If there's one thing that's always bound to inspire a healthy dose of envy in me, it's a perfectly tidy bathroom. You know the ones — where everything has a place, and there is a place for everything, not an errant toiletry or too-old razor to be found. Just neatly folded towels and delicately decorated marble trays.

Those days between Christmas and New Year's tend to blur together. After you've taken enough time to rest and catch up on all your TV shows properly, it's the perfect time to declutter your space.

Decorating a home during the holidays can be one of the most enjoyable parts of the season. It’s a chance to remember, as Charles Dickens wrote, “Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime.” So many of our treasured Christmas items remind us of a bygone era or a special person.

Sparkling Christmas decorations might look beautiful and festive, but storing them without spreading glitter around your home for the rest of the year can prove to be a tricky task.

Luckily, say our professional organizers, it doesn't have to be – all you need is a little expert know-how when it comes to stashing away your decorations until next Christmas.

There’s something quietly satisfying about taking down your Christmas decorations. The house exhales, space reappears, and suddenly your home begins to feel like itself again. But the way you pack everything away matters more than we often admit. Storing your Christmas decorations incorrectly leads to tangled lights, chipped baubles, flattened wreaths, and that impending sense of dread when December inevitably rolls back around.

There's something about a well-organized kitchen that soothes the soul. It's the ultimate flex, a clear sign that you've got your life in order, all your ducks in one row. It's the reason we make every pantry picture the Kardashians have ever posted go viral; it's the ultimate aspiration. I don't need a two-storey dressing room, I need a color-coded produce drawer.

Now that 2026 is officially in full swing, your resolutions are likely focused on tidying, cleaning, and decluttering. And, if the latter is top of your list this year, where's best to get started?

There are a lot of ways to declutter out there—the pile method and the discernment method are two of them, and now, everyone’s hushing their house. “It means taking everything out of a space—a whole room, or a small cupboard—and giving the space a deep clean, then putting things back with intention,” explains Barbara E. Tanaka, Strategic Home Design and Organizing Advisor at Real Estate Bees in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It’s like resetting the space so you can clearly see what you actually need and what no longer fits the ‘now’ you.”

The week between Christmas and New Year's is for rest and relaxation—and, let’s face it, forgetting what day it is and eating leftover sugar cookies for breakfast. That said, the slow pace doesn’t mean your days have to be entirely unproductive. From tackling small post-holiday resets to mapping out goals for the year ahead, there’s still room to check off a few meaningful tasks from your list.

Every year when I am battling through tangled decorations and tattered tinsel, I promise myself I'll be more organized next year. This year, I have finally decided to break the cycle.

Ahh, winter ... The days grow shorter, the temperatures drop, and we spend more time cocooned like hibernating bears inside our homes. And while the season can feel slower, winter presents an opportunity many of us overlook: decluttering.

It tends to happen slowly: Your coffee table goes from a stylish centerpiece to a landing pad for remotes, mail, and maybe even last night’s half-empty mug. What should be the main anchor of your living room suddenly looks more like a messy catchall than the functional design statement you intended.

When it comes to hosting, there’s nothing worse than a guest seeing something you’d rather keep hidden—especially when it comes to clutter. Just like us, professional organizers hide things when guests come over. It may seem hard to believe, but even they have mail piles, shoes, and more that they don’t want on display.

I love to shop, and I am definitely prone to impulse purchases – especially when it comes to clothes and accessories. As a result, I always feel like I am decluttering my closet, and feel guilty about my 'wasted' purchases every time.

I love to shop, and I am definitely prone to impulse purchases – especially when it comes to clothes and accessories. As a result, I always feel like I am decluttering my closet, and feel guilty about my 'wasted' purchases every time.

If you're looking to get your home into tip top shape as the new year approaches, you might want to consider trying out a clutter-free countdown. 

A new year invites a fresh start, and sometimes the easiest way to feel lighter at home is simply to let a few things go. Experts say January is the ideal moment to release the items that you’re “making do with” or “saving just in case” but never actually use

It makes sense that one of the toughest rooms in the house to keep tidy is also one of the most frequently used. The kitchen is a work space, gathering space, and command center all in one, requiring consistent attention to ensure the clutter there doesn’t spin out of control.

The beginning of a new year is typically the time we declutter our homes, but professional organizers recommend getting a jump start on the task and tossing certain things before the holidays. “December is a great time to throw away anything that you no longer use or need, so your home can be clutter-free for the new year,” says Olivia Parks, owner and lead organizer at My Professional Organizer Northshore.

It's easy to get swept up in the coziness of fall, only for winter to come knocking and leave you feeling like the rug has been pulled out from under you. And with hosting season quickly approaching, it's time to get your home in order.