A Marie Kondo Christmas: Decluttering Decor Using the KonMari Method

Angela | Arrow
by Angela | Arrow

This year I’m having a Marie Kondo Christmas. I'm going to be tackling our family’s Christmas decoration collection, which means I’ll have to think about which items we cherish and want to keep, and which items we can donate or sell.


December is typically a time when our family would bring a lot of items into our home. This year we're thinking more about what we can get out of our home.

We've been saving up money and planning to move to our future forever house. The new house is smaller than the house we're living in now so we’ve been going through all of our items and really thinking about which ones we want to bring with us when we move.


We would rather tackle this now than move and have to sort through all this stuff in our new home. We’re on a journey toward minimalism.


KonMari method

I'm using a specific organizing technique called the KonMari method, in which you just lay everything out so you can see all the items that are similar and decide which of those items bring you the most joy and are the most useful to you.

Marie Kondo Christmas decorations

I laid everything out in my living room with all like items together so I could see which ones bring me the most joy. The biggest job was our ornament collection. We have a very wide variety of ornaments from handmade to store-bought to hand-me-downs.


I'm going to sort through each one to see which ones are taken out every year. If we take them out every year, they must mean something to us. The ones that don’t even get used, clearly have to go. 


Meaningful ornaments

I set aside the first ornament me and my husband bought for our first Christmas together, and the ornaments he gets every year from the fire department where he used to work. Those are meaningful to us.


I made a huge pile of donations too. They are items that were given to us or handed down, and they never seem to make it on the tree.

Generic red Christmas ornaments

Generic ornaments

We have a lot of red generic bulbs, but there's a set that’s starting to fray, so I’m going to get rid of them. There are strings hanging off them. They're just in bad shape. I have newer ones I bought last year, so there’s no point in keeping the old ones anyway.

Nativity set for Christmas

Nativity set

Another thing I want to keep is a nativity set for us to set up a display and remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas. All the pieces have a lot of detail, and we put it out every single Christmas.


Garlands

Another like item I have plenty of is garlands. One of our garlands was made with metal pieces inside that make it all misshapen and difficult to drape. I think this is finally the year we're going to let it go.


I have another garland that’s pretty lightweight and easy to hang so I think I could use it at the new house.

Christmas tree toppers

Tree toppers

I also have more than one tree topper. We have a tree topper we’ve used every year since we've been married. I really like it and it brings me joy so we're going to keep that.


I also have this little angel tree topper from when I was a little girl, and I loved looking at her. I don’t really want to get rid of it even though I have another tree topper. I’m going to repurpose her as an Elf on a Shelf because I want to keep her.

Marie Kondo decluttering tips for Christmas

Seasonal decor

I’m also keeping this nice wicker basket. I fill it with rustic items such as pine cones and other seasonal-looking things. I like that it brings a little texture to the room.

Lace snowflake collection

Snowflake collection

I have this snowflake collection that has given me a lot of joy through the years. They were all handcrafted crocheted snowflakes that my mom picked up for me at a craft fair years ago. The detail is pretty amazing, and I love how they look on the tree.


Then I found some decorations I remember making in college. It was a fun craft project, but I don't decorate with them anymore, so those are going.

Decluttering Christmas lights

Christmas lights

We’ve got our light strands and a few that look like little icicles. We bought them last year, and they're all in working condition, so we're going to keep them.


Okay, I'm all done sorting and I've got a really great pile of things that will be donated. There were so many items we were not using that will bring joy to somebody else.

Storing Christmas decor in vintage suitcases

Christmas decor storage

I decided I would use these vintage suitcases I had to store my Christmas decorations instead of ugly plastic bins. I like how tidy everything looks.

How to have a Marie Kondo Christmas

Marie Kondo Christmas

It feels so good to clear this stuff out and have everything that’s left all neat and tidy. I noticed that with fewer decorations, the kids really took the time to look carefully at each one and think about where they wanted to put them, instead of just throwing them up on the tree.


I hope you found some inspiration. If you’re looking to declutter your decorations too, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

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