It is hard to believe that Christmas has now been and gone and we are fast approaching another new year – 2014.
So let me ask you when do you put away your Christmas decorations? No doubt there are many different answers to this one question. Personally I don’t believe there is a right time to do this and in my family we like to make sure ours are down and away before New Year.
Rather than just pack it all up, now would be a useful time to go through all your Christmas decorations and confirm you are likely to use them all over again next year.
Some questions to ask yourself during this process:
– Are they in working order? Is anything broken? Can it be fixed or does it need to be thrown out?
– Do you use all these decorations every year? If you have decorations you haven’t used for a year or two then maybe consider donating or passing them on.
– Do you have a lot of the same thing? Ask yourself if you really need that many of the same ornament or the 2 or 3 Christmas trees?
– Have you accumulated lots of things like bowls, plates and linen that you only use at this time of year? I know each year we seem to get another new bowl or plate given to us. Assess whether you need to keep all of them or could you donate a few?
– Are you holding onto decorations out of guilt? This could include holding on to something someone gave you even though you don’t like it. Take control of your decorations and let it be you and your family who determine your family keepsakes not others. A good rule of thumb is that if ‘you don’t love it then get rid of it’.
These questions will assist you to make sure you only pack up what you will be using next Christmas and not be taking up valuable space for twelve whole months.
So now that you have decided to pack them away for another year, the next question to ask yourself is where and how do you store them? Try and limit the space you have and keep it in one spot. Ideally it should be a space that is not as easily accessible. For example, an attic, top of a cupboard or outside in a shed or garage.
A great storage idea is to use plastic tubs so that they are well protected. One thing though, make sure that they will fit in the space where you intend to store them so get the right size. Another tip is to ensure your lights are not tangled. I suggest that you use something as simple as a piece of cardboard for this – wrap them around before storing away. It is also a good idea to label everything and finally it might be worth putting in a list of things you will need, to purchase or replace next year, so that you will know straight away what else you need when you get them out.
Now you will be ready to do it all over again come 1 December 2014!
Happy New Year!
Amanda is a professional organiser who works with a variety of clients including families to get them organised. Having juggled both a career, household and young family, Amanda understands the demands placed on peoples time and the impact disorganisation and clutter can have on day to day life. You can find out more at Organising You
{photo credit: heatherknitz via photopin cc}
