This time of year is strange when it comes to your home. It just is! Christmas is over, which can be so sad! All that hard work and build up and it seems to end in a flash. I always have this multiple personality type feeling after Christmas where one minute I’m ready to tear down all the Christmas and start fresh, and the next I’m practically in tears because I don’t want to say goodbye. Can anyone relate?

Eventually, the Christmas must come down whether we are happy about it or not. When that happens is a TOTAL personal preference and I’m certainly not going to say when you should or shouldn’t do it! For us, it’s usually right around or shortly after New years.

I’m going to share my tips on transitioning your home after Christmas, which can be the most in between time of the year!

Pin this, pretty please!

Does anyone else take their Christmas down and suddenly think your house looks sooooo bare and plain?! I know I do…every. single. year. It can be frustrating to say the least!

BUT…I also see this as an OPPORTUNITY! Let me explain…

I see this as a time to see your home with FRESH EYES! Think of it as a somewhat “clean slate” of sorts, where you can take a step back and really evaluate what you want for your home!

Here are some of my best tips for this transitional time.

1. Make a project list as you look around your home for things you would like to do in 2019. Once you come up with a running list, try and prioritize them. Doing too many things at once will quickly cause overwhelm and frustration.
2. Determine what you LOVE and what you want to leave behind. We will be going over my entire Love it or Leave it system in my decorating community in January, but the bottom line is…PURGE! Now is the time to say goodbye to that lamp you’ve been holding on to for years but no longer love!
3. Take it a room at a time! If you try and put your whole house back together in one day, it will more than likely feel rushed and you won’t spend the time each room deserves getting put back together. Don’t rush this process, and you will be glad you did!
4. SHOP YOUR HOME! This is one of my favorite things to do, but especially as I am refreshing rooms. Have you had a vase in your living room for years and your kind of tired of looking at it? Move it to your dining room and pull something from another room to put in its place. It’s crazy how moving something from room to room makes it seem new and fresh.
5. I do love the idea of leaving some winter touches up around the home! Some of my favorite things to see used in winter decor are : Trees (green or flocked without ribbons or ornaments- more natural looking), winter type greenery, birch logs, snowflakes, snowmen, pinecones, cozy throws and yummy smelling candles!
6. For me, I crave a more neutral and simple look after the “busy feel” of Christmas decor. I’ll still be using my black and white buffalo check of course, but I try and just neutralize my spaces and bring them back to “basics.” If your decor style isn’t neutral, then of course do your thing! I’m just saying that you don’t have to feel like you have to bring in anything bold or bright this time of year unless you want to!
7. Once you do all of this, make a running list of where the “gaps” are in your rooms. Make a shopping list of things you would like to be on the search for to add to your decor in 2019. I like to put notes in my phone and even add dimensions of certain things so that when I’m out and about I can remember!

I hope you find these tips helpful. I’m right there with you if you are looking around your house and saying “WHAT NOW?!” My Christmas will be coming down soon and I can’t wait to take you along with me and show you what I decide to do. It’s always a little different each year around here!

Let me know what your plans for after Christmas decor are! If you would like to dive deeper into all of this with me starting in January, I would love for you to read about and consider signing up for my Decorating Community! We will be going through these topics to kick off the New Year and I CAN NOT WAIT!

• Discovering your decorating style (how to discover your styles and how it can help you with your home)
• Love it or leave it system (my system for purging and organizing)
• Organizing and decluttering your home (by a guest speaker)
• Decorating 101 (a 2 part video series with my BEST decorating tips and tricks….these are GOLD in the decorating world and will help you so much!)
• And of course there will be DIY’s to go along!

Until next time…

Stacey