To begin with, I should clarify the way I'm using the word “minimalist.” The minimalist philosophy that I follow is a relatively moderate opinion where, basically, less is more. For example, consider the clothes in your closet. How many pieces do you wear regularly? Every week? Every month? How many clothes do you have that you just don’t like that much anymore?

Maybe you’ve kept some just in case you lose weight, or because you wore it to your senior prom. Minimalists believe that the freedom and relief that come with letting go of clutter outweigh the unlikely potential or vague sentiment attached to an object. Items that are extremely important, even sentimentally, can be kept (your old wedding dress, for example) but if you’ve kept an object out of guilt or fear of waste, take a step back and reconsider your options. Perhaps your grandmother’s extensive collection of cookbooks (if you don’t cook) could be given to someone who would use them. After all, ‘tis the season of giving. So if you’re looking to gain control of a potentially hectic holiday, consider these five steps to simplifying your Christmas.

1. Plan Ahead

What are your goals for simplifying your house and your life this season? Realize that you can meet them with enough determination. Break down your goals into short sentences (“I want to…”). For example, your goal to host Christmas for your family without being embarrassed of your messy house? You want to declutter.

2. Declutter

Even if you aren’t mortified by the state of your house, you might find that decluttering at the beginning of the Christmas season can relieve the unconscious stress that comes with too much stuff. Furthermore, if you’re going to be decorating for the holidays, your nativity scene or winter snow globe might get lost on top of a bookshelf already covered in trinkets.

3. Simplify Decorations

Now that you’ve decluttered, when picking out decorations, still be sparing. Think about the space that you have—on countertops, bookshelves, tables, niches, and dressers—as a stage. What few objects could you put there that are useful and/or bring you joy? I recommend only decorating with that which you cannot live without since duplicates and second-class decorations just take up space. If you must buy something for decoration, find objects that you absolutely love and will last for longer than the end of the year, minimizing waste.

4. Mindfully Give to Family

Speaking of buying, if you live with family, you may be buying quite a few presents this year—presents that will add to the number of random things in your home. Be mindful of the presents you buy. Is it truly useful and desired (even if you know that they want it, will that desire last)? Does it have a place to go in the space that you have? Try to minimize the future clutter by thinking ahead. As for the presents that others might buy for you, make sure that you find a place for these things as soon as possible, donating other objects as necessary.

5. Practice Gratitude

Many people will buy little (or big) things for themselves during the holiday season, certainly, I’ve been guilty before of indulging myself this time of year. Try to practice gratitude for what you have, especially non-material blessings. Personal wellness, family, and friends, everything else that keeps you alive and brings you joy, these are the things to focus on, not some unnecessary material thing.

Minimalists prescribe to a philosophy that not only is widely interpreted but also cannot be followed perfectly by anyone, as we all are susceptible to human weakness and mistakes. If you can’t bring yourself to completely clean out a room that belonged to a family member who has passed, or if you struggle with selling or donating something that has been in your family for generations, the neatness police will not come after you. I also know that homes are made to be lived in and they can get messy.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t practice minimalism. If there is just one small object you can get rid of, something you can avoid buying, or any way you can beat back the looming giant of materialism in the world, I urge you to do so. Our lives are not to be confused with our stuff, and if you can let go things this holiday season, you might just have an even merrier Christmas.