Lots of us
have a grand old clear-out in the New Year, but it makes a lot more sense to
declutter BEFORE Christmas to make space for all your gifts, goodies and guests
over the festive season.
Here are my
tips that will help your home feel calmer and more spacious, and you feel more
in control in the run-up to the festive season.
Make space BEFORE you go Christmas
shopping
This sounds obvious but have you ever come home from a marathon gift-buying session for the family then wondered where you’ll find space to hide all their presents till the big day? Better to clear the decks before you deck the halls and spend all your lolly. The bonus of a big pre-Christmas clearout is that those secret corners may hide unwanted or forgotten items that could either make more presents or be sold to give you more Christmas spending money.
This sounds obvious but have you ever come home from a marathon gift-buying session for the family then wondered where you’ll find space to hide all their presents till the big day? Better to clear the decks before you deck the halls and spend all your lolly. The bonus of a big pre-Christmas clearout is that those secret corners may hide unwanted or forgotten items that could either make more presents or be sold to give you more Christmas spending money.
Reduce the toy mountain
If you’ve got kids, they’ll get loads of toys and games for Christmas.
Chances are you are struggling to store the ones they’ve already got so enlist
their help in making room for what Santa will bring. Either hold a car boot or garage sale and let the kids have
the proceeds to buy their own Christmas presents, or give them to charity – children
can be very generous if you explain that some other youngsters aren’t as lucky as them, or that their
unwanted toys can help animal charities.
Clarify your wardrobe
If your wardrobe and drawers are already full to bursting, where will you put new party gladrags or clothing gifts? Have a proper sort-out and give a Christmas bonus to the charity shop of your choice by donating all your unwanted clothing and shoes. The best way is to get EVERYTHING out of your wardrobe and go through every item – if you haven’t worn it in the past year, let it go. Do the same with your drawers and shoe and coat cupboards.
If your wardrobe and drawers are already full to bursting, where will you put new party gladrags or clothing gifts? Have a proper sort-out and give a Christmas bonus to the charity shop of your choice by donating all your unwanted clothing and shoes. The best way is to get EVERYTHING out of your wardrobe and go through every item – if you haven’t worn it in the past year, let it go. Do the same with your drawers and shoe and coat cupboards.
Sort out the kitchen cupboards
Christmas means lots of extra food to store, so why not save on the food budget for a week or so by making store-cupboard meals to use up all those tins and jars that have been sitting around waiting to be used. You’ll save money so you have more to spend on delicious festive fare and it’s an opportunity to clean and reorganise the cupboards ready for Christmas.
Christmas means lots of extra food to store, so why not save on the food budget for a week or so by making store-cupboard meals to use up all those tins and jars that have been sitting around waiting to be used. You’ll save money so you have more to spend on delicious festive fare and it’s an opportunity to clean and reorganise the cupboards ready for Christmas.
Flush out the fridge and freezer
Have a proper clear-out of the fridge and freezer – throw out all those leftovers you are never REALLY going to use, and use up the food that’s in there so there will be plenty of space for storing all the Christmas necessities as well as room for some pre-cooked meals to ease the festive cooking burden over the holiday period.
Have a proper clear-out of the fridge and freezer – throw out all those leftovers you are never REALLY going to use, and use up the food that’s in there so there will be plenty of space for storing all the Christmas necessities as well as room for some pre-cooked meals to ease the festive cooking burden over the holiday period.
Have a bathroom blitz
As with the kitchen, so with the bathroom. Some body and bath products are almost bound to be in everyone’s Christmas stocking, so make way for them by clearing the bathroom of