Decluttering for a more stress-free Christmas

Every year when its time to start decorating for Christmas I get this urge to deep clean and declutter. I just can't seem to start dragging out Christmas decorations without first getting the house ready.

Slowly, but surely, the clutter has built up in my house. You just don't realize the anxiety it causes until you've removed it and feel so much more at peace.

Friday was my day to declutter before Christmas. I went through most of the house throwing out, organizing and putting away. I just worked as fast as I could and made lots of progress. I find that "just doing it" works better for me sometimes. I can think a project to death by making lists, schedules and plans.

Here's what I did in a few rooms.

Living Room:

Moved treadmill into the spot the piano was in my sewing room temporarily. Put away/threw away all books, cookbooks, magazines, library books and videos that had piled up. Bagged up all newspapers that had been stacked up for recycling and had my son take them and several bags of trash away. Rearranged furniture for a more organized look and made room for the Christmas tree. Dejunked the computer area. Vacuumed and dusted.

Getting the treadmill out of the living room has made a dramatic difference in there! I don't think I'll be bringing it back in. I'd rather have a sewing/exercise room even though there's no room for a cutting table that way.

I also hung new curtains which makes a big difference in the appearance of the room. This is the area where the treadmill was.



Kitchen:

Went through cabinets throwing away out of date foods. Cleared counter tops. I made a space inside a cabinet to store cookbooks to get them off the counter. I made a space in the cabinet to store breads and rolls to get that off the counter. I rearranged the "must have" items left on the counter for a less cluttered appearance.

Pantry Area:

Organized foods into categories and transferred some to these "vintage looking" storage tins. I purchased this canister set at a thrift store for 25 cents. After washing them well in hot soapy water and drying them, they made great storage for my pantry area.



Spending some time decluttering, cleaning and putting away things makes the Christmas season much less stressful. I can now start slowly putting out things like Christmas pillows, Christmas dishtowels and other items. The spot for the tree is ready, so the tree will come down out of the attic soon.