How to Productively Declutter Your Home for the Holidays

Would you like a fresh, new, and interesting way to declutter for the holidays this season?

Do you want to reduce the amount of clutter in your home while simultaneously helping others in your area?

In this article, you’ll find an interesting way to declutter for the holidays and give others in your community a helping hand.

Key Takeaways

• Decluttering helps create space and a welcoming environment for guests and holiday celebrations
• Donating gently used items not only declutters your home but helps those in need in your local community
• Start decluttering efforts in late September or early October to prepare your home before the holiday rush
• Collect storage containers and choose specific decluttering projects, like aiding local charities or building emergency kits
• Stay motivated in your work by decluttering small areas like a closet or drawer and focus on helping others

Table of Contents

Why should you declutter for the holidays?

Decluttering your home before the holidays is a refreshing way to bring order and purpose to your space. You’re not just tidying up; you’re creating room for what truly matters in your life.

Maybe you’ve run out of storage space, no longer use certain items, or simply don’t need materials anymore. But that doesn’t mean those items should simply go to waste. They could be just what someone else needs right now in their lives.

What’s more, decluttering and donating gently used items to a local nonprofit, school, charity, or religious organization is a great way to help others in need during the holidays or any time of year.

What are the benefits when you declutter for the holidays?

There’s several benefits to you, your home, and your community when you declutter for the holidays or any time of year.

• Reduce daily stress and overwhelm locating important items
• Feel lighter and more energized having fewer items around your home
• Free up valuable living and storage space in your house or apartment
• Make household chores less tiresome, like cleaning, dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming
• Enjoy a clutter-free space when you relax at time at home or entertain guests
• Help individuals and families who recently lost jobs, loved ones, experienced a health crisis, or environmental disaster
• Support your local community and the environment while reducing waste, reducing spending, and recycling items

Who should declutter for the holidays?

As a productivity coach, I think everyone should take time every now and then to declutter their living space.

In today’s day and age, we own and accumulate so many personal belongings and household items. We don’t always consciously think about how we use or interact with all these materials that enter our lives.

While you can certainly declutter for the holidays several weeks in advance of celebrations, decluttering need not have a time requirement.

Don’t forget: you can declutter your home at any at any time of year you so choose, for whatever the reason, whenever you feel like it!

You may want to consider decluttering your space if any of the following situations apply to you. Perhaps you:

• Recently relocated your home or are considering relocating in future
• Welcomed a new family member or friend into your household
• Adopted a new pet(s) and need to tidy up your living areas
• Started a new diet or changed a gym, exercise, or workout routine
• Quit a hobby, past time, activity, or group you’re not longer interested in
• Retired from work, changed jobs, switched careers, or shifted industries
• Want to finally purge items you no longer need or have outgrown
• Haven’t decluttered personal belongings and household items in several months

When should you declutter for the holidays?

Ideally, you’ll want to start your declutter for the holidays efforts before the end of year holiday season begins. This ensures you’ll have plenty of time to work and not be rushed. What’s more, you’ll be able to focus on holiday preparations and activities when they arise.

Plan on starting your decluttering projects in late September or early October. You can certainly expand your efforts to November and December if you’re feeling up to it and your schedule allows. Schedule a few hours in your calendar on weekends or your days off for your decluttering sessions.

And what if you’re really short on time during the holiday season? Take a moment to schedule time in your schedule for the first few weeks of the new year. This way, you can still go through your belongings and make a significant difference in someone’s life.

How to productively declutter for the holidays

This holiday season you can supersize your decluttering efforts by helping someone else in the process.

What do you need to get started? Fortunately, all you need is your living space and your imagination.

You can get the process started with these mini-prep projects:

Collect clean storage containers

Take a moment to round up several storage containers in your home. You’ll be using these containers to store your decluttering projects while you work on them.

Any large item that can hold several smaller items within it will do. Some storage ideas include milk crates, wooden boxes, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, and shopping bags.

Conduct a thorough search in your home for these items. Looking for some motivation? Remember, these storage containers will also be leaving your home, thereby freeing up much needed space. All the more reason not to hold back in your search!

Search high and low for containers. You might find suitable items in your bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, hallway, pantry, garage, basement, or attic.

Select a decluttering project

The next step to choose one or more of the following decluttering projects. It’s important to not let your decision get in the way of your decluttering. This is about progress, not perfection!

If you’re wavering between two or more projects, just select one. Once you finish the first project, you can move on to the second. And if you wish to do more projects, you can do so at a later date.

Grab an empty container and fill it up with any or all of the items listed below. Now, feel free to add or subtract items as you see fit, and depending on the amount of stuff you’re interested in giving away.

Confirm donation organizations

Thinking about donating to a specific organization or group in your community? It’s always a good idea to call ahead to see if they’re currently accepting donations. You should also ask what types of donations they’re specifically looking for.

Also, another quick idea is to tap into your personal network. You can check in with friends, acquaintances, or neighbors to see if they could use your items or know someone who could benefit.

