Excess Holiday Decorations

ornaments

From Bedlam to Brilliance – Excess Holiday Decorations

Do You Need Everything That You Own?

Many people are now in the middle of decorating for the holidays. You may have Chanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, or a combination of all decorations that make your home bright and cheery for this and possibly next month. However, how many of you had just thrown your ornaments back in boxes and plastic tubs after last year’s holiday season and now have no idea what you have?

I realize you may think you don’t have the time to take stock of what you own right now, but you really do. What do you have to lose as you unpack all the boxes and plastic tubs to see what you still like and what you truly want to use as a decoration? It’ll sure save time after the first of the year when you have to dismantle everything.

Here are four (4) easy tips to help you with this process:

Block out the time on your calendar to go through your boxes and plastic tubs. For example, you may have blocked out time to go to your doctor, right? Do the same for this.
Ask yourself if you really like/love the ornament. If you don’t, set it aside for donation. This is a good time to donate ornaments as there are families that don’t have any or have very few.
Discard/Recycle anything that is broken or no longer works. Christmas lights can be recycled at your local Lowes or Home Depot!
Label the box the ornament lives in so you’ll know where it should go when you are ready to pack it up (unless the ornament is packed in something see-thru). The added bonus is that next year, you’ll know what you have.

Making some simple changes can help you get the most out of your time in the kitchen. You will be more efficient by keeping things where you use them. You will save money by not making duplicate and triplicate purchases or by not eating out all the time. You’ll get more help from family members with meal preparation and clean-up because they’ll also know where things are stored.

Do you think there will be decorations you can finally discard or donate? It doesn’t hurt to figure that out. When you pack everything back up, you might even find that by owning less, it’ll take less time to put things away. I always say “Less is More”.

Have a joyous and peaceful holiday season!