Decluttering Holiday Items and Storage Areas {NetZero Decluttering Challenge 2018}

Do you feel overwhelmed during the month of December with all the stuff that enters your home? It makes it hard to enjoy this festive time of year.

I've found that when I declutter it really helps me feel less overwhelmed and I can enjoy the holidays so much more.  Will you join me in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge this year?

Last week was a big week for items coming into our homes and you might be feeling overwhelmed now as you step over and around all the new gifts and empty boxes. If you've been decluttering all month, you should have space to put those items away into their new "homes". But even if you haven't decluttered earlier in the month, there's still time to do some decluttering to make room for all the new stuff :)

Today I'm sharing tips for decluttering your post-holiday items and storage areas.

Week 4 - Post-Holiday and Storage {Net Zero Clutter Challenge 2017}

Happy day after Christmas! We're almost at the end of the month... just one week left in the Net Zero Clutter challenge for this year. And it's a big one this week! Today I'm sharing tips for decluttering your post-holiday items and your storage areas.

For many of us, yesterday was a big day for items coming into our homes. You might be feeling a little (or a lot!) overwhelmed today as you step over and around all the new gifts and empty boxes. If you've been decluttering all month, you should have space to put those items away into their new "homes". But even if you haven't decluttered earlier in the month, there's still time to do some decluttering to make room for all the new stuff :)

Each week I've been sharing decluttering tips and ideas to help you declutter a different area of your home.  The idea is that you'll end the month with the same number of items in your home (or maybe even less!) than what you started the month with. If you're just joining in, work on decluttering the same number of items as you just received!

Week 5 - Post-Holiday and Storage {Net Zero Clutter Challenge 2016}

Do you feel overwhelmed during the month of December with all the stuff that enters your home? It makes it hard to enjoy this festive time of year.

Yesterday was a big day for items coming into our homes and you might be feeling overwhelmed today as you step over and around all the new gifts and empty boxes. If you've been decluttering all month, you should have space to put those items away into their new "homes". But even if you haven't decluttered earlier in the month, there's still time to do some decluttering to make room for all the new stuff :)

I've found that when I declutter it really helps me feel less overwhelmed and I can enjoy Christmas much more.  Will you join me in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge this year?

Each week I've been sharing decluttering tips and ideas to help you declutter a different area of your home.  The idea is that you'll end the month with the same number of items in your home (or maybe even less!) than what you started the month with. If you're just joining in, work on decluttering the same number of items as you just received.

This week I'm sharing tips for decluttering your post-holiday items and storage areas.

15+ Clutter-Free Gift Ideas {Including Black Friday Deals!}

I know there are a million deal blogs out there and your inbox is probably overflowing with details of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales! And as you know, I'm not a deal site. I generally don't even really like the idea of big sales because it makes people want to buy things they don't actually need, which means those items become clutter that has to be dealt with later. If you've been around here any length of time you know I'm not a fan of clutter :)

But, I wanted to share some sales and deals for items that you or the people you give them to will actually use. So... not clutter! Hopefully this post will help you save money and be a thoughtful giver this holiday season.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you buy an item after clicking any of them {at no additional cost to you}. This helps cover the expenses of running this blog and enables me to share free content with you all year long. Thanks for making that possible!

Note: I'll update this post as I come across more deals so keep checking back. Also, the details of each sale vary and are accurate as of the time of publication.  But make sure you read the website carefully before buying in case the offer listed here has expired.

OK, on to the clutter-free gift ideas!

Click the pictures for all the details or to buy any of these items.

Update November 28th: I've updated this post to include several Cyber Monday deals {we're well over 15 clutter-free ideas now!}. 

Update December 1st: Many of these deals are over, but the clutter-free gift ideas are still great! {Just ignore all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday references!}  I've updated all the links so if you click the pictures you'll be taken to where you can buy each gift (some may even have new promotions and sales happening now!). 

Tips for Decluttering Wedding Gifts {Decluttering Sentimental Items - Day 18}

Today in the decluttering sentimental items series we're decluttering wedding gifts we don't use. I'm thinking especially of practical household items like small appliances, dishes or serving items you use for entertaining, wine glasses, candlesticks, vases, etc. Things you put on your register because you thought you needed them or they were too expensive for you to buy for yourselves, but you never use them.

{I'll cover hand-made items and inherited items later in the series so even if you got those items as wedding gifts, don't worry about them today.}

Tips for Decluttering Wedding Favors {Decluttering Sentimental Items - Day 9}

Today in the Decluttering Sentimental Items series we're talking about wedding favors or wedding party gifts. You know, those cute little things from your cousin's wedding that collect dust on a shelf in the spare room. Or that engraved thank you gift for being a bridesmaid.

Day 26 - Duplicate or Unwanted Gifts {Net Zero Decluttering Challenge}

Have you ever felt overwhelmed during the month of December with all the stuff that enters your home? The trick I've found helps me is to declutter throughout the month. Will you join me in the Net Zero Decluttering Challenge?

Each day this month I'll share some decluttering tips and ideas so you can end the month with the same number of items in your home (or maybe even less!) than what you started the month with.

Today I'm sharing tips on decluttering any duplicate or unwanted gifts your or your family members received.

Organizing Gift Wrap {Wrappy Review & Giveaway!}

Is your gift wrap disorganized and chaotic? Do you get frustrated whenever you have to wrap a gift? Organizing your gift wrap makes a huge difference!  There are lots of ways to organize your rolls of wrap, gift bags, tissue, and flat gift wrap and you should pick one that works best for you and the kind of wrapping supplies you usually have.

Today I want to introduce you to the Original Wrappy from Wrap iT.  It's a great way to organize your wrapping supplies!  And stick around to the end of the post because you'll have a chance to win one :)

Day 2: Planning Gifts {12 Days of Being Organized for the Holidays}

Are you overwhelmed with all the gifts you need to buy in the next few weeks?  Today I'm sharing tips to help you plan out what you are going to buy for each person on your list!  If you shop early you'll avoid some of the crowds and be able to enjoy yourself during the holidays.

Day 1: Planning for Christmas {12 Days of Being Organized for the Holidays}

Do you get overwhelmed during November and December?  Do you get to the end of Christmas Day and you're exhausted and wonder if it was all worth it?  There's shopping, baking, wrapping, card-writing, cooking, and decorating.  All in the midst of parties, gatherings, and celebrations with everyone and anyone you've had contact with all year!  It's a lot to juggle.  And it can easily become overwhelming.

But it doesn't have to be that way.  With some advance planning and organizing, you can simplify the holidays and get things done earlier, so you can breathe and actually enjoy this festive season.  Doesn't that sound good?

To help you do that, I'm going to be writing a series called 12 Days of Being Organized for the Holidays.  Each of the 12 posts will focus on one aspect of being organized for this special time of year.  I'll spread the posts out over the next 6 weeks, with an average of 2 posts per week.

Each post will have practical tasks you can to get organized.  If you've already completed those tasks {good for you!!}, feel free to do something else that's overwhelming you.  If you haven't checked these items off your to-do list yet, then spend some time working on them so you won't have to do everything all at once at the end.

OK, so now that I've told you about the series, let's get to today's post!  I'm going to kick this series off with some tips to help you plan out the next few weeks.

Holiday Gift Giving Organizing Ideas Galore!

I'm so excited to be included in this month's Professional Organizers Blog Carnival!  It's my first time contributing and I can't wait to read all the other posts.

What is the Professional Organizers Blog Carnival?  I'm glad you asked!  It's a monthly blog post that professional organizers contribute to.  Each month is a different theme and includes posts related to that topic from a bunch of professional organizers.  It's a great place to find advice, ideas, and tips for the theme of the month.

This month is all about Holiday Gift Giving.  Perfect timing so you can start getting your holiday gifts and wrapping supplies organized.  And there are several posts on clutter-free gifts too!

Merry Christmas!

It's finally here!  It's Christmas!  I gotta tell ya, I'm a wee bit excited :)  Maybe as much or more than my kids.

8 Tips for Packing Gifts When Traveling

Do you bring gifts with you to other people's homes over the holidays?  Maybe it's a hostess gift.  Or a few presents for grandparents or nieces and nephews.  Or, you may bring your own family's gifts to a family member's home to open there.

On Wednesday I shared 5 Tips for Simpler Gift Wrapping, but now how do you pack those wrapped gifts so they aren't damaged or the wrapping isn't torn?  Here are some tips to help you out!

5 Tips for Simpler Gift Wrapping

Are you overwhelmed with all the gift wrapping you need to do this week?  Or, if you've finished wrapping, are you wondering how to store all the leftover wrapping supplies for next year? 

Today I'm sharing 5 tips to make wrapping gifts as simple as possible.  And the bonus is that this process also makes storing your wrap easy too!

Simple Gifts: White Chocolate Candy Cane Bark

I've been sharing a lot lately about clutter-free gifts and today I'm sharing one of my favourite things to make and give... White Chocolate Candy Cane Bark!

This is so simple that even my kids helped make it last year.  It makes a great stocking stuffer, hostess gift, or neighbour treat. 

I heard about this from a colleague over 15 years ago and I've been making it ever since.  Here's how!

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.

Simple Gifts: DIY Laundry Soap

Need to do Christmas on a budget?  Want to give a clutter-free gift to people on your list?

Last Christmas I really wanted to give practical gifts to some of our family members and I needed to do it on a limited budget.  Since I started making homemade laundry detergent a few months earlier and I loved how it cleaned our clothes, I thought I'd make an extra batch at Christmas to give to some family members to try.

They'd heard me talk about it already, but they weren't sure if they'd like it enough to make it.  So it was a win-win all around!  They got the opportunity to try out DIY laundry detergent and I got to give practical, clutter-free, budget-friendly gifts.

Here's how I made it.

Christmas Gifts in a Jar

Do you have some "hard-to-buy-for" people on your Christmas list?  Are you looking for gift ideas that don't create clutter for the recipient?

One of my most popular posts year round is Gifts in a Jar.  In that post I showed how our kids make jar gifts for their teachers.  Their teachers love receiving these jars because they are unique and clutter free!

Today, I want to show you the Christmas jars we made last year.  Hopefully it will help you fill in a few ideas on your Christmas gift list!

I Love Freecycle - Free Gifts!

It's been quite awhile since I've written a post in the "I Love Freecycle!" series and I want to share with you some of my latest finds.   You can see my previous posts in this series here for more on how Freecycle works and why I love it so much.

I saw a posting on Freecycle a little before Christmas for two new Christmas books.  New!  And free!  Did I mention that I love Freecycle?

Reflecting back on 2012

What a year this has been!  At the start of 2012 if anyone had told me I would be an organizing blogger, I would not have believed you!  In fact, I didn't even know organizing blogs existed until March.  {And I've been hooked ever since :) }

Now, I've gotten to know so many amazing people that I met through blogging.  And I have learned SO much about organizing and about blogging.  I had no idea I would love it so much.