The productive declutter for the holidays projects

Ready to start decluttering the productive way? Try your hand at any of the following decluttering holiday projects:

Project #1. Stock up a local soup kitchen

Go through your pantry and kitchen. Remove any unopened and unexpired canned goods and boxed goods.

If you’re sitting on top of a pile of cooking storage and preparation materials, you can extend your search to unopened containers.

This can include aluminum foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, paper cups and plates, disposable knives, forks, and spoons, straws, and tablecloths.

And if you’re really looking to expand your decluttering efforts, search through your belongings for any unopened kitchen utensils or appliances you wish to donate.

Project #2. Help a neighborhood beautification or clean-up group

Take a moment to go through your broom closets, storage closets, kitchen, basement, mudroom, attic, or garage.

For this exercise, you’re looking for any items that may be helpful to a local clean-up or beautification group.

Round up any unopened cleaning products and supplies including: brooms, dustpans, mops, dusters, paper towels, glass cleaners, dishwashing liquid, and buckets.

Other large items to grab include new garbage cans, new, sealed, and unused garbage bags, recycling bags, work gloves, paint, and brushes.

You can even expand your donations to healthy snacks such as unopened bottles of unexpired bottled water, sealed snack packs and snack bars.

Project #3. Build out an emergency kit

This is a good idea for any group, be it your local religious organization, school, shelter, or community group.

The idea here is to build out an emergency kit. You could also create a personal care item kit for those in need.

Look through your home for any unopened and unexpired batteries, flashlights, candles, lighters, can openers, first aid kits, and blankets.

You can also expand your search towards unopened, unused, and unexpired canned goods and boxed goods.

Have some spare electronics lying around? An unused battery operated AM/FM radio can be handy.

Project #4. Outfit an entire theater group

This project will help you declutter your closet or wardrobe in a pinch! All items are up for grabs, as long as they are clean, unstained, and in in decent shape.

Head over to your bedroom closet, wardrobe, or dresser and pluck out any clean and unused suits, dresses, ties, shoes, and boots. You can then expand your reach to blazers, coats, scarves, belts, hats, and costume jewelry.

Did you purchase too many storage organizers for your needs? You might also consider donating unopened and unused closet hangers, shoe storage containers, clothing racks, or any other storage notions.

Project #5. Give the gift of reading

This project helps free up space in your home and gives some thoughtful reading material to others. It’s a great way to declutter and organize your books and table space.

Look around your home for recent popular magazines and other periodicals from the past three months.

You can also search for new and gently used fiction or non-fiction books. See if you can find classic books or titles you no longer read or reference.

Lastly, you can expand your reach here by rounding-up unused bookmarks, bookstands, book lights, as well as any reading glasses you no longer use or have use for.

Project #6. Brighten up a child’s world

Give the gift of fun and creativity! This project is all about decluttering your home office, living room, toy room, and more!

Again, your imagination is your only limit.

Begin by searching through your home for unused and unopened coloring books, crayons, markers, pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, blank notebooks, blank paper, rulers, and other relevant office supplies.

Next, look for new and used toys, board games, jigsaw puzzles, nightlights, backpacks, and more in their original packaging.

What’s more, you can also look for new and used children’s clothing, shoes, accessories, coats, and jackets.

Another great addition would be appropriate room decorations or organization and storage products you no longer need or use.  

Project #7. Cash in those gift cards

You know all those clothing, department store, and big box store gift cards you have lying around?

Why not put them to use? Call a trusted organization to ask if they are taking donations this year. If they are, ask them what items they are in most need of.

For instance, you might call a women’s aid organization that’s currently accepting donations. You learn they are in need of clothing, toiletries, and personal care products. 

Finally, once you know what you need to purchase, make a list, and go shopping with your gifts cards. Remove sales tags when you get home, place items in one of your decluttering project containers, and donate.

Another quick idea is to give your gift cards to a family in need of clothing, footwear, outerwear, toiletries, bedding, and food.

FAQ: Declutter for the holidays

Conclusion

Productivity isn’t about rushing, being perfect, or pushing through every task. Sometimes, it’s about slowing down, stepping back, and looking at the bigger picture.

What’s more, holiday decluttering need not be just about clearing your space. It can be about creating a sense of community and helping others at the same time.

In case we haven’t yet met virtually, it’s nice to meet you! Hi, I’m Rashelle Isip, The Order Expert®, productivity coach for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and executives.

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Rashelle Isip Productivity Coach and Founder of The Order Expert®

Rashelle Isip is a New York City-based productivity coach, consultant, and founder of The Order Expert®. With over 16 years of experience, she helps entrepreneurs and executives replace the "hustle and grind" mindset with one of "ease and flow." Rashelle is a former contributing columnist for Inc.com and Lifehack.org, and has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, The Washington Post, and NPR. She is the author of four books, including The Order Expert’s Guide to Time Management. When not helping clients master their schedules, she enjoys scouting for practical, well-designed office supplies. Learn more at TheOrderExpert.com.

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