter Free Christmas

It's inevitable… you will have clutter during Christmas. Holiday decorations, lovely Christmas gifts, unwanted Christmas gifts, Christmas cards, layers of winter clothing, full schedules… some of it is cozy, and some of it is unwanted chaos. There are measures that you can take to have a clutter free Christmas.

Use my tips and get prepared before the holidays. Christmas is the most wonderful and most stressful time of the year. Let's cut the clutter beforehand and make it a more joyous holiday than ever.

Steps For A Clutter Free Christmas

Declutter your whole house
Declutter all toys
Declutter decor as you bring it out
Declutter your summer and winter wardrobe
Make a Christmas list for everyone in the family
Have a spot for new gifts
Sort through new gifts and give them a new home

simplify christmas

Declutter Your Whole House

Ultimately, you want to be able to declutter your whole house before Christmas comes around. Starting this in early fall will help give you plenty of time to get this done. You'll want to clear out the clutter that crept in during the summer months. Plus, keep in mind that new things will be coming into your home.

Having empty, white space, in your home will allow for those new Christmas gifts to find a place to live. I once squeezed new items into places they didn't fit or let them sit out for months before they found a home.

If you declutter beforehand, you won't have to deal with the stress of the Christmas mess lingering in your house.

I know decluttering your whole house can seem a bit overwhelming so I have two suggestions.

Read my Declutter Handbook – Your Honest Guide to Decluttering You Whole House In Your Own Time. This ebook will give you all the information you need to get you started and see you through the whole decluttering process.
Focus on something smaller than your whole house. That is why I mentioned some specific areas above, that you should declutter so that you can have a clutter free Christmas.

Declutter All Toys

If you have young kids this is probably what will come into your house the most. I have a daughter and she is currently the only grandkid on both sides of the family. We live close to all grandparents and aunts and uncles. They will all get her a present, plus the other family and friends that love her dearly. They can't help it. Plus, her birthday is in early January so a toy declutter is a must before Christmas hits.

Declutter your kid's toys and be ruthless. You are going to need room for the new things and I don't know about you but toys out and about in the house drives me nuts.

Keep the things your kids love and get rid of the rest. I'm sure there are some kids out there that would love to receive your kids barely used toys for Christmas. Kids that otherwise wouldn't be getting anything.

I have some specific tips on decluttering toys that you should read as well.

Declutter Decor

This year when you are putting up your Christmas decor, really put a lot of thought into each item. Try to only put out what really gets you into the Christmas spirit. Then, donate the rest.

By limiting your Christmas decorations you will have a more clutter-free home during Christmas and there will be less to clean up after the holidays.

If you love a piece, keep it, and proudly display it.

If you have decor that you put out because you will feel obligated to, then get rid of it. You may have decorations that you put out just because you do every year, but in all reality, you don't actually enjoy it that much. You don't HAVE to set those things out.

Also, I am extremely guilty of having decorations that have sat in the bottom of a box, year after year. I should get rid of those things and so should you. I can't even give you a reason as to why I still have those pieces. This year I'm going to get rid of them and focus on having a clutter-free Christmas.

Do your self a favor and get some nice storage bins for your Christmas decorations.

You can use this storage bag to keep your Christmas Tree in.
I use one of these storage bags to keep my ornaments in.
Use this storage solution for your wreaths
Keep your wrapping paper tidy with this zip-up organizer or this over the door hanger

Declutter Your Summer and Winter Wardrobe

It's important to consistently go through your wardrobe each season. Get this done before Christmas, and you will have more room for any new clothing. Plus, you will set your self up for dressing success (is that a thing?) when the warm weather hits again.

Go through your clothes and get rid of anything you did not wear throughout the spring and summer months. If you didn't wear it this season there is an even smaller chance that you will wear it next year.
Go through your winter wardrobe and get rid of anything that doesn't fit, is worn out, or that you absolutely know you won't wear.

Read more about decluttering your wardrobe.

Limit The Number Of Gifts Coming In

Consider talking to your family and friends about doing gifts differently this year. Maybe a small white elephant gift exchange instead of buying for each person in the family.

Here are some other tips for limiting gifts:

draw names with extended family so you're not getting something (or buying something) for everyone
request that your children get only one toy or an experience gift
chat with your spouse about not getting each other gifts or getting something nice together
go on a family trip instead of buying everyone gifts

Make A Christmas List For Everyone In the Family

When you are going to stick to giving and receiving gifts, a list will keep you from impulse buying and will limit the number of items about to clutter up your home.

This is something that is often hard for me. I don't have any trouble telling my mom and my husband what I want for Christmas, but beyond that, I don't ever want anyone to feel like they have to get me something from the list.

With this being said I have slowly come to realize that making a list can be better for everyone involved. You will get things that you know you will use. Your friends or family can get you something they know you will enjoy.

As I've started to declutter more and more I think my family doesn't know what to get me because they think I'll throw their gift away. I totally see where they are coming from. This is why making a list and actually giving it to people can be helpful. This is possibly the most important step towards a clutter-free Christmas.

2 Tips For Making A Christmas List

Write down all the things you think each person needs. New jeans, shoes, a coat, etc.
Add items that each person wants. Fun items that they would use often.

Examples of practical fun items:

My husbands like to play PlayStation games so a nice set of headphones would get some good use.
My 2-year-old is really active and likes to create. Something like paints would be more useful than an average toy. Here is a whole list of ideas for kids.

The key here is to not buy yourself and your family everything you need or want when you want it. Do without it until others can give it to you as a gift. Then you will be receiving gifts you actually want, and others will be giving you something meaningful.

Have A Spot For New Gifts

Have a place cleared out in your home that you can house Christmas gifts, right as they come in. For me, this will be my dining room table.

The idea is to have an open space where you can go through each item and decide what to do with it. The idea is NOT to let it stay on your dining room table for a month.

Since you will have a (mostly) clutter free home, it will be easy to put these items in their permanent home.

Sort Through New Gifts And Give Them A New Home

Piggybacking on the last idea… make sure that each new item gets a new home. In a perfect world, each item will fit perfectly into an open space in your home.

Realistically, this might not be the case. Even though you worked really hard to have a clutter free Christmas it may still happen. You may get all of your new gifts and feel like you don't have room for everything. That is when it's time to evaluate and to do a little extra decluttering.

Continue to declutter until you have room for each new item.

OR… consider not keeping some of your new things. I know that seems a bit extreme and you may feel bad for getting rid of something that someone just gave you. But if it's not something you are going to use then pass it on to someone who will. It's still the giving season and you can use your new gifts to spread some joy to someone who may have been forgotten this Christmas.

Are Minimalist Oversimplifying Christmas?

Gifts For Her – To Help Her Simplify

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Here are some more ideas for simplifying your home.

My main passion is helping women build systems and routines that make homemaking simple. I find this possible through simplifying life, decluttering, and building routines that work for your household.

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