New Year Declutter: Get a Fresh Start for the Year

Updated January 7, 2026

The start of the year is the perfect time to to declutter your home and get organized! After the holidays clutter is piled up. Extra decorations, crowded closets, and items that no longer fit your family’s life.

As a parent, I know motivation is often highest at the beginning of the year, even if time and energy feel limited. This post is for busy families who want a more orderly, functional home without the pressure of doing everything at once. If your Christmas decorations are still up that’s not a setback! It’s a natural starting point.

Let’s turn that fresh-start feeling into progress that actually sticks.

Land Acknowledgement

This land has welcomed First Nations from across Turtle Island, and settlers and visitors from around the world. Alberta lands are part of Treaties 4, 6, 7, 8 and 10, and the homeland of the Métis.

Alberta Mamas respects and celebrates the sovereignty, lands, histories, languages, knowledge systems and cultures of all Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit nations. We are striving to better listen, understand, and learn from the Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.

We are all Treaty people.

Why Now is the Time to Declutter

Here are three reasons why the new year is a good time to declutter:

1. Mental Reset After the Holidays: The holidays are joyful but overwhelming. Decluttering in the new year helps clear visual noise, reduce decision fatigue, and creates a calmer home after weeks of “stuff everywhere.”
2. Winter Means More Time Indoors: We’re all spending more time inside, why not take advantage of avoiding -40? With everyone in the house it’s easy for clutter to get overwhelming. A simplified space makes long winter days feel lighter and more manageable.
3. Set the Tone for the Whole Year: Starting the year with intention – rather than chaos – helps everything else fall into place.

Start with Christmas Decor

Since you already have some of your Christmas decorations out of storage and will be putting them away, this is the perfect time to filter!

• Look at the items that weren’t displayed this year and decide if that’s the sign it’s time to throw them out. Definitely toss anything that:
  • you don’t like them anymore,
  • they don’t suit your decor style, or
  • the item is broken.
• You likely got a lot of new items over Christmas as presents, so you can get rid of the old items or ones you like a little less.
• Before you put away the new items, you can take a look at the space and see if there is anything that can be donated or given away.

Next Steps for New Year Decluttering of Your Home

Once you have the Christmas decorations and new presents taken care of, here are five other areas you might want to consider decluttering for a fresh start:

• Outgrown toys: Any toys that your children will “sometimes” play with can probably be donated. Obviously, keep the sentimental ones. Random ones that you got for free from McDonalds or gets played less than 10 times a year, should go.
  • Need help? Read some tips on getting kids to declutter toys.
• Your pantry: Whether you’ve made a resolution to eat healthier this year, or haven’t looked in the back corners of the cupboards for a while, now is a great time to go through your pantry and donate any non-perishable foods to your local food bank.
• Fall or winter clothes: Any clothes that got continually bypassed during the last few months might be an indication they need to be donated. Regardless of the reasons you didn’t wear them in the last 2-3 months, chances are they won’t be worn in the next 2-3 months either.
  • Consider hosting a clothing swap for mom clothes or kid clothes!
• Any papers you have stacked up: Take some time to go through all the paper you have saved/neglected the past couple of months. Recently, I found a package you use to file your taxes manually in a stack of papers my spouse had. I have no idea why he still had this package because we filed our taxes months ago. Take all of your papers out, go through them, and then file or recycle them. You don’t want more paper to accumulate when September rolls around and more paper finds its way into your home.
  • Here are some tips on managing kids’ artwork and other memorabilia (I know that’s my biggest pile of paperwork!).
• Anything that annoyed you throughout the year: This can include things that no longer serve you, things you never liked, things that were gifted to you, or things constantly in your way. Get rid of the items and create some new space.

It might sound daunting to declutter your home, especially if you’ve never done it before. However, by selecting these areas to declutter first, it will become second nature to you. If you are still struggling, when you look at an item, ask yourself if it serves the “present” you or your current intentions. If it doesn’t, it may serve someone else. Good luck!!

Monica Hui is a working mom in Calgary, Alberta, constantly looking for ways to do things faster and faster so that she can slow down to have pretend picnics with her daughter. Her website, www.wishahmon.com, shares efficiency tips to help moms create an easier, prettier, and efficient mom life. You can follow her on facebook or Instagram, @wishahmon.