And Breathe... 5 Quick Ways to Reset Your Home Between Christmas and the New Year
It's the most wonderful time of the year, but it's also a whirlwind — here's how to quickly restore a sense of calm amongst the chaos
Christmas is a time of many things: joy, company, and reflection. But it's also a period where your home can become incredibly overwhelming. Whether it's the thought of taking down your fairy lights without tangles, the wrapping paper all over the living room, or figuring out exactly what went into which box to store it away again, it can feel like chaos clearing up between Christmas and the New Year ahead.
I've definitely been there, and as someone who loves both the holidays and a clean, tidy space, it can be frustrating and exhausting. To help you (and let's be honest, me, too), I reached out to two professional organizers to find out their best tips and tricks for resetting a home in winter ahead of the New Year.
By taking the time now to reset your home (even if just briefly), you'll be able to walk into the next chapter feeling calmer, more collected, and ready for whatever lies ahead. So, here's what the experts recommend doing between Christmas and New Year.
1. Tackle an Area That Aligns With Your New Goals
I really loved this idea by Kiera Malowitz, a certified professional organizer and the owner of Decluttered LLC. She recommended picking one area of your home to reset, clear, or declutter that will help make achieving your New Year's goal a bit easier.
"A powerful reset for your home for the New Year is making sure your home is set up to support your 2026 goals," she explains. "For example, if you struggled with meal prep or cooking this year, why not lay out your kitchen and pantry to make it easier to use? When your systems match your habits, your home becomes easier to maintain too, and that’s exactly what creates the refreshed feeling you need to be successful in your new year goals."
This same principle could apply to resetting your office desk, the boot of your car, or the junk drawer you dread. Whether you dedicate hours or a ten-minute burst to resetting the space, it'll leave you feeling more in control.
2. Declutter Your Decor
Do you love home decor so much that you sometimes find the sheer amount of it can feel like clutter instead of joy? It can happen to any of us! That's why Kiera recommends using the new year to sort through it all, only keeping what still uplifts you and your space.
"One of the fastest ways to refresh your home for 2026 is to harness the benefits of decluttering by removing decor you no longer want, need, or use, especially items that are broken, chipped, or missing parts," says Kiera. "You may wish to start with Christmas decor as you take it down, but don’t stop there! A new year is the perfect excuse to look at your everyday decorations with fresh eyes and minimize visual clutter."
After sorting through what to keep and what to discard (or, preferably, donate), use storage ideas like these large plastic boxes with clips from Amazon to tidy away anything left over, so that finding it in the future is a breeze.
Kiera Malowitz is a certified professional organizer who founded Decluttered, LLC (formerly DFW Decluttered™) in Texas back in 2019. After having twins five years prior (plus a toddler shortly after), she discovered the value, both physically and mentally, of having less clutter and being more organized in the home, which inspired her to go out and help others achieve the same.
3. Clear Your Dining Table
Your dining table encounters a lot of traffic come Christmastime. Whether it's the central hub of a roast, a surface to stack presents, or the area people rest their drinks on, it only takes a moment for them to become messy.
Mary Jo Contello, a professional organizer and the owner of Organized by MJ, believes taking a moment to properly clear your table after Christmas is an easy way to reset, both functionally as well as visually.
"People tend to leave items they do not necessarily need out and about in their home post-Christmas, such as on tables," says Mary. "Getting all the tables cleaned of clutter and put away if they aren't always out and in use will for sure bring a refreshed feeling into your home."
If you're struggling to get started, why not put on your favorite song and challenge yourself to see how much you can declutter the dining room before it ends? You'll more than likely surprise yourself with how much you can declutter in 30 minutes or less.
Mary Jo Contello has always naturally been an organized person, so after spending years in the corporate world, she founded Organized by MJ with the goal of not only cleaning and organizing people's homes, but teaching them lasting solutions to avoid creating 'clutter hot spots' in the future.
4. Tackle Toy Tornadoes
If you have a playroom or children who often play in their rooms, now's the ideal time to tackle toy tornadoes. Goodness knows how many toys, fragments of gift wrap, and sweets have made their way in there by now, but taking just ten minutes to pick up as much as you can will leave the space calmer for yourself and your little ones.
"Now is the perfect time to declutter a kid's bedroom or playroom by getting rid of any broken toys or toys that can be donated to others," says Mary. "If you haven't already and your kids have accumulated more toys over Christmas, try working with them to establish a one-in-one-out rule for toys — teaching kids to let go of something old to get something new."
If they're struggling to share, you can teach your kids about the importance of giving to others around Christmas with a book like A Unicorn Christmas (available on Amazon). It could be one night's bedtime story, but enough to spark them to put things away on their own into toy storage.
5. Clear Out the Fridge
Christmas can leave people's fridges crammed with all kinds of leftovers. But if we're honest with ourselves, it can often be too much. Mary suggests creating "an eating up the holiday leftover meal" menu for the week after, but also being realistic about what you will and will not be able to consume.
Give excess to family, neighbors, or even a local soup kitchen if that's possible, and leave your fridge free for the new year ahead. Don't forget to freeze what you can, too, and toss anything out that hasn't been properly stored before you organize your fridge back together.
When it comes to storing food, these Basics air-locked containers from Amazon are a great choice for keeping food fresh. They're stackable, freezer-safe and can also be microwaved.
If you've found yourself feeling stressed after the holidays, surrounded by clutter, it may be worth implementing the 'four-gift rule' into your celebrations next year. The rule ensures people have something to open but never too much to store.
