Christine Ellis

Nothing is better than bringing in the new year with a fresh, clean home when the holidays are over. Clearing the clutter from gifts, guests, decorations, cooking, and indoor and outdoor games will let you enjoy the coming year and help you organize your home.

Here are the best tips for cleaning up after the holidays to efficiently store decorations, deep clean, and declutter so your home is spotless and organized!

Manage Holiday Decorations

Take stock of your decorations, gift-wrapping supplies, and what you want to keep and use next year. Then, get boxes or containers that will fit them properly, so they remain in good condition.

As you remove holiday decor, follow these tips:

• Discard all broken or worn items
• Create a donation box for things that no longer fit your style
• Clean decorations you want to keep with a damp rag or dry paintbrush
• Wrap light strings around a paper towel or a section of wrapping paper core to keep them from tangling
• Use divided boxes for ornaments to prevent breakage
• Leave hanging hooks on ornaments, so they are ready for next year
• Group items from an area (doorway, mantle, mailbox, porch) into one box and label
• Consider wrapping an artificial tree in plastic or an old sheet and leave it standing if you have storage space (some people even leave all the ornaments on!)
• Create a list of items you need to replace or purchase for next year (lights, bows, garland, etc.)

When you follow these tips, your decorations will come out of storage clean and ready for use. With labels, you can efficiently grab the boxes you need to decorate a specific area for quick setup. Carry your "wish" list to get holiday items when they go on clearance after the season or next year when you may have forgotten what you need.

When you follow these tips, your decorations will come out of storage clean and ready for use. With labels, you can efficiently grab the boxes you need to decorate a specific area for quick setup. Carry your "wish" list to get holiday items when they go on clearance after the season or next year when you may have forgotten what you need.

Perform a Post-Holiday Declutter

It's easy for more than decorations to clutter up your home during the holidays. Cards, magazines, and catalogs built up on entryway tables and kitchen cabinets can fill with empty plastic storage containers and tins that hold goodies. Even things like extra hats, gloves, scarves, and coats can pile up in the closet or on hooks near the entryways.

Take time to walk through and assess each room in your home and remove items that don't serve a daily purpose. Either discard, put away, return to owner, or donate extraneous clutter from shelves, tables, cabinets, countertops, pantries, and closets, and don't forget the garage!

Deep Clean

With decorations put away and clutter is gone, you can now focus on giving each room in your home a deep clean. With a constant stream of kids, family, friends, and pets coming through during the season, now is the perfect time to disinfect, refresh, and clean up messes you didn't have time to deal with during the holiday rush.

This checklist will help you stay on track:

• Wash all linens and bedding
• Clean and organize fridge, freezer, and pantry
• Vacuum and wash area rugs/floor mats
• Vacuum and steam clean upholstery
• Clean carpets (DIY or hire a professional service)
• Perform a cleaning cycle in your washing machine and dishwasher
• Remove lint from dryer vents and pipes
• Clean and disinfect solid surface flooring, doors, and door knobs
• Clean oven, stovetop, and range hood
• Scrub and disinfect bathrooms
• Clear all trash, and wash and disinfect cans
• Use a magic eraser to remove scuff marks from walls and baseboards
• Wash windows
• Dust and straighten/rearrange the furniture in pre-holiday locations

Treat Yourself in the New Year

Holiday entertaining and decorating is fun but exhausting, and you may not have the energy to restore your home.

Suppose you're in southern California and want to schedule a cleaning service after the holidays. In that case, you can get a maid estimates Los Angeles, CA, to find an affordable and reliable company. Sometimes the best gift you can give yourself is having help cleaning up after the holidays!