This is a sponsored post on behalf of Energizer. All tips and tricks are my own.
If you do a simple search on the internet, you’ll find all kinds of checklists and to-dos of things to do before Christmas Day. But, what are the important things to do after Christmas? We focus on the build up, the anticipation, and even the day of Christmas, but there are vitally important tasks we need to accomplish after all the gifts are gone, and the wrapping paper is thrown away.
Take Stock
If you’re family was very generous during the holiday season, you may find yourself swimming in gifts the day after Christmas. Now is the time to really pay attention to everything you received. Did Aunty Becky gift you a new winter coat? How many other winter coats do you already have? Are you now up to 4 sets of measuring cups because Uncle Clark knows you love to cook, and gave you a new set? Take stock of what you received, and if you already have some version of that gift in your house. While you may not need to get rid of the other versions, you will want to know exactly what you have available to you, now that you’ve gotten some great gifts from family members.
Pair Up and Pair Down
Remember how I said you may not have to get rid of anything? That’s still true. But, you may need to take stock, like we said in the first important task, and start to pair up those items you received with things that will be partnered with them over the next year and beyond. Your new Instant Pot is going to be paired up with the new set of measuring cups your received. That new coat goes oh so well with 2 of your favorite winter hats. Once you see which items work well together, then you can start pairing down. No need for 4 winter coats? Keep the new one from Aunt Becky, your favorite coat from the ones you already have, and donate the rest.
This also works so well with kids, as they receive new items for Christmas. Have them start to pair up their toys and electronics. Did they receive a new pair of bluetooth earbuds from Grandma? Well, those old pair can be donated or disposed of. The Mickey Mouse race car that your little one received goes so well with his other race cars and his fire engine, so other toys that don’t fit his toy theme can be given up. Teaching your kids how to pair up and pair down early in their lives will only benefit them in the long run.
Stock up on Necessities
After doing the steps above, you’ll be able to see what other resources or necessities you’ll need to make sure the items you keep are always working for you, instead of taking up space. For the most part, we love to stock up on things that will keep our electronics going. Energizer batteries are always on our after Christmas shopping list, because we make a point of having a nice stockpile of them to enter into the new year. The best part is that when we take stock of what we’ve received during Christmas, we’re able to see what kinds of batteries are needed for each electronic item. We make sure we have 12 months worth of those types of energizer batteries, and we’re good to go until the next holiday season!
We always downsize our Christmas decorations after Christmas as well. If we didn’t use something like an ugly candlestick or the 5 extra sets of lights I bought last year because they were on sale and thought I would need them this year it goes one of two places: the trash or Goodwill.
That’s genius, Sue! There are a few things that we didn’t even take out this year, and I think we might be OK with letting those go after this year.