By Lauren Winters West, Next Highest Good Professional Organizing

If decorating your home brings seasonal joy, your boxes of holiday accouterments may already be calling to you from the attic. And soon, a familiar ritual unfolds: the bins come out, the wreaths are dusted off, and you rediscover your favorite festive touches. 

This is also the time of year when we’re reminded of just how much stuff we’ve accumulated. Holiday and seasonal décor have a funny way of multiplying quickly. 

The good news? You don’t have to hold onto them for another year.

Now is the perfect time to donate and rehome your holiday goodies. Giving items a second life before the holiday ensures they can be enjoyed this season, rather than sitting in storage or eventually ending up in the landfill. This is how we pass things on to their next highest good. 

Why Timing Matters

Donation centers and creative reuse shops are at their busiest before each major holiday. They need time to process and display items so that someone else can give them a new life. Once the holiday passes, those same items are often too seasonal to be resold or stored efficiently.

By donating now, you’re helping others decorate sustainably and making space in your own home for what truly brings you joy.

What to Donate Now

As you pull out boxes of decorations, take a mindful inventory. Which pieces do you reach for first? Which ones stay in the bin? The goal isn’t to purge, it’s to let your home reflect your current season of life.

Here are a few examples of what can easily be rehomed this time of year:

• Thanksgiving: seasonal dishware, linens, tablescape items, inflatables
• Winter Holidays: lights, ornaments, wreaths, festive indoor/outdoor décor
• Seasonal Accessories: hats, gloves, scarves, snow gear

And a friendly reminder: the things you already own are good! That ceramic turkey you thrifted three years ago or the snowman platter passed down from your mom still holds value and joy. If they no longer spark joy for you, they’ll absolutely delight someone else this year.

Rehoming with Intention

When deciding what stays and what goes, try thinking beyond “keep or toss.” Most décor can be reused, repaired or rehomed with a little effort.

If you’re unsure where something belongs, use The Zero Waste Rehoming Decision Tree. I created this tool to help you determine the best next step: reuse, rehome, recycle or (as a last resort) discard.

Holiday décor is a great place to start. These items often have plenty of life left, it just takes a bit of intentionality to make sure they find their highest and best use.

A Gentle Shift Toward Less Waste

Decluttering before the holidays doesn’t have to feel like a chore. I actually reframe it as an act of generosity. When you pass items along early, you give those goods a chance to bring joy again.

From cornucopias to sparkling lights, every piece you rehome helps create a more sustainable holiday season. For you, your community and the planet.

~ Lauren

About the Author

Lauren Winters West is the CEO & Founder of Next Highest Good Professional Organizing. She works with clients across all life stages, in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, to create spaces that maximize healthy, sustainable living and productivity. As a zero waste expert, she shares her knowledge on Substack and through speaking engagements to empower others to rethink, reframe and rehome unwanted items. Lauren is a member of the Good Future Design Alliance, Green Business Network California, Plastic Pollution Coalition, and the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals.