Holidays can be a hard time for a lot of us and if that is the case for you make sure you are extra kind to yourself. There have been a lot of changes in my family which has made it difficult for me as well. I have really just focused on the blessings in my life and I am so grateful every day for love, good health and for you. I love this work!
If you are having trouble getting Organized after the Holidays, I have a few tips for you:
Gift Wrap
If you are done with all of the gift wrapping or have a few more to do (like I did – I finished yesterday) then you can put all of it away. Think about your system for how you store it away. I have rolls of wrapping paper from years ago that is slowly getting smaller. There is a spot under my stairwell where they fit perfectly. All of my other wrapping items (tissue and bags) live in a big shopping bag.
Tip: Take the tissue out of the gift bags. If it is still good fold it up and if not throw it out. Fold up your gift bags that are still in good condition to be used for next year. Store all in a shopping bag or a box.
Christmas Cards
I usually get a few cards. Always a surprise as I don’t give many out myself. The last few years I kept them and cut out the pretty pics to use for gift tags. This year I didn’t use any gift tags. I love to keep my cards to look at the next year when it’s time to get out the Christmas Decor. Old Christmas cards have come in handy for arts and crafts with my grands. So fun!
Christmas Tree
How long do you keep up your tree? I have always kept mine up until after New Year. They are so pretty and I could leave Christmas lights on for many months. Are there a lot of ornaments you are not using? It can be a good time to decide what you don’t need or want moving forward. However, this might not be the best time to donate. What about putting them in a bag marked “donate” for next year when you open up that decoration box? Hmmm? I think I will do that as well.
I bought a small tree this year from Michaels (a Craft Store) and I just love it. My bigger tree was donated a couple of months ago and I hope it went to someone in need.
What are your best tips or Organizing After the Holidays? Please share in the comments below
My best tip is to put everything away before you are tired of looking at it, and try to enjoy this part of the process too. Not only is it more fun, but you’re less likely to rush because you want to get it over with, and something gets damaged.
Love this tip Janet – I actually look forward to putting everything away neatly, seeing what I have and having it ready for the next year. I have actually paired it down quite a bit.
I don’t decorate for the holidays, but I believe there are only two ways to go at it, full-throttle or gently. In the former, you have an all-hands-on-deck morning where everyone in the family, perhaps in their jammies, has a big, delightful breakfast and then give them assignments for clearing everything away. You can make it fun by playing “anti-holiday” music — summer tunes, or TV theme songs or something that signifies that the holidays are over. Conversely, the gentle approach has you hitting one small category each day: taking down ornaments one day, packing them away in the garage/basement/attic the next, then getting the tree down, and so on. This has the advantage of not taxing you, and makes that sense of holiday vs. everything being over less abrupt.
I definitely agree about getting the wrapping supplies put away ASAP!
Thanks Julie – I think I definitely like the gentle approach and I have always preferred doing it myself and putting everything away in a neat and tidy fashion.
I keep my wrapping paper in a tall but narrow box along with rolled up posters and tension rods. Tissue paper, paper gift bags and heavier paper for wrapping glassware or other fragile items goes into a zipped material bag with handles. I sometimes will decorate a few items and a small tree or bring out the big tree as well. I have lots of great vintage ornaments that have been passed down, sterling silver snowflakes, Swarovski crystal ones, Avon, etc and it is nice to see them fully decorate a tree.
I do not entertain a lot in my apartment so the decorating is usually for me. One the holiday is over I usually take the next day or the day after to un decorate and put everything away. I like to have the room back since I like to take the end of the year to do a deep clean and organize things to start the new year off with a clean slate.
And with Christmas cards, I sometimes cut off and keep the front covers. I will scan onto card stock and make new cards out of some of them if they have a very witty saying or extremely funny. Otherwise I recycle what I can and throw away any with glitter all over them.
Hi Rob,
I love how well you honour and take care of your precious ornaments and decorations. Thanks so much for your comment 🙂