Every year around this time, I start hearing the same thing from clients and friends alike. The holidays are coming, family is coming, and the house isn’t ready for guests. Maybe there are guest rooms that have become storage closets or we haven’t stayed on top of the “home organization”.
Perhaps you know new gifts are coming in and you’d like to let go of some things to make room.
My own house isn’t immune to clutter and this year, I’m having all three of my kids plus a fiancee and an ex-husband over. The week before Thanksgiving is NOT the week to get everything done so start well before the holiday season is in full swing.
Why Decluttering Before the Holidays Matters
Here’s why the timing matters. Decluttering under pressure feels like triage. You’re shoving things into closets so guests don’t see them, or making rushed decisions you’ll regret in January. Here’s a funny personal and very true story. While clearing countertops last year to host Thanksgiving dinner, I put overflow into the coat closet. One of the items was the fruit basket which I somehow forgot until weeks later. You can use your imagination about what I uncovered.
So take it from first hand knowledge, decluttering now, with a little breathing room, will save you from unneeded stress and unexpected surprises. I started the process a couple of weeks ago and found a few things I’ll be sending back with my kids. (Remember, it’s not an “empty nest” until your kids get their stuff out.)
How to Declutter Your Home Before the Holidays
So if you’re looking at your house and feeling a bit of holiday dread, here’s where I’d start.
- Walk through your home the way a guest will. Not the way you see it every day, half invisible from familiarity, but the way someone walking in for the first time in a year will see it. That guest bedroom that’s become storage. The dining table nobody can actually sit around because of what’s piled on it. You already know where your eyes go first. Start there. I’ve found that people become desensitized to their clutter the way pet owners no longer smell the pet odors.
- Gather like items before you decide anything. This is the same advice I give every client facing a much bigger move, and it holds just as true for a junk drawer or a linen closet. You can’t make good decisions about what to keep until you can actually see everything you have. Pull it all out. Then decide. This is an especially great time of year to donate some of the better things you aren’t using to a family who might not have what you may have in spades.
- Don’t keep things out of guilt. If a serving dish only comes out because your aunt gave it to you and you’d feel bad letting it go, ask yourself honestly whether you actually use it or just store it. Guilt should not take up valuable shelf space.
- Make room for what the season actually needs. Holiday decorations, extra linens, the folding chairs that only come out twice a year. If those things don’t have a home, everything else gets pushed out to make space for them every November. Give them a real spot now, and half your seasonal stress disappears before it starts.
- Designate your desires. Having everyone home for the holidays is a wonderful time to start having conversations about your things and an even better time to host a family “Show and Tell” where you can preserve the memories and the stories of your items digitally – with video and/or photos. I’ve found many people hold items for the memory and capturing a photo and letting go of the item may be all you need.
None of this needs to happen in a weekend. A little bit each week between now and Thanksgiving adds up to a home that feels ready instead of one that feels like it’s holding its breath. You don’t need a perfect house for the holidays. You need one that has room in it, for the people you love and for yourself too.
When You’d Rather Not Declutter Alone
I also know that for a lot of people, the idea of tackling a closet or a garage alone is exactly what keeps it from ever happening. That’s true whether you’re dealing with a few overstuffed drawers or a house that’s held forty years of birthdays and hasn’t been sorted through since.
At Silver Linings Transitions, decluttering doesn’t have to be attached to a move at all. We come in and help you sort through what you have in a judgement free, no shame way. In fact, if you have been putting off projects or been teased for years, I’d love to schedule a clutter coaching session to help you get unstuck.
If decision fatigue is the thing standing between you and a house that feels ready for the season, that’s exactly what we’re trained for.
Our team has also gone to clients homes before an event to help get the house ready and then stayed to help the event run smoothly -even taking photos.
Perfect is the enemy of done. Pick one closet this week, or let us help you pick it, and start there.
— Jami Shapiro, CSA, Silver Linings Transitions