Minimalist Christmas Decor Ideas: How to Simplify Your Decorating

The KonMari journey

I laid everything out, KonMari style, in my living room and then sorted through and decided what things were my favorites. So now, for the last few years, that's what I've had on hand, just my absolute favorite pieces that are special to me and I love displaying for Christmas.

I was able to take all of the bins and random boxes of things that I had for Christmas and consolidate everything down to two suitcases.

I can easily carry them out of storage when I'm ready for them and set them up for decorating. Since that time, I haven't really accumulated anything else.

Suitcase storage

First I want to show you these suitcases.

You can find these easily at any vintage store, an antique store in your area, or maybe even at a thrift store. 

They're not huge, so they don't allow for it to get stuffed and too heavy to carry around.

Suitcase one

Some of the things I have in here are crocheted snowflakes. That was kind of a collection that I started years ago and my mom has been adding to it through the years. 

I’ve got a lot of red and green colored things. These are some pillow covers here and a little garland and a little picture. I even have a blanket stored here so that's part of my decor. 

Next are all of my Willow Tree nativity pieces. 

I have some special ornaments that I've kind of collected through the years and some room spray, but that's all that's in that one suitcase. 

Suitcase two

In the other suitcase, again, it's got the pocket up above. I don't have anything in there right now except a holiday towel.

I’ve got some Christmas lights. I store my pine cones here. I've got some red Christmas balls. I've got little projects that my kids did. Then a Christmas tree topper. 

Using these curated items that I have stored in these suitcases, I was able to decorate the cottage for Christmas last year. 

Even if you use the same decor every single year for Christmas and you just put it in the exact same spot year after year, it still does feel fresh and new to you because it hasn't been out and on display for over a year. 

So if you're feeling overwhelmed by your Christmas decor and you're thinking about paring down, I do have a few tips. 

Choose your favorite items

The first is to look for your favorite items and be sure to keep those. Really look for those special pieces because those are the ones that when you are decorating that you get those memories that pop back into your head and it just kind of gives you that nostalgia. 

I'd also encourage you to not be too concerned about having enough stuff to fill up your room because really it's just a few pieces here and there that you might need to kind of change the mood of the space. 

Decorate with one-use items 

Another tip that I have found freeing is to not have to think about having an actual physical item that you store from year to year, but instead, think about bringing things into your home just for that season and then tossing it afterward.

For example, an easy one is just stringing popcorn garland and using that on the tree.

Another thing that I really like to do is to decorate with pictures or little mementos throughout the year and I like to decorate with pictures for any season. 

There are so many different ways that you can display photos and so we have this where we can clip things out. 

I am also a huge fan of chalkboard art. You can make it as festive as you want. Change the sayings. I just feel like it's a classic way to decorate without really any expense and without any clutter. 

I'm also a big fan of bringing nature indoors for the change of the seasons. For Christmas, I have a lot of pine cones and I bring in some spruce clippings. 

Use something that you can easily collect from outside, bring it inside so it adds that festiveness. Then at the end of the season, you can just put it back into nature.

Decorate with textiles

The final tip I have about simple decorating that I personally like to use is to decorate with textiles in the winter. We bring out the chunkier blankets, the knit blankets, and that texture adds so much to a space. It just changes the feel of the space. 

Minimalist Christmas decor

I hope these tips and the tour of my own little holiday decor were interesting to you and gave you inspiration for minimalist Christmas decor. You can even pare down and simplify your decor items if that's something that you're looking to do.

What is your favorite minimalist way to decorate for the holidays? Comment below to share your ideas!