By the end of the holiday season you can rest assured that you are not alone in the feeling of dread associated with the thoughts of putting your home back in order after a few whirlwind weeks of entertaining and festivities. I am certainly among the many that suffer from these post-holiday feelings.
To help alleviate this sense of dread and instead look to this time of year as the time to start fresh I thought I would share with you a few simple tips that I'm trying out this year. Hope they help and Happy 2012 to all!
1. If the needles are falling off the tree faster then you can sweep them up it's a definite sign that the tree needs to be put out to the curb. If you want to keep it a bit longer and it's still healthy (or it's fake!) then the rule of thumb is January 7th, which is the day after Epiphany.
2. Take the time to throw out those strands of lights that don't work and, neatly, put those that do still work away.
3. When putting your ornaments away try storing them in a box with shredded newspaper, it's much easier then wrapping each item individually.
4. This is also a good time to get rid of old decorations that you no longer want. Makes the process that much easier next year!
5. Give the kitchen a good clean! Odds are you've put it to good use so now is as good a time as any to make it shine! When cleaning the microwave drop a lemon wedge into a cup of water and boil inside the microwave for a few minutes (makes it easier to remove baked on food particles), throw away the leftovers, replace that box of baking soda in the fridge with a new one to remove any lasting odours, and clean the inside of your stove (procrastinating will only bake on the grease even more!).
6. On that note, this is a good time to do a New Year's Clean of the entire house, what better way to start the New Year then with a clean slate?
7. Odds are you received a gift or two that you will never use. Get rid of them! Find a local charity and drop them off, someone will be able to put them to good use.
8. Have some fun re-arranging your house. Play around with the placement of your furniture and area rugs, it's a great way to give the space a new feel and to help alleviate some of the depressing feelings of a non-holiday decorated house.