It’s long been documented around here that I have a severe allergy to unpacking—and I’m comfortable not putting away clean laundry for a period of time that makes some people uncomfortable. Suitcases, groceries, laundry, the dishwasher, holiday gear. It if involves re-homing, undoing, or putting things away, I’m just not having it. But, this year, after my January 2021 self made my December 2021 self super happy, I’m committed to doing a few things differently. I’m no Marie Kondo, but I will officially commit to re-packing things (imperfect as my process may be), so I don’t find 17 rolls of wrapping paper. #truestory
So here’s my plan:
- Block out the time to actually unpack. I’m the queen of making time to pack and plan, but unpacking or re-boxing…NEVER! This year, I’ve blocked out the time to actually re-bin the holiday gear. ALSO, how did I become a person with holiday GEAR?!
- Break de-decking (or unpacking or whatever) into steps. I first un-did (lights down from outside, garland off the banister) and then gathered. I then laid out EVERYTHING across the dining room, roughly by category.
Then, I took a break for a week.
- Take a few moments to toss any old or broken items. Lights that blew out: Recycled. Broken tree ornaments: Goodbye. Grinch mug that my children no longer find funny: Donate to a neighbor. Random star for top of the tree that someone gifted me: Donate again.
- Gather the right storage tools. So, yes, like any good suburban mom, I have some bins. They don’t match, several are in states of disrepair, and I don’t care. They do the job decently. Bonus points if I vacuum or wipe the crud out of the bottom. Just kidding. I’m never going to do that, but you do you. And yes, I hit the point this year where I ordered this. #thisis44
- Group items accordingly. This is the moment when I had a MOMENT. I found, I kid you not, 17 rolls of wrapping paper. Why is this? Well, I am a plan ahead-er and a sale shopper. Bad combo, but the root of this is that I have not taken the time to assess what I had in stock because I shove everything in bins. So, let it be known that I have enough reusable gift bags, gift wrap and tags to last for the next five years.
And here are the final, final two steps that I commit to taking by Sunday!
- Repack the items. One bin for outside lights, another for inside decorations, another special one for ornaments, and so on. I’m going to try and group them by the order my kids like to rip them out of the closet. PS I’m so sad about the kids aging out of a holiday book collection.
- Label the bins. So, some of you may be surprised, but I’m not soooo into labeling. In my world, we are talking bare minimum. So, I will do the old sheet protector with a piece of paper, label the bins, and attempt to fit them into the limited closet space I have around here.
Okay, I admit, I’m never going to love this as much as I like a list, planning, and prioritizing, but 17 rolls of wrapping paper shamed me into repacking more thoughtfully. Stay tuned for the final results! PS I’m not applying any of this to my laundry situation. Just sayin’
