After Christmas Reset: Simplify Your Home (and Your Mind)

The week after Christmas always feels different.

I love Christmas magic… but the aftermath? The pile of toys, the stack of empty boxes, and the “where do I even put all this?” panic hits you like a ton of bricks. I know you know the feeling.

If you are desperately seeking a calm, after Christmas reset without spending a tremendous amount of time organizing, you’re in for a treat. Think of this as your December reset guide.

Perfect for busy moms who want to get their house (and mind) back in order.

1. Start Your Reset Week After Christmas by Focusing on One Little Thing

Forget perfection. The goal here is momentum, so just start by focusing on one space. Only one.

Set your timer for 15-minutes and begin. Here are some spaces for you to consider tackling first:

• Living room Christmas clean out. Remove ripped-up wrapping paper, boxes, basically anything that does not belong.
• Kitchen sweep! Put away your nice holiday dishes. For me, this involves getting out the step stool to reorganize them in the cabinet above the fridge. Throw out expired leftovers, remove any holiday decorations in this space, and reset your seating if you had to do some rearranging to accommodate guests.
• Reorganize drawers/clear the counter.
• Declutter or reorganize kid hot spots (playroom, entryway drop zone, toy shelf, kids’ bathroom).

As a busy mom, I can confidently say that resetting one little space at a time, makes a huge difference. This absolutely contributes to my after Christmas motivation.

There is nothing like making your home feel lighter before the New Year.

And if you’re interested in my teeny tiny habit that will actually stick and help you declutter in just 15 minutes, you’re going to love this post.

2. Do a Simple Christmas Declutter (Quick Sweep)

The holidays bring joy, happiness, and A LOT of stuff. Loads. Before you feel like all the new things are invading your home, do a quick Christmas declutter:

• Get rid of broken toys.
• Throw out any lingering packaging.
• Donate duplicates (or let nana and grandpa keep the duplicates for their house).
• Keep gift bags! I flatten mine, fold and store tissue paper in a ziplock bag, and organize them in a pretty storage basket to use for future birthdays and holidays.
• Store Christmas decor in a Christmas-labeled storage bin. And if any Christmas decorations haven’t left the holiday bin and are collecting dust, just go ahead and donate it now!

Need a step-by-step guide to decluttering toys? Here is exactly how to do it without losing your mind!

3. Reset Your Family Routine After Christmas

Schedules always get messed up during December. Going to check out the Christmas lights show after bedtime, enjoying sweet treats, traveling, and the excitement of Christmas make us feel like we have lost all sense of time.

After Christmas, we are all craving a gentle routine to get us back on track.

Implement this simple after Christmas reset routine:

Weekdays:

• Predictable wake time
• Simple meals
• 15-minute declutter
• Put the kids to bed on time

Weekends:

• Enjoy a family outing
• Get into the habit of a Sunday reset (a deeper clean, laundry, meal prep, etc.)
• Actually prioritize YOU time!

A reset doesn’t require huge changes, and it doesn’t have to be strict. From experience, being consistent is what matters most. These small changes will become a habit.

4. Reset Your Mind

This is the best time of year to reset your mind. With the New Year comes resolutions! I am pretty certain the most popular resolution is to be healthy. Being healthy isn’t all about looking closely at your diet. Your mind is also important!

Here are some quick reset ideas:

• Pour yourself a full glass of water before filling your coffee cup!
• Pick a few priorities you’d like to achieve for you (not a long list of 50 ideas).
• Make an actual plan for how you will achieve your new goals.
• Get outside regularly! Being outdoors is amazing for the mind.

A December reset is about starting the New Year off right and making time for yourself again.

5. 25-Item Christmas Clean Out

If the idea of deep cleaning sounds really scary right now, I think you’ll be able to get on board with this one. Instead of taking on the whole house, just remove 25 holiday items. That is all.

• Leftover gift bags/tissue paper/ribbons/bows
• Busted ornaments
• Holiday DIY projects/crafts you made with the kids
• Holiday books
• Holiday decor

You can even recruit the kids to help you complete your Christmas clean out. This can be super quick and from my experienec, it boosts my after Christmas motivation. It does not require all hours of the day and it is totally doable, even for the busiest moms.

After the holidays, I swear by this simple reset. I do this year after year and know that you can absolutely conquer this after Christmas reset too!