This is the time of year where all kinds of clutter can build up. Excess food treats, lots of Christmas decorations, too many gifts, etc. These are some of the things that make the holidays fun. But when we over-indulge in any of these things we could end up with extra pounds on our bodies, wasted food, too many decorations to store, and more gifts than we know what to do with. In other words, we could be adding to our clutter!

Here are some tips to help prevent Holiday clutter build-up:

• If you have a hard time resisting food treats learn to be choosey. Only eat the ones that are special to you.
• Freeze and/or hide the cookies and candies you are saving for the parties. Out of sight, out of mind, will help control the temptations.

• Go through your stored Christmas decorations before shopping for new ones. Less chance of buying something you already have.
• Get rid of any decorations that are broken or you don’t like anymore. That will make room for a few new ones.

• Make a list of everyone you need or want to buy a gift for. Put a dollar limit and some ideas next to each name.
• If you have a large family consider drawing names to limit the amount of gifts you need to buy.
• Consider one nice gift as opposed to multiple small gifts for an individual.
• Consider one large gift (TV, vacation, etc.) for the whole family instead of individual gifts.

Taking a few precautions and writing out some plans won’t ruin the holiday’s for you. You can still have fun, just don’t overdo it or when January rolls around you may have a lot of new clutter to deal with!

Janice

P.S.  Please share your tips on how you control the clutter during the holidays. Leave a comment below. Thanks.