The week after Christmas produces more household waste than any other week of the year for most NH families. Boxes from gifts, packaging from electronics, wrapping paper, old decorations being replaced, the tree itself. Some of it goes to curbside trash. Some doesn't fit. Some isn't even allowed in regular pickup. Here's how to think through clearing it out.
The cardboard mountain
Cardboard volume from gift packaging gets out of hand fast. A typical family Christmas produces 8 to 15 large boxes (TV, electronics, furniture, appliances, kid gifts) plus 20+ smaller shipping boxes.
Three places to put cardboard:
- Curbside recycling. Broken down flat, tied or bundled depending on your town. Most NH towns include cardboard in normal curbside recycling. Some have separate cardboard-only days.
- Transfer station cardboard bin. Most NH transfer stations have dedicated cardboard recycling. Drop it off any time the station is open.
- Dumpster (if you're already renting one). Cardboard goes in fine, but it eats volume in the container. If you're renting a dumpster anyway, cardboard is fine to toss. If you're not, the recycling route is free.
Don't burn cardboard in a residential fireplace or fire pit unless your town allows it. Some don't, and the smoke from coated cardboard isn't great for anyone.
Wrapping paper
A specific note because people get this wrong: most wrapping paper isn't recyclable. The shiny, glittered, and metallic-coated stuff is treated as trash. Plain Kraft paper without coating can sometimes be recycled, but most curbside programs don't separate by type.
The simple rule: wrapping paper goes in regular trash. Cardboard inserts and shipping boxes go in recycling.
Christmas trees
Real trees get their own pickup category in most southern NH towns. Two options:
- Curbside tree pickup. Most towns run a tree-specific pickup in the first two weeks of January. Set the tree at the curb on the scheduled day, no bag.
- Transfer station drop-off. Most transfer stations accept trees in early January at no charge.
Lights and ornaments off, no bag, no tinsel residue. A clean tree gets ground into mulch.
For artificial trees being replaced, the tree itself is bulky trash. If it fits in your regular bin, great. If not, it goes to bulky pickup day or to a single-item pickup if you've got other items going.
Old decorations
A lot of families do a year-end decoration sweep where stuff that didn't survive last year gets retired. Strings of lights that don't work anymore, the inflatable that has a hole, the wreath that lost half its leaves.
What can go in regular trash:
- Old wreaths and garlands
- Broken ornaments
- Plastic decorations (most)
- Tinsel and beads
What needs special handling:
- Old Christmas lights. Some hardware stores and recycling centers accept holiday lights for the copper inside. Old lights in regular trash is acceptable in most NH towns, but recycling is the cleaner route.
- Lithium batteries from light displays. Hazmat day in spring.
- Inflatable decorations. Big, take up volume, but normal trash unless they have a built-in motor with regulated materials.
The big year-end cleanout
Christmas often triggers a bigger year-end cleanout. The basement is full because all the gift stuff came from storage. The garage has the old furniture you replaced with new gifts. The kids' rooms have boxes of stuff that got displaced.
If your post-holiday cleanup turns into a full house cleanout, the sizing math from our regular posts applies. A 15-yard handles most year-end resets. A 20-yard handles a bigger reset that includes a garage and a basement.
If you're going from "post-holiday tidy" to "actual cleanout," mention it on the booking call. The right answer depends on the volume.
Donation drops in early January
A lot of charitable organizations have full donation bins after Christmas because of holiday donations. If you're trying to drop off old furniture or household goods in the first two weeks of January, call the donation center first. Some are temporarily not accepting because of capacity.
After the second week of January, donation drops are usually back to normal. If you're doing a cleanout that includes donate-able items, see our donation drops post for how that fits into a cleanout.
What about a January cleanout
A January cleanout has a few advantages worth considering:
- Get the basement and garage clear before spring projects start
- Tax-year alignment (some people prefer cleanouts in the new year for paperwork reasons)
The weather isn't ideal, but the work is workable. Winter rentals follow most of the same logistics as any other time of year, with snow management on top. See our winter dumpster rental post for the cold-weather specifics.
The booking call
If your post-holiday cleanup is more than the curbside can handle, the booking call covers:
- Volume estimate (a couple of bins worth? a truckload? a dumpster?)
- What's going (cardboard, decor, old furniture, mixed)
- Address and timing
Text 603-634-9947 with a photo of the pile if it's already staged.
Call 603-634-9947 to schedule.