Keeping Your Space Neat Through the Holidays
It’s the month of November, which is one of my favorite months of the year. This month, I’m bringing you a list of my best tips for hiding clutter and making your home look organized if you are having guests over the upcoming holiday season.
November and December are wonderful months, full of holiday cheer, friends, and family. The downside to all of that, however, means you may have unexpected guests in your home. While I firmly believe we shouldn’t apologize for living in spaces that look lived-in, because no one should apologize for existing, I also know that it’s nice to have a clean, welcoming place to greet your guests when they arrive.
Here are my top ways to make your space inviting, while hiding some of the evidence of a busy, messy life.
1. Use containers. I love containers. Anything in a box or bin automatically looks more organized than something in a pile on the edge of a table or shelf. You don’t need to move the pile… just put a container under it! Bonus points if you use containers with different textures. Using multiple textures in your home increases the feeling of coziness, so a wooden crate, a woven basket, and a metallic tin in a grouping together will add to the warm, festive spirit of the season while stashing some of the things you don’t want guests to see.
2. Take advantage of all the storage you can use. I don’t recommend stuffing closets and drawers full to capacity and then cramming in a little more around the edges, but if you have storage bins that normally hold holiday decorations, put the things you had to move to make room for those decorations into the decoration bins for the duration of the season. If you have furniture with storage, like space in an ottoman or drawers in an end table, that’s a perfect place to put clutter that doesn’t need to be out and about. You may have more storage space than you know, and getting creative with it is essential during this time of the year.
3. Toss some junk! Anything you find yourself moving around, but you can’t remember the last time you used or enjoyed? Pitch it! Old toys your kids have outgrown? Donate them. Threadbare decorations you don’t use anymore because they’re just too old and you already replaced them with something better? Let them go. Often, a lot of new things come into our homes during this time of year. Appreciate the things you treasure, and let go of things that are taking up space better used for something you value more.
I love this time of year, and I love getting to make guests feel special. That all starts with having a peaceful, festive home for them to enjoy when they visit. Getting the clutter out of sight goes a long way toward spending the holiday season celebrating with the people I love instead of apologizing for my home and, by extension, myself.
Embrace the season, not the stuff. What are your favorite tips for getting your home holiday-ready?