After the holidays are over and your guests have gone, you’re left to deal with the excess clutter. The following tips may help preserve your sanity during post-holiday cleanup. 

• Designate a place for your new items straightaway. Otherwise, they might sit in a box or bag for months!

• Sort recyclables, such as discarded paper, shipping boxes, food cartons, etc. Set them aside to take to a recycling center, or put them in your household recycle bin.

• Not every holiday gift is a winner. Make space on a shelf in a closet or garage to store any items you plan to re-gift, donate, or return to the store. Locate receipts for the gifts you want to return and store them with each item. Come up with a game plan for getting rid of these items so they don’t become new clutter.

• Carve out a good chunk of time to take down holiday decorations. As you’re putting items away, ask yourself if they’re worth keeping another year. If they’re broken or you just don’t like them anymore, get rid of them. Once the decorations are all packed up, store them immediately.