It’s that time of the year. You know, when us moms start to dream of organizing our homes after the chaos of Christmas has settled!
We look at tools:
And see the systems others are doing:
And think to ourselves, Can this be achieved?!
Fear not! It can happen for your home! Check out tips from Jenna when dealing with the mountain of wrapping paper, toys, clothes and more! Good luck!
As I sit here a few days after Christmas looking at the chaos that has commenced over the past week, I am both filled with wonderful memories of a great holiday week and a daunting fear of cleaning up the aftermath. I told myself that this year I would do a good job organizing things for the start of a new year to make it easier on myself for my ongoing organizing efforts and for an effortless holiday set up next year. (I can dream, right?!)
Here are some tips that I have come up with through my research and planning stages that I wanted to share with you!
Like I said, I am in the early stages and haven’t put anything quite into effect yet, as you can see by our mess of a family room… including a very curious toddler who wants to get into everything and a preschooler who is on cloud 9 and sugar high at the same time!
1. Start with wrapping supplies. I keep bags, and sometimes even tissue paper and bows if they are pretty. I found some plastic drawers to keep all my wrapping stuff organized. I also took note of any supplies I ran out of like paper, tape, etc. They are all on sale, so if you have the space, stock up for next year!
2. Move on to presents. I started by sorting them by the recipient. Our haul from the grandparents was bigger than what was at home. And of course, the kids piles well exceeded mine and the hubby’s.
3. Get One, Toss Two. (from Organized Home) For each gift received, you get rid of two older versions. Get a new shirt, donate two older ones you don’t wear anymore. This helps keep your house clutter-free. I am excited for my four-year-old to help out with this one this year. She likes the idea of donating some of her old toys to those who didn’t get many toys for Christmas.
4. Open and unbox any new toys + gifts. The packaging can take up more space than needed and will make sure the new gifts get used and don’t get thrown in a closet to be forgotten. I will be finding places in the playroom along with my daughter for her new toys so she knows where their “homes” are and can easily put them away. Here I go dreaming again! 😉
5. Try on clothes and make a pile of returns. After the coming week, the stores should calm down and returning or exchanging things will be a bit easier. Don’t wait too long, as some stores only give about a month for exchanges or returns. Put this stack next to the donate/sell stack so that you get both of them done and out of your house.
6. My final task in this project will be the decor. I wait til after New Year’s for that though. I am following the advice from Jennifer at Parenting to organize and go through my decorations as I put them away to make next year’s set up easier.
If you really want to get started on next year’s Christmas now, check this out! Although, if I’m being completely honest, it stresses me out a bit thinking about it!
Let me know how your post-holiday organizing is going in the comments below!
Great post, thanks for some new tips and reminders!!
Loving this post!!! I’m such a sucker for organization ideas! Some of my favorite brands are poppin, ikea, and Rubbermaid with their awesome Bento boxes in varies designs and sizes!