The subject line to this e-mail refers to the service The Mudroom no longer offers (Holiday Decorating). It does not refer to whether or not you should decorate for the holidays. Though as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, you may want to take a closer look.

As a professional organizer, holiday decorations can present a major challenge. Most holiday decorations are used for a short period of time and then need a home for the rest of the year. Since decorations are used sparingly and don’t endure wear and tear like other household items, they last a long time. So there’s that issue.

Another issue is how people tend to give decorations as gifts. So, in addition to decorations lasting a long time, there tends to be far more coming in than going out.

The biggest factor of all is sentimentality. Many decorations carry some sentimental value because they were gifts. That leads to two issues. One, people will keep them and two, they will presume that children and other family members will want the decorations after they are gone.

This makes for a perfect storm of clutter. Particularly when our elder parents downsize and decisions have to be made about who gets what.

The organizing pointer here is to not wait until then. Each year when you either put your decorations away or up, decide on the ones you cherish, the ones you’re okay with and the ones you wouldn’t miss. Then donate the latter.

That may seem a little harsh. Yet if each year it gets more and more difficult to fit all the ornaments, you might want to give it a try.

As we have talked about so many times before, the holidays are about the experience more than things. There’s no question the tree is part of that experience. Yet if it’s weighed down with ornaments that take up an excess amount of space to store the rest of the year, it may be time to consider this step. 

For help with downsizing your decorations and other cluttered areas, call 508-246-6120 or drop a line.