Nov 18

Nov 18 How to Declutter Your Home for the Holidays

The holidays are often spent with close family members and friends. And while this year may look a little different with social-distancing requirements in place, you may still be hosting small, intimate gatherings, or have people stopping by to drop off cookies, gifts and more.

These cleaning tips can help you ready your home for the holidays.

Organize Key Areas

Focus on the areas of your home that are the most visible and trafficked first. Consider:

Entryways and doorways. Assign a designated area for shoes and other personal belongings, such as purses or coats, so you don’t trip or feel overwhelmed in the doorway.
Living room or basement. Since these rooms are central hangout spots, keep them as spacious as possible. Ensure there is enough seating for people to enjoy themselves from a safe distance.
Dining room. Set tables with the necessary glassware. This provides convenience as meals are being served, and adds a nice touch to the overall look and feel of your dining room.
Bathrooms. Set out fresh soap, and encourage regular hand washing of anyone in your home. Additionally, make sure there’s plenty of toilet paper available.
Kitchen. The kitchen can get crazy as food is prepared, so the less people interfering, the better. To limit the spread of COVID, it’s best to serve food to yourself versus having food and drinks set out buffet style.
Guest bedroom. For guests who need to stay overnight, prepare a bedroom with fresh blankets and pillows.

Once you have these spaces ready, go in and add decorations to get your home holiday ready.

Utilize a Self-Storage Unit for Excess Belongings

As you clean your home for the holidays, you may find you don’t have enough space for everything. If this is the case, consider storing them temporarily in a self-storage unit to ensure a clutter-free home. Some items to consider storing, include:

Excess holiday décor. Store items from other holidays that don’t have a home.
Furniture. If you put up a tree for the holidays, you may not have enough room for everyday household furniture.
Clothes and shoes. As you clean out your closets, you may need to store offseason clothes and shoes elsewhere.
Exercise equipment. To make more space for your tree and other festive decorations, consider temporarily storing exercise equipment.