I've found myself longingly reminiscing about the holiday season of years past: enjoying decorative lights and window displays, light dustings of snow, hearing Christmas carols play while shopping in person for gifts. As much as I do love all these things, and even made sure to get my early dose when the Distillery Winter Village opened, I'm finding reasons to look forward to a different kind of December.

Last year a bout of influenza and pneumonia kept me in bed for weeks missing holiday gatherings. Without the busy schedule of holiday events, but with a track record of good health so far thankfully, I've got my sights set on milking this extra festive time at home. Advance gift wrapping, extra holiday movies, baking, and leisurely walks in nature, bundled up and with a warm drink in hand, are all sounding perfectly lovely to me.

But first, we do have our work cut out for ourselves. We redid our own basement finishes (flooring and paint), displacing our furniture, kids’ toys and a few storage items throughout the house and creating a big mess. As the project nears completion, and we start thinking about returning things to their places, I've got three key areas on my radar to declutter prior to ushering in holiday mode in our home.

When it comes to getting Christmas-ready, these three decluttering projects will pay off in numerous ways:

Entryway - Is it just me or are the lines becoming increasingly blurred between our Canadian seasons? With our small, closet-free entryway, we really notice when our fall and winter jackets are all out and in regular use, filling up our hooks. I'm ready to finally rotate my fall items out for good. This extra effort now, will pay off each time we bundle up to go out and everything is easier to find and put away. When the basement work is done, I'll simply hang the fall jackets back up in our downstairs closet, and swap seasonal accessories from the main floor to the off-season baskets in the basement.
Toys - Taking stock of the toys with the kids is useful for them and me prior to finalizing holiday wish lists. They tell me what they still like, what they're no longer into, and we make sure we have space to accommodate any new gifts. Their ideas of what they want have been all over the map, from more superheroes to remote control vehicles to baseball bats. Whoever came up with the idea of writing letters to Santa, knew the value of being intentional and solidifying your wishes by putting them down on paper! We will be sure to finish this stage with that crucial step to avoid any uncertainty, and for fun too!
Living Area - Despite the current feeling of our basement having exploded on our main floor, and the extra clutter that has surely creeped in as a result, I know clear surfaces in our living/dining areas will really allow our holiday decor and table settings to shine. When the work is done, I’ll be taking decluttering a step further than typically, even packing up some year-round decorative items to make room for holiday decor. I’ll simply put them in our seasonal storage bins when the decorations go up, and easily swap them back after the holidays.

Thanks to the basement makeover, our current living situation feels chaotic and messy, but we’re making do knowing it’s only temporary and short-term. I am so eager to restore order to our house so I have to walk myself through my own common tricks to cut through the overwhelm:

Set clear goals with self-imposed deadlines.
Take things one area at a time.
Reward myself with entertaining audio and by putting up holiday decor when the work is done.

I know it will be worth it when I can relax and enjoy my space in holiday mode. In the meantime, don’t mind me while I blast my holiday tunes or binge Netflix’s Holiday Home Makeover with Mr. Christmas as background entertainment. It’s time to power through the November chores!

Shortly after writing my draft of this post, I was motivated to edit the entry, adding my wreath and swapping pics in this frame as final touches.

Home for the Holidays: 3 Areas to Declutter Pre-Holidays