Simple Christmas Decoration Guidelines for the Minimalist Home

The Christmas season is upon us and many have already started decorating their homes with trees, lights, garland, snowmen, nutcracker statues, a Christmas village scene, etc. The list goes on and on. After all, in many stores Christmas decorations show up on the shelves in July! And with more and more shopping moving online, we can get any decorations we want anytime of the year. With so many options, it’s natural for us to want to buy every cute and beautiful wreath (or anything else) we see. And all this STUFF adds up! Before you know it, you’ll end up with 5 huge wreaths buried under other decorations. And then, you’ll buy another one because, when you look inside your storage space, you can’t see any wreaths! Yes, I admit, I am speaking from personal experience here. In fact, 3 of the wreaths I found while decluttering last year still had tags still on them. *shaking my head in embarrassment*

Now like most people, I LOVE putting up holiday decorations. Christmas lights everywhere! Imagine the Griswolds here…okay not as extreme, but close! But it was clear I needed to make some changes with regards to how I decorate for Christmas. As I decluttered, I followed these guidelines listed below, and I’m so happy I did. Now, my home still has the magic of Christmas decorations, but I also am not overwhelmed with stuff that I have no room for.

Go through the following questions to determine if you should keep, or buy, an item, and whether it should be included your holiday decorations.

1. Where would I place the item?
   • Consider the space you have available for decorations. If your shelves and tables are already filled with other decorations, do you really want to add another one? Perhaps, it’s just not necessary and will make the space look and feel cluttered.
   • Try to limit how many extra things to add to a room. For example, you might put 5 additional pieces of decorations are enough to achieve the look you want.
     
2. How much extra work will be involved in my daily cleaning schedule with the specific item?
   • Consider whether the decoration creates a mess. I love glitter and once bought a beautiful glitter tabletop tree. The glitter continuously fell from the tree and ended up ALL over the house. It was pretty, but I would find glitter well after Christmas was over and all the decorations were put away. I still love glitter, but am a little more careful with what I choose.
   • Again, limit the amount of extra items you are putting up. If I add 100 beautiful holiday figurines, I will also have to clean those 100 figurines and lift each one to dust and clean. That is a lot of extra work that I won’t be able to keep up with. I want to enjoy the decorations, not stress over keeping them clean!
     
3. How and where will I store it for 11 months?
   • Will it fit into plastic storage bins? Boxes? Bags?
   • Do I have a storage space where the item will fit and will be easily accessible? How much storage space do you have in your home for decorations? If the decorations are large, can they be folded for storage? I bought big bows that can be folded and take up very little space for storage. I have also seen pop up trees that are large when expanded, but are slim when folded up for storage.
   • Try to choose items that are not big and bulky. If the item is too big or there is too much stuff, it will only become cluttered and create a situation where you will probably buy more. Again, if they are large, try to choose something that can be condensed for storing.
     
4. How long will it take to put up and take down the decorations?
   • Reduce the stress and chore of putting up holiday decorations by choosing items that are quick & easy to put up. There are so many different options available today that make decorating easy. Pre-lit trees are great because they take out the time it takes to string lights around the tree. If you have a plain tree, click here to see how you can make your own pre-lit Christmas tree.
     
5. Does the item hold sentimental value?
   • If yes, of course use it no matter how big or small! These items always belong on display for the holidays. However, find a good way to store it so that it does not get lost in the clutter when the holidays are over.

I hope you find these guidelines useful. Let me know how you determine which decorations get put up for the holidays and which ones do not. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy Holidays!