12 days of christmas declutter challenge - organize and declutter your house to get ready for christmas
Christmas is still two and half months away, but it is also ONLY two and a half months away. Especially with Halloween and Thanksgiving coming up, time will fly by!
Before Christmas every year I like to do a big house declutter and re-organization. It feels so good to get rid of things we do not need anymore. Makes you feel so much lighter. And especially with kids, I think it is a great idea to go through all their stuff, declutter and make room for their new Christmas gifts. This year I am going to do a ‘12 days of Christmas declutter challenge’ to tackle all the areas in the house that need to be cleaned up and sorted through.
I have created a free printable 12 days of Christmas declutter checklist. It lists all areas that I will be going through and tidying up. Starting December 1st I will tackle one item on my checklist each day until I have completed it all.
If you are looking to get organized, feel lighter and less overwhelmed with stuff during the holidays, submit your email address at the end of this post and the checklist will be sent to your inbox immediately. You will also receive a free printable Christmas to do list, that will help you stay on top of things this holiday season.
Let’s take a look at each item on my checklist and see what exactly it entails. Also, if you miss a day, because momlife, do not feel bad! This is just a fun challenge to give you some guidance and ideas. Do the best you can. There are also some areas that may take more time than others so adjust the list to whatever works best for you.
I cannot wait to do this challenge with you!! I will be posting updates and photos in new posts frequently with more tips and tricks as I work my way through the list.
1. PLAYROOM: DECLUTTER AND ORGANIZE TOYS, MAKE ROOM FOR GIFTS
This is the most important item for me personally. It is SOOOO hard to keep a playroom organized. Things get taken out and not put back in the right places (thanks husbands) all the time. My kids spend the majority of their time in the playroom so it is just an area that is not easy to maintain. And that is okay. Don’t get me wrong, I love that my kids like their playroom and all their toys and that they play with everything. But the amount of stuff that collects in that area can be overwhelming.
So what I like to do is go through all the toy storage cabinets, drawers and shelves. Take everything out, check each toy for missing pieces (like puzzles), pull out broken toys and toys your children have grown out of or aren’t using anymore. I then create a donation and a trash pile. Before putting all the toys I want to keep back in, I like to wipe out all the cabinets. I will be showing you how I organized everything, so subscribe below to not miss out on any updates.
One thing we do every year is that we have the kids pick two toys they want to donate to children in need. This will teach them to let go of toys they do not need anymore and is a great opportunity to talk about kindness, community and being thankful.
2. KID’S ROOMS: GET RID OF BROKEN/UNUSED TOYS
For the kid’s rooms, I follow the same pattern as the playroom. Go through all the toys, check for breakage, remove unused toys, put everything back neatly. I like to include my children in this. It does take way longer, but I want them to know that they are in charge of their room and I am not changing things out against their will. If you’d rather get this done quickly, do it without your kids.
3. KID 1’S CLOSET: SORT OUT OUTGROWN CLOTHES AND ORGANIZE
Next I will be going through my daughter’s closet. I just did this to get ready for fall so this will hopefully be a quick task. I recommend taking clothing out that is too small or broken and just tidying up. Read my blog post about how I organized my daughter’s closet to not miss out on great tips and tricks for organizing your kid’s closet.
4. KID 2’S CLOSET: SORT OUT OUTGROWN CLOTHES AND ORGANIZE
Day four I will tackle my son’s dresser. He does not have a closet, only a small dresser, so keeping his clothes organized is essential to make sure everything fits. I usually start at the top drawer and work my way down. Again, pulling all clothing pieces that are too small out and restocking his dresser with new items, if needed. I also like to make sure I can reach all seasonal clothing pieces easily and move out of season items to the back.
5. CRAFT STORAGE: ORGANIZE, TAKE OUT BROKEN/EMPTY ITEMS
This one is a never ending story.. We have an entire huge cabinet in our dining room/kitchen dedicated to crafts, paper, colored pencils, art supplies, whatever you can think of. If you have read some of my blog posts, you already know that we love crafts in this house.
As much as I love crafts, keeping this cabinet organized is a full-time job. What you will need for success are storage boxes and a label maker. Trust me, a label maker will be a game changer!!!
What I will do is, look through all the craft supplies, remove dried out paints, broken crayons etc., make sure everything is in the right containers or on the proper shelf. I will also take inventory and see what needs to be replaced. I will share more details and pictures of the organized craft closet in a separate post so you can get a better understanding of how I set it up.
6. COAT CLOSET/ MUDROOM: SORT THROUGH COATS, MITTENS, HATS
Take a look at your coat closet and mudroom, if you are lucky and have one. We do not have a mudroom (I want one SOOOOO bad), but we have a small entryway with a bench and storage for the kid’s shoes, hats, backpacks etc. Remove all clothing items your kids have outgrown and pull out everything that does not belong in your mudroom or coat closet. (I know, coat closets are great for tossing stuff in, closing the door and just forgetting about it. Let me know about your funniest coat closet find in the comments below!). Hang all coats neatly and wipe out dirt and dust. For storing hats, scarves and other winter gear I love to use baskets that I label with pictures so each kid knows where to find their outdoor stuff.
Us Germans love our outdoor gear. We are prepared for any weather! And we all know there is no bad weather, there is just wrong clothing (it’s a very popular german saying). So we always have a ton of jackets and hats and gloves and all of the things to store.
7. SHOES: DONATE/ THROW OUT UNWORN SHOES & SHOES THAT ARE TOO SMALL
This goes hand in hand with the coat closet/mudroom declutter. Go through all your shoes and your kid’s shoes, donate outgrown ones, if in good condition and throw out ones that are worn out. This will give you a great overview of what your kids still have and what they may need in the near future when it comes to shows.
When sorting through my shoes I always ask myself ‘when would I wear these?’. I have found myself keeping fancy shoes that I could wear to a wedding for example. But the truth is, no one is getting married around me anytime soon and let’s be honest I would probably end up buying new shoes to match a new outfit anyways. What I am trying to say is: do not hold on to items that you are most likely not going to ever wear again. Believe me, it is so freeing to just have less!
8. YOUR CLOSET: REMOVE CLOTHES YOU ARE NOT WEARING ANYMORE
Same as above goes for your closet. Take out everything you have not worn in the past two years. You will most likely never wear it again. And all those clothes that are too small, but you’re holding onto them because they may fit again one day (been there done that)… get rid of them! Chances are they won’t ever fit again and that is ok! Clothes are meant to fit our body and not the other way round.
Try to hang and fold everything nicely and feel so much better when you are done and can look at your organized, decluttered and tidy closet. It feels sooooooo good.
9. JUNK DRAWER
Ugh.. this is my personal enemy. If you don’t have a junk drawer, tell me your secret! I actually have a tiny corner in my cutlery drawer that’s filled with the most random items and a basket on top of my microwave that contains…. I have no freaking clue. Whenever I have small items I don’t know where to put, they go in that basket. I have tried to not do that anymore, but I am not a superhuman.
Every six to eight months or so this junk drawer and basket starts to drive me insane (or overflow), so I pull everything out and put things where they actually belong. And that is what I am gonna do during this 12 days of Christmas declutter challenge. Put everything in its rightful place and throw away everything in there that I do not need (98023974921476 lip balms, I am coming for you!).
I wish I could give you good tips and tricks on how to keep your junk drawer organized, but I am still trying to figure that out myself. I will let you know when I do, which will most likely never happen.
10. KITCHEN: SORT OUT UNUSED ITEMS, TIDY UP
If you have a large kitchen you may want to focus on a few areas that are in need of attention.
I have a few areas in my kitchen that are not very functional and frequently drive me insane. For example, we have this drawer full of storage containers that is just complete chaos and way too full. So every time I want to take out a container I have to rummage through everything, most likely something will fall out and I can’t ever find a matching lid. This is for sure an area I will focus on. The other thing I want to really reorganize and sort through is our pantry. We have a very small pantry, which makes it hard to keep a system. I want to sort out expired foods, give it a good wipe out and try to make it a bit more functional using containers and boxes.
11. BATHROOM CABINETS: TOILETRIES, TOWELS, MAKE-UP
This declutter challenge is the perfect opportunity to get rid of expired and unused make-up, lotions, sunscreen, shampoos etc. and wipe out your cabinets. I will also be cleaning my make-up brushes, which I should be doing way more often, and reorganizing our towels.
12. MEDICINE CABINET: REMOVE EXPIRED MEDICINE AND CATEGORIZE
I try to go through our medicine about twice a year, in summer and winter, and throw out everything that has expired and should not be used anymore. So I am going to use this Christmas declutter challenge to do that. I also try to organize everything in categories so I (and my husband) can find everything quickly when needed. We have one box for all the kid’s medicines and fever thermometers, one box for adult medicine for colds and illnesses and one first aid box that contains bandaids, neosporin and more.
Aaaaand that’s it. I am already feeling more motivated to tackle all of this, just by having a plan. I cannot wait to get started.
Enter your email below to receive your free printable 12 days of Christmas declutter challenge checklist straight to your inbox and get started. Also keep an eye out for blog posts with essential tips tricks and ideas for organizing and decluttering your home.
XX
