Christmas is over—it all seems a tad bittersweet, right? Managing Christmas clean up in your home can seem like an undesirable, daunting task. After all, you’ve spent countless days (or even months) choosing the perfect gifts, decorating, and making the holiday memorable. Now it’s time to get out of Christmas celebration mode, whether you’re truly ready or not.

Tackle Christmas Clutter

Don’t procrastinate and psych yourself out! As much as you want to curl up on the couch and forget the mess for days or weeks, it’s best to tackle Christmas clutter now.

1. Wrapping Paper and Gift Box Mayhem: After the unwrapping explosion on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, it may be hard to navigate your living room! First, get a bag or a large box to sort out any recyclables that got left behind. Next, make a pass around the room with a trash bag to collect everything else. Salvage some wrapping paper, tissue paper, and cardboard.
2. The Decorations and the Tree: As you put away heirloom Nativities or plates and take the ornaments off the tree, reuse that extra wrapping paper and tissue paper for keeping fragile items safely stored. Neatly wrap Christmas lights around cardboard so they won’t tangle. A little thought now will mean next year’s holiday decorating will be stress free! Then pay special attention to community notices so you get your tree outside in time for curbside pick up. Wrap your tree in an old bed sheet or tarp to reduce the amount of needles that fall in the house during removal.
3. Donate: You’re grateful for the presents you and your family received, but now your house is busting at the seams with “stuff.” Make donating a game. For example, if each of your children received four presents, challenge them to give twice that number of old items lying unused around their rooms to charity. Set a deadline before New Year’s Day so the donation box doesn’t begin to clutter up your home. Plus you’ll increase this year’s tax deductions!

Clean Up the House

The Christmas items are put away. You have more space because the decorations and the tree are gone. Take this opportunity to deep clean the house. Start out the New Year with a clean house and a fresh attitude! 

• Use Play-Doh to clean up glitter spills and tree needles.
• Dust fan blades, pictures, and all nooks and crannies.
• If you had company this year, it’s time to wash the guest-room bedding and vacuum the mattress. Do it now before your Christmas clean up momentum slows down! Spray the guest room with a fragrant essential oil, and turn it back into the oasis that it truly is.
• Sweep and vacuum thoroughly.
• Rent a commercial carpet cleaner or hire a professional company if your guests left unsightly messes or hard-to-remove stains.
• Set out donation boxes to get rid of household items you no longer need. Make a list and take photos then get those boxes out of the house. (Enjoy those tax deductions!)
• If the mess is just too much, call a professional cleaning service like Molly Maid!

It’s easy to let the after-holiday blues discourage your Christmas clean up.  But don’t procrastinate! Tackle that clutter and organize all the lights and the decorations so that next year’s holiday setup is a breeze. Once you’ve begun Christmas clean up, you’ll be glad you did. Start the New Year off on the right foot!