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With the holidays officially over, it's time to get reorganized for the new year. If your home is in disarray, you may feel the need to take some time to get cleaned up and prepared for what's to come. The following tips can help you return to normalcy:

Clutter control: Make room for your new belongings by weeding out some of your old ones. For every new item you receive, donate or toss an older version. Challenge yourself to rid your closet of outworn or rarely used items. Alternately, you can try filling every leftover holiday mailing box in your home with items to donate to Goodwill or charity. Regardless of what you fill them with, you'll be surprised by how much clutter you conquer.

Sort before you store: With the rush over, it's very tempting to throw all ornaments and decorations in a box and never think twice about it. However, if you take the time to sort your holiday items, you'll be glad you did come December 2012. Organizing your holiday cookware, decorations, specialty linens, etc., will make next year's decorating process that much easier and may save you some space in the basement or attic.

Rid yourself of those white elephants: Don't allow those unwanted gifts to overtake your home. Designate a spot in your home for "regifts." Write a little note about who gave you the item to prevent any awkward mistakes in the future. You may even want to consider a white elephant exchange party where each guest brings an item they'd like to regift. Some venders online may allow you to sell unwanted items. Amazon Marketplace and Ebay are great sites to start, depending on the item. Appropriately dealing with these gifts is important to controlling the clutter in your house.

Start the new year off right with a clean and clutter-free living space. The time invested in the clean-up process will be time well spent.

Source: OrganizedHome.com