Decluttering for good fortune: tips to prepare your home for Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is a wonderful time of celebrations, and the perfect time to bring fresh, clean energy to our homes. But between hosting family and preparing our houses for rituals and traditions, this holiday can feel a little overwhelming too! We have compiled a handy list of decluttering and packing tips that will help get your space ship-shape before and after the festivities. Let’s make some room for prosperity and positivity in the Year of the Tiger!
How to declutter and organise your home for the holiday
Follow these five tips for decluttering and your house will be CNY-ready before you can say “Gong xi fa cai”!
- Invest in storage units
Whether your shoe rack is overflowing or your closet is bursting, the right storage unit can work wonders. Invest in new racks, closet bins, under-bed storage cases or shelving to make space to store your belongings neatly. Not only will this instantly declutter your home for Chinese New Year, it will help you stay organised year-round. If you’re the last-minute type, you can always use shoe or delivery boxes as stand-ins.
2. Start with the most visible areas
If you’re short on time, make the task of decluttering more approachable by prioritising the areas that people are most likely to see during the holiday. These include the entrance hall, living room, dining area and bathroom.
3. Let go of unused items
As the Chinese proverb goes ‘if the old doesn’t go, the new won’t come’. Assess whether you need to keep everything. Broken electronics, old toys and tattered clothing should all be tossed in the recycling pile, while items in good condition that you never use can be donated to charity.
4. Do a little each day
If the task of decluttering feels overwhelming, try dedicating an hour each day to it, rather than tackling it all in one go.
5. Call in reinforcements
Remember, you don’t have to do this alone! If you have kids or other family members living with you, assign them tasks to help with decluttering, cleaning and decorating. If the chores are piling up, consider hiring a cleaner to help out.
How to pack up after Chinese New Year holiday
After enthusiastically eating and entertaining, all you’ll want to do is take a two-day nap – but, trust us, you’ll feel much better if you blitz the packing up first. Before the celebrations begin, prepare some boxes and labels to make this task easier.
Use expandable drawer organisers to divide storage boxes into sections for small and delicate decorations. Once everything is neatly packed into categorised, labelled boxes – CNY kitchenware, CNY decorations, etc. – store it away in your bomb shelter or attic until next year.
It’s also important to organise your fridge and food cupboards to ensure all those delicious leftovers don’t go to waste. Store dishes in labelled tupperware, with the items that will expire first towards the front. If you’re left with more than you can eat, send takeout boxes home with your guests or give some to your neighbours.
Still overwhelmed by clutter?
No matter how much decluttering you do, sometimes you simply don’t have enough room. If you need extra storage space to keep meaningful or reusable items for the next holiday, you can find self-storage across Singapore with Space Next Door.
Click here to find the perfect space in your area.