Some people think it’s Scrooge-like to take down the tree and decorations the day after Christmas. Perhaps it is. But, for those of us who need simplicity to function, we find it a necessity.

This year I put on some upbeat country music and told the kids “Let’s see how many songs it takes for us to take everything down, put it in totes, move it out to the cottage, and get the vacuuming and dusting done.” The only thing upbeat from that moment on was the music.

After the crowded calendars, dinner plates, and front rooms of the Christmas season, I find myself longing for open space. I want nights to stay home, simpler meals, and space to move around the living room without knocking ornaments off the tree.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, said “Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more.”

Um, wow. He just described the complete opposite of what most of our Decembers look like. But, our lives don’t need to remain like that come January. Here are three ways to create room for the new year and the new you of 2020.

Adopt the Hot Lava Mindset

Don’t place anything on your flat surfaces (tables, counters, shelves) unless you find it beautiful and semi-permanent. Think of those surfaces like hot lava that will burn up and destroy what you place there. Instead find a true home for the item. That could mean filing it, chucking it, putting it in a box to donate to charity or immediately returning it to where it belongs. This habit can be practiced all day long, or at the end of each day when you see a backpack on the verge of bursting into flames on the kitchen table.

Give Your Debit Card a Vacation

Have you ever put yourself on a spending freeze? That means not spending anything for a week, a month, or even longer. You could either lock up your cards and checkbook in a safe, deliver them to a friend for safe keeping, or make a pact with your spouse or best friend to stop the madness of acquiring. If you are like me--and like to give personalities to inanimate objects--just picture the poor beleaguered card, limping and panting after the overuse of the holiday season. Give it a vacation and time to heal. Our spending does need to be checked, even if it’s so we can give ourselves a pat on the back for doing better this year than last.

Picture a Rested and Renewed You

We have all either heard of or created a vision board for the dreams we’d like to see come true. I am a believer in the practice, as it has worked for me time and time again. But what about creating a vision of a rested, peaceful, and delightful you? Could we find ways to incorporate simple days, simple clothes, and simple meals into our lives? Could we cut down on the excitement and bump up the contentment? Could we scale back the worry and elevate the trust? Are there words we could try to embody? Perhaps writing and repeating a mantra that would symbolize the-new-me-in-the-new-year?

Though I love the Christmas Season for the way the world gives at least a nod to Christ’s birth, it has been hijacked into a season that too often promotes less of what Christians believe. We owe Him better than that. We owe Him our best.

Back to taking down Christmas. I’m happy to report that five of us did it all in just four songs. Perhaps this New Year I’ll help the family create a four-song moment for us to make room for Him again in 2020.