So. Many. Presents. It’s so wonderful when the loved ones in your life want to give you and/or your family lots of gifts to express their love.Fun right?! Yes, until you start to put everything away and realize that holy cow there is not room for it all! This is my home every year after the holidays and it can honestly be so stressful and bring down the holidays. So how do you keep the clutter under control and ensure that you go into the new year with a clean and organized home? Well keep reading for how to declutter after the holidays!

*** This article may contain affiliate links that I receive a small commission off of. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I always appreciate any support to keep this site running! Thank you!***
Declutter After the Holidays Guide
Post Holiday Decluttering:
Tip 1: Never keep a duplicate

Duplicate presents happen. That hot new toy for the season? Yeah there is a solid chance two aunts get it for the kids! Even if you don’t have kids you can only get so many coffee mugs before they start to fill up your cabinets.
So if you get any identical presents don’t keep them all. Keep 1 (and pick your favorite of course if they are identical but not exactly the same) and donate the others. There is no need to keep something you already have. I know that it was a thoughtful gift but it’s unrealistic to expect people to keep every gift they are given.
Tip 2: Pre-sort what you already have
Not bringing half of what you got into the house is a great way to keep clutter down but if there already is clutter or areas needing organized and sorted BEFORE you bring things home then you are already losing this battle.
Even if you are reading this after the holidays it’s okay. Keep the gifts in the garage or a designated area until you have sorted and organized the place they will go to. If this means a kids play room then spend a couple hours organizing it before the toys enter so that there is already designated (and empty) areas to put the new toys!
This is so cute for organizing a play room!
And keeps everything visual for organizing and purging! You can see exactly what toys the kids already have.
Tip 3: No hanger? Start donating!

Clothes tend to be the hardest present to declutter in my home. Because chances are you don’t already have that exact article of clothing and it is easier to justify keeping each of the clothing items.
So I make a hard rule that has to be kept in my home – if there isn’t a hanger for it either you don’t keep it or you free up a hanger by donating something.
If your closet is already in need of a good purge than this is a great time of the year to tackle this. Count out the new clothes you want to keep and then go through your closet at get rid of at least that many.
Also- since it’s around the new years it’s easy to look through your closet and evaluate if you have worn each item in the last calendar year. In most cases if you haven’t worn an item in the last 365 days than it’s pretty safe to assume you won’t wear it in the next year.
Tip 4: Purge Holiday Outfits
On a similar note, make sure to purge out this years holiday outfits.
Unless you plan on re-wearing them for next year then you probably don’t have a need for them again. This is especially important for kids since they will outgrow them by the next holidays. You have plenty of pictures of them looking cute in the outfits so it’s only going to clutter up closets to keep the outfits that they will never wear again.
Plus you know that you will want to get cute new holiday outfits next year! Well if you are anything like me you will.
Tip 5: Be Real With Your Decor
6 boxes of Christmas decor… and 2 are still sitting in the garage untouched?
Purge it!
Weird Santa doll someone gave you 4 years ago that you reluctantly put out but you hate?
Purge it!!
Don’t let decor clutter up your garage or basement. Take time as you are taking decor down to determine what you actually love and what you actually use. While you are at this make sure you get it organized too so it’s ready for next year! Below are 2 awesome storage organizers to help with this step:
This ornament storage holds 64 ornaments in a perfect container so you can keep them all together.
See through containers are so important so when you are decorating next year you can see what is in each tub!
Bonus Tip: you probably don’t need all those old strings of lights that never get used and probably have lots of burnt out lights! Get string light storage here!

What do you do to keep your home decluttered after the holidays? Spread the knowledge below!
Looking to become more organized in general? Then you need to read: 8 Essential Habits of Organized People !
Korra-Shay
Let’s get social!
If you liked this post on how to declutter after the holidays guide then you probably (hopefully!) will like these posts too:
- How To Declutter Before You Move To A New Home!
- How I Organize Hard To Organize Clothes: Home Organizing Hacks!
- How To Save Money Before The Holidays Start!
- 63 Things To Declutter Before The Holidays: Get Ready For The Holidays
- 53 Perfect Holiday Instagram Captions Ideas
- Target Storage For Under $20: Affordable Home Organizing
Let’s really connect and stay in touch!
Below is a quick form to subscribe to my weekly roundup! It’s just one email a week! Which includes my 3 newest posts, email exclusive freebies, weekly finds and favorites, and so much more. I would love to stay in touch moving forward!
You must be logged in to post a comment.