The holidays are fast approaching, and your house already looks like you hosted Lagos to a Detty December. There’s that one chair dedicated to clothes that are “not dirty but not clean,” random nylon bags are stacked in between the microwave and electric kettle in the kitchen, and the list goes on.
Honestly, when you look around the house, you see the mess, but you can only blame it on your busy schedule.
Why You Should Declutter
You are not lazy; you’re just overwhelmed. Life has been happening all year, and now December is around the corner with vibes, pressure, and expectations. Group chats are buzzing with “What’s everyone doing this Christmas?” while you’re still trying to figure out what corner of the house has been harboring your vintage shirt.
Before the festivities clash with the chaos of your schedule, this is a sign that you need a pre-holiday declutter routine.
But how can you make the festive period work, especially for the space that is going to accommodate all the activities and rest?
The Chaos in Between
Decluttering before the season doesn’t mean you’re trying to be some minimalist Pinterest junkie. Don’t let your mind play games on you. It simply means you want to reduce stress, make room for joy, and enter January like a human being, not a survivor of warfare. So instead of waiting for the last-minute deep cleaning you do yearly on December 24th, here’s a realistic, step-by-step pre-holiday declutter routine you can follow without breaking your back.
1. Start With Your Space
First of all, forget cleaning the entire house in one day. It might not work. Start with areas that are accessible to everyone: the entryway or balcony, living room, and guest toilet. These spaces affect your mood the most and are what visitors will most likely see first.
Set a timer for 15–20 minutes, sweep, vacuum, and take out things to trash, donate, reorganize, or return.
Next, confront ‘the chair of clothes.’ Decide which one belongs to wear again, wash, or donate. Once your space starts breathing, you too will feel lighter.
2. Honestly, Your Phone Is Also Cluttered
Furthermore, as part of the declutter routine, do a clean sweep of your gallery and let go of screenshots you no longer remember why you took, memes from the 2020 lockdown, and ten blurry versions of the same selfie. We get it! Your phone has enough storage space, but try organization; it’s good for your brain.
While you’re at it, remove apps you haven’t opened in the last three to six months. If you need them again, you’ll download them. For now, let your phone home screen breathe.
Then look at your notifications. Those 4,000 unread emails are not inspiring anybody. Unsubscribe from newsletters you often ignore, mute spam promo messages, and turn off unimportant notifications.
3. Your Calendar Doesn’t Need to Be Detty to Be Enjoyable
It seems there is an unspoken rule that if you’re not outside every day in December, you’re somehow wasting the month. Well, before you double-book yourself into burnout, sit down and list everything trying to fit into your calendar.
Now ask yourself if you should be at certain events, choose rest days, and prioritize your holiday schedule over saying “No.” You can’t resume in January exhausted.
4. Declutter Your Finances So January Won’t Humble You
Now that you have decided to be “outside,” don’t let Detty December embarrass you financially… please open your bank apps. This is not the time to deceive yourself.
Check for subscriptions you forgot to cancel, debts you have been ignoring, or random app charges. Let your account balance decide who you’ll be able to buy gifts for and what kind of outings you can realistically afford.
Then, create a simple holiday spending plan. Nothing complicated, just allocate what you can to afford to your needs and promise yourself not to use savings to fund vibes.
5. Don’t Forget to Declutter Your Mind Too
For some people, holidays mean joy, family, food, and laughter. For others, the festivities are overshadowed with pressure, grief, loneliness, or recycled family drama. It’s okay if you don’t feel 100% festive. You’re not weird; you’re just human.
Take a few minutes to do a brain dump. Write down everything sitting heavy on your chest. It could be worries, to-dos, or expectations. Then decide on things you can do now, things you can plan for later, and things you honestly cannot control. If you believe in God, hand it over to God or your therapist. But don’t keep trying to carry it alone.
You can also write down how you feel, what you are ready to let go of this year, things you are grateful for, and whatever is on your mind. This helps you focus more on experience than performance.
The Calm Before the Storm
At the end of the day, this pre-holiday declutter routine doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to clean your whole house, clear your whole phone, or fix your entire life. Start small. Maybe today, you tackle the chair. Tomorrow, you unfollow five accounts. Next weekend, you cancel that one plan you know will drain you.
Decluttering is about creating room in your house, phone, calendar, wallet, and mind for joy, rest, and genuine connection.
Out with the old, in with the new!
