For residents of the Ryan’s Crossing neighborhood, the holiday season is filled with joy, merriment, and a reinvigorated sense of community as neighbors celebrate together in beautiful new homes. The post-holiday season often includes the need to pause as those homes are returned to a less ornate state. As you put your favorite decorations back in their storage boxes, why not take an extra beat to declutter and reclaim both your physical and mental space?
But where to begin?
Create a glimmer-gathering plan with specific goals before tackling this task. You might focus on one room per day as you fill clearly labeled bins for storage. While it may seem important to wrap up this task quickly, tackle it with the intention to clean up, clear out, and declutter. The results will be worth spending the extra time!
January is often dedicated to gathering garland, organizing ornaments, and moving menorahs back into the generous storage found in a luxury home. As you do so, examine them closely for damage so that there are no surprises next year. Have any that you just don’t care for anymore? Now is a terrific time to fill a few boxes for your local donation facility. Or, if you have soon-to-be adult children, tuck them away as a surprise for their own newly purchased home.
With a variety of visitors throughout the season, kitchens can become cluttered with those baking or cooking supplies that typically remain stashed away. Now is the time to take inventory and keep those pieces that you use on a typical day while finding an alternative home for the rest. You may even have serving items that only appear in November or December. Give them a dedicated storage box and tuck them away with your holiday decorations! Have extra cans of green beans, cranberry sauce, or gravies? Drop them at a local food bank to take back that pantry space!
No matter which holiday is celebrated in your single-family home, if you have children, there are likely endless new toys ready to be added to bedrooms or playrooms. Feeling like the space will become too chaotic? Create a “one in for one out” guide and help your children select which toys will be donated to someone less fortunate. These decisions can be difficult for young children, but fostering a giving heart will be worth it.
It happens every year–among all those lovely gifts is one that simply isn’t a great fit for you or your family. No need to hold onto it if it will be well-received elsewhere. Regifting has become an acceptable trend, just make sure you note the gift’s origins to avoid an awkward moment. Many stores now offer returns or exchanges without a receipt. This is a great opportunity to swap for something more useful!
Remember your closets as you declutter your home! Those spacious closets found in new builds often cause us to keep outfits that are no longer worn. While you may love this season’s holiday dress, ask yourself if you will really ever wear it again. Pittsboro’s mild climate eliminates the need for multiple winter coats. Pick out a favorite or two and give new life to the others via a community clothing drive. Additional options for garments in great condition include Poshmark, ThredUp, or Facebook Marketplace–all of which offer a forum to sell gently used clothes.
As the new year begins, take time to declutter your email inbox. This is an often-ignored task that can actually leave us feeling overwhelmed with endless correspondence coming from a variety of sources. Hit that “unsubscribe” button on emails received from companies you do not frequent or those that overload your inbox with sales notifications. Many people opt to set up a second email address to be used only for commerce sites, eliminating the chance of missing something important from a friend or family member.
Paper mail also tends to crowd our countertops (and our lives) during the holiday season as we receive news from near and far. Recycle any cards that do not hold sentimental value. If you have kept boxes of cards in the past, ask yourself if you have ever felt inclined to dig through your collection. No? It may be time to let them go. Still not sure? Consider creating a digital photo album with pictures of your favorite cards!
A freshly de-cluttered home is a thing of beauty. We often make endless promises to keep spaces permanently cleared and with a few daily habits, that is easily achievable. Dedicate just a few minutes before turning out the kitchen lights to putting items back in their rightful places. Stroll through the living room to collect abandoned shoes, put away television remotes, or fold throw blankets. Enlist household members to help with daily duties by assigning each a room to refresh regularly.
The post-holiday clean-up is about more than putting away decorations. It’s about eliminating the chaos that moved in during a season that thrives on excess. While the memories will last for years, now is the time to declutter and refresh your home, returning it to a place of balance and tranquility. For residents of Ryan’s Crossings beautiful neighborhood, spacious newly constructed homes offer the perfect place to host and to relax. Now is the time to settle back and restore calm.