How to Clear the Clutter Before the Holidays Are Here!

One thing that Christmas brings other than joy is more stuff. If you don’t have a plan, all that new stuff can be overwhelming. It’s time to declutter the house before the holidays are here!

The first step to avoid the clutter this holiday season is to plan a garage sale!

Hosting a garage sale is the perfect opportunity to declutter your home and make room for the new and special gifts you and your family members may receive during the holidays. It will also help to get your home ready for the guests and family members you may be hosting over the next couple of months.

Each November our community hosts a neighborhood garage sale. I look forward to participating in the sale each year. It comes at the perfect time right before Thanksgiving and Christmas.

An added bonus to having a garage sale is earning some extra cash to buy gifts or food for those special holiday occasions.

For those of you living in cooler climates, November may not be an ideal time to have a garage sale. I have a few other ideas for you, too!

• Set up a sale in a local church or community club house.
• Sell items on FB Market, CraigsList or Offer-Up. Think about selling small, higher-value items on eBay. 
• Have your sale in the afternoon when the temperatures are a little warmer.
• Have your sale in the garage with space heaters to keep you and shoppers warm.

Less Than 2 Weeks To A Decluttered Home

Let me walk you through the process of going through your home and picking items to sell, toss, or donate.

It doesn’t need to be overwhelming. I’m going to break it down into categories.

Pick one category each day or a couple days and in less than 2 weeks you will make it through the list and your home. Then you’ll be ready to make some cash on garage sale day!

Let’s start with an easy item – BOOKS!

Look through your bookshelves and find a pile to sell. This is an easy place to start decluttering. Kids’ books will sell very easily. Do you have any old college text books taking up space? Put them in the sale.

Toys / Games

Check your closets and cupboards for games and sell any you haven’t played in over a year.

Toys can be one of the biggest clutter items. It also can be one of the hardest items to declutter. Toys carry emotional attachment and sentimental value for kids and parents alike.

I admit I have gone through my own children’s toys when they were not home.  I found the process easier to get done without them. So far no toy that I have removed has been missed or asked about.

If you don’t feel right about decluttering your kids’ toys without their input, then invite them into the process.

Discuss the reason you would like them to choose toys to sell. Get them excited to make room for the new toys they will be receiving over the holidays.  

Let your kids keep the cash from the toys they choose to sell in the garage sale.  My kiddos are more willing to sell toys knowing they will make a little money in return!

Blankets, bedding and linens

I take a minimalist approach to these items.  For bedding, I have only 2 sets of sheets for each bed. That way while one set is in the wash I can put on the clean set.

Towels! Go through your linen closet and smell all your towels. If you have any that carry the “musty” smell place them in your sell pile! Keep your newest towels for daily use and say goodbye to the rest.

Blankets on beds, blankets for snuggling, blankets on couches and chairs. Try to remove the excess blankets from your home.  Blankets are also a great item to donate to local shelters in the early fall and winter months.

Clothes

Go through each family member’s clothes and first take out all the items that are too small, ripped, stained, or worn thin.

Next, you can spend a little more time and remove even more clothing items that are infrequently worn or never worn! Do you have items with the tags still attached? Can you re-purpose these new, unworn clothing items as a gift for Christmas or donate them to a local non-profit organization?

Do you have items that could be sold on eBay or sent to ThredUp?

Shoes

The water shoes from your beach trip 2 years ago are a perfect start to decluttering the shoe excess.

Kitchen

Start by going through each drawer in your kitchen.  Set a timer for 5 minutes for each drawer. Pull out items that are rarely used and place them on the counter top. After you have gone through each drawer, briefly look over the items you have pulled out.

Add these items to your sale! Try not to place anything you pulled out of a drawer back into the drawer.

Next, use the same 5 minute method for each cupboard in your kitchen.

The goal in the kitchen is just to go through each drawer and cupboard quickly. Find items that are rarely used and put them in the sell pile.

We are not organizing or rearranging anything in the drawers or cupboards. Our goal is just to declutter.

Furniture

Furniture is a big ticket item. Do you have some big furniture pieces you would like to place on Offer Up or CraigsList? If you have time and energy to sell these things on a community site, go right ahead.

If that feels overwhelming, then just put these furniture pieces in your garage sale! Making a little cash is better than being overwhelmed and having furniture pieces hanging out in your garage for the next year waiting to be sold.

Home Decor

Over the years your home decor style has probably changed a few times. Do you still have old decor in bins in the garage or closets? When was the last time you used that picture frame Aunt Mary gave you for your wedding day?  

Get out your decor bins and go through each one. Only keep what you love and know will fit your home decor style you have right now.

Do a home walk and remove any items and wall pictures that you no longer enjoy.

Garage

Decluttering the garage may be more of a challenge. If this space is used mostly by your husband, you will need to get him on board with decluttering.

You will also need to get your husband out in the garage with you to help determine what items can be sold.

Go through tools, sports equipment, Christmas boxes, bikes, yard supplies, and stuff. Do the best you can to declutter this large space.

Wouldn’t it be nice to park your car in the garage after your sale?

Think about the big goal for after your sale – to have a decluttered home for the holidays.

Donate, donate, and donate!

After your garage sale is over, box and bag up remaining items and take them to a local donation site. Don’t bring back any items into your home.

Returning items to the house will be counterproductive. Remember – these are items you were ready to sell. Take them to a donation center and enjoy your decluttered home!

I’m including a Decluttering Checklist in the Freebie Library. Fill out the form below to get access to the checklist and get the job done! This plan of action will get your house decluttered for the holidays. Do one thing at a time.  Check it off the list and then move onto the next item on the checklist.