http://www.bin-store.com/blog

The day after Christmas, December 26th, is Boxing Day. While this holiday is a long-standing tradition in the UK, it is starting to make its way to households in other parts of the world. But many people are still not clear what exactly Boxing Day is.

You may have heard that Boxing Day is a day for decluttering. This is true in part, but this holiday is actually a bit more complex than that.

In fact, nobody is even positive why it is called Boxing Day. There are several different theories on the matter, none of which involve throwing punches.

It could have something to do with the tradition of depositing money in charity boxes, or it could be that it involves a tradition of masters presenting servants with Christmas boxes. There are some indications it might be related to a nautical tradition involving a box of money donated to those in need.

In any case, there are an abundance of different activities which are prevalent on Boxing Day in the UK. Some are old traditions while others are more modern in origin. For example:

• Fox hunting (historically, not currently)
• Swimming in the English Channel
• Spending time relaxing and reconnecting with family and friends
• Donating or raising money for charity
• Horse racing, football, and other sports
• Cleaning up holiday clutter
• Returning unwanted items to stores
• Shopping for new items with holiday gift cards and cash

So the Boxing Day meaning is more complex than the shopping or decluttering which many people boil it down to. But if you want to take Boxing Day as a day to tidy up, there is no reason why you should not. Here are a few ideas for handling post Christmas clutter on Boxing Day:

• Take gifts you do not want back to the store to return them, or put them in a large plastic bin to take with you to the thrift store. Donate them to charity instead.

• Try not to splurge like crazy with holiday money you have received. If you do so, you will bring more clutter into your life, not reduce it. Consider spending some of the money on plastic containers for storage and other handy organizing supplies.

• Have gifts you do not want? Plan a special party with friends and family where you trade unwanted gift items.

• Come up with some new ways to organize Christmas decorations. That will not only help you with decluttering this year, but also will prevent clutter next year.

• Do some general-purpose cleaning, decluttering and organizing. Get a head start on spring cleaning while you are feeling motivated to do so.

Ultimately, the degree to which Boxing Day involves decluttering is up to you—which is also a great reminder that the same is true for every other day of the year. So make Boxing Day the beginning of a fresh start to a less cluttered and more organized existence next year.