365 Items in 365 Days: December Update

How are you doing in the 365 Items in 365 Days Declutter Challenge?  It's the 350th day of the year today so if you started in January, your target is to have purged 350 items by now.  But don't worry if you've just started.  Just jump in!  Now is the perfect time to declutter with the holidays approaching so you'll be able to have guests over and enjoy time with family and friends.


Today I'll be sharing what I've been decluttering since my last update.  It's only been a few weeks, but I've got so many posts planned for the rest of December and I won't be doing very much more decluttering, so I figured I'd do my December update now. 

By doing these monthly updates I hope to give you ideas of things you can purge from your home.

Day 9 - Making Room for the New {12 Days of Being Organized for the Holidays}

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you think about all the new "stuff" that will be entering your home during the holidays?  Those with kids are often especially overwhelmed.  New toys, clothes, books, and games from generous grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.  Not to mention your own gifts to your children, and of course those from the jolly red-dressed guy!

If you already feel like your home is cluttered, the thought of adding more to your home can be stifling.  But it doesn't have to be that way!

Today I'm sharing a few tips to help simplify your holidays by decluttering.  {It just wouldn't be a series on organizing if I didn't discuss decluttering right?!}

Day 5 - Holiday Decorating Tips {12 Days of Being Organized for the Holidays}

Do you decorate for the holidays?  I always find it helps make my home more festive, but it can be overwhelming dealing with all the decor items. Today I'm sharing a few tips to help make Christmas decorating easier.

Christmas Storage Inventory List {Free Printable}

How do you store your Christmas decorations?  If you use the red and green totes, it's hard to know what you've stored in each one until you open it up and start taking things out.  If you've got several bins, it can get pretty overwhelming figuring out where to start!

After a busy holiday season, many people say they are going to simplify things next year, but by the next holiday, they're right back in the thick of everything and get too overwhelmed.  If that sounds familiar, then right now is the perfect time to take steps toward simplifying next Christmas! 

Here's a printable inventory list to record what you're storing in each container as you pack it up this year.  I'm also including tips for storing your decorations.  These two things combined will make decorating so much simpler next year!

This post has been moved to my business website's blog: https://fromoverwhelmedtoorganized.com/christmas-storage-inventory-list-free-printable/. 

Please check it out there and get the link to download the printable!

Happy organizing!

Decluttering for a Simpler Christmas: Toys

Do you feel overwhelmed at Christmas with all the extra "stuff" in your home?

Today I'm sharing tips to help you declutter toys.  It's so important to purge some of your kids' toys before the influx of new toys at Christmas.

Decluttering for a Simpler Christmas: Entertainment

Do you feel overwhelmed at Christmas with all the extra "stuff" in your home?

Today I'm sharing how to declutter "Entertainment" items like puzzles, games, DVD's, and CD's.  It's a loose category so you can include whatever you want to declutter this week to prepare for Christmas. 

Organizing Ideas for the Weekend: Avoiding Christmas Card Clutter

Happy Friday!  Ready for another organizing idea for your weekend?

Today I'm sharing ways to display your Christmas greeting cards.  You've probably been receiving some in the mail already, and if you're like a lot of people, you look at them and then pile them up on a table or counter somewhere, causing clutter.

Nobody needs clutter during the holidays... even Christmas clutter!  So find a creative way to show off those lovely cards and eliminate the pile at the same time.

I chose easy ideas because I know with less than two weeks to the big day you're probably not interested in adding another project to your to-do list. 

Check them out!

Decluttering for a Simpler Christmas: Clothing

Do you feel overwhelmed at Christmas with all the extra "stuff" in your home?

One of the best ways to simplify Christmas is to declutter in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  To help you do that, I'll be doing a series of posts this month sharing ideas to help you declutter your home for a simpler Christmas.  Join me!

Today's decluttering project is to declutter clothing.  I don't know about you, but we receive a lot of clothing as Christmas gifts, plus my daughter's birthday is in October and my birthday is in December and we both tend to be given clothes for birthdays too.  So, usually around this time of year I go through all our closets and dressers to purge clothing and make room for the new items we receive.

Organizing Ideas for the Weekend: Clutter Free Christmas Gifts

Happy Friday!  Ready for another organizing idea for your weekend?

Today I'm sharing some great clutter free gift ideas.  Many of us struggle with clutter all year, but are most overwhelmed after Christmas when we need to find places for all the influx of "stuff" in our homes.  And in our consumer-driven society, we worry what messages we're sending our children.

I've been reading a lot about this lately and want to share some great insights from other bloggers on clutter-free gift giving.

Note: this post is not intended to offend those of you who love shopping and giving gifts.  It's simply something I'm learning about and wanted to share with you!  And for those of you, like me, who have already finished your shopping for this Christmas, you can keep these ideas in mind for next year.

Decluttering for a Simpler Christmas: Holiday Decorations

Do you feel overwhelmed at Christmas with all the extra "stuff" in your home?

Before Christmas there are lots of holiday items taking over your home.  Decorations, gifts, lights, craft supplies, activities and projects for kids, holiday CD's, special baking supplies and tools, candles, Christmas cards, gift wrap, holiday dishes, and Christmas clothing.  Just to name a few!

And after Christmas there are all the new gifts cluttering up your home. Toys, books, electronics, games, clothes, and more decorations!  It can make your home feel cluttered.

One of the best ways to simplify Christmas is to declutter in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  To help you do that, I'll be doing a series of posts this month sharing ideas to help you declutter your home for a simpler Christmas.  Join me!