6 Tips for Cleaning up After the Holidays

One of the best feelings after the Thanksgiving turkey is served is knowing that – just hours later – you’ll be pulling down boxes and bins of Christmas cheer! Unfortunately, this means that what comes down must go back up eventually.

A little extra legwork in the “clean up” part of the process will make the next holiday season so much easier (which is something we all could use). Here are my top tips for making cleaning up after the holidays a smooth one:

Number 1: Take an honest inventory.

Take a good look at what pieces are left in your holiday boxes that you didn’t put up this year. That ornamental Santa you’ve kept in the box for three years straight just waiting for “next season”? It’s time for him to retire permanently. Now is a great opportunity to purge a few items you’ve collected over the years and just haven’t used.

Number 2: Separate your holiday gift wrap from your everyday gift wrap.

Putting things back up after the holidays is like a clean slate for your bins and boxes. Take this opportunity to separate out your everyday gift wrap items from your holiday gift wrap items. For example, I keep white shirt boxes and white tissue paper in my everyday gift wrap box, so I’ll take a few extra minutes and add those back in since they’ve inevitably migrated over amidst all the hustle of the holidays. This makes wrapping presents for baby showers, birthdays, weddings, and everything else in between so much easier and eliminates many of the “where’s the tape for gift wrapping?” and “do we have any regular tissue paper?” questions.

If you’re a fan of coordinating gift wrap (I see you, friends!), take advantage of the after-holiday sales going on and grab the colors and patterns you’re hoping to use next year now. For me, that means snagging plaids, tartans, and attractive patterns in deep reds, greens, and golds. It’s also a great time to stock up on basics like tissue paper, ribbon, gift bags, those sticky bows, and shirt boxes. I’m a huge fan of wrapping paper, so I am all about finding packs of shirt boxes this time of the year.

Number 3: Keep your ornaments safe, but don’t overthink it.

It would be fabulous to have the space to buy several of those ornament organizing bins, but the reality is we don’t have unlimited space – and most of our ornaments aren’t perfect spheres. Instead, I use two or three under-the-bed storage boxes and leftover white tissue paper to gingerly wrap our ornaments individually before shipping them back up to the attic. It works wonderfully and keeps everything safe and sound until next year.

Number 4: Roll your lights.

Nothing is worse than wrestling with tangled lights. We purchased ours on giant wheels, so we just roll them each back up before they return to the garage. If yours aren’t on wheels, roll them up with your forearm: start by holding one end with your hand, then loop it to your elbow, then to your hand, and so on and so forth. Use the last few inches of lights to wrap the middle so that they stay in place and secure them in a large zip-top bag. Voila! Neat and tidy.

Number 5: Organize your boxes.

Okay, this is one that I’m trying to work on this year. I’ll be the first to admit it’s tough. I want to keep my ribbon in one place and ornaments in another, but space isn’t always on my side. I’m going to try my hardest to pack all the things we use to decorate our Christmas trees in one separate box (OK, two boxes since we’re being honest here), entertaining pieces and table decor in another, and all other decorations in organized boxes so that they make sense. That way, I’m not digging out cocktail napkins on top of ornaments that are burying tablecloths. If I can control the explosion of holiday cheer as we’re unpacking to decorate, I’ll consider it a win!

Number 6: Take down your live greenery all at once.

Remember how I said live greenery is an absolute mess? Once it’s dried out after weeks of being in a heated home, it is an even bigger one. If you have a live Christmas tree (or two) and garland, it’s best to take them down all at once. That way, you only have to clean up one giant mess instead of two big ones. Trust me. I’ve lived through it!