Post Holiday Cleanup Strategies: Tips to Get Reorganized for the New Year

It's the moment when the pine needles stop smelling so good. Or the candy canes are beginning to melt on the fireplace. You look around the living room, and although the miniature lights are blinking in post-Christmas glee, they just don't have the same joyful effect anymore. Clearly, you've reached the Last Days of holiday décor, and it's time to take down the lights, decorations, and reorganize the house that was once, believe it or not, Santa free. So what lies between the mayhem of stockings and leftover gift wrap? Do you dare plunge into the stacks greeting cards and start writing your Thank You cards? Here are some tips and suggestions to get your post holiday cleaning strategies off to a roaring start:

1. Buy some tote boxes. You'll need to set the stage for your endeavor, so pick up a few 12-gallon or more boxes with lids. These are great storage containers that stack neatly on top of each other in the basement. Next year, you won't have to rummage around for last year's seasonal adornments, and it's easy to label these with a marker or stickers too.

2. Start with the lights. First things first, take down the lights! Wrap them up neatly and avoid a tangle with this quick accessory: a newspaper rolled up tightly into a tube. Simply wrap the cords around the tube, and you'll have a light 'pole' ready for unraveling at your fingertips next year.

3. Layer those baubles. Ideally, you will have saved the original box for those Christmas balls and ornaments. If not, use a shoebox or an egg carton to keep them separate from the heavier items.

4. Create an 'Open First' box for next year. This can be a tote or storage box to hold all the things you need to get started decorating; box up the basics such as tree stand, cookie cutters, and new Christmas cards you recently got at the holiday sale! It's an easy step to get you in the holiday spirit on time next year, without having to search and shuffle through every box.

5. Start filing those Christmas cards. Stack your cards or gift notes into piles, and organize them for a Thank You card mail out (or not). Do this the first week of January, and you'll have it out of the way in one clean sweep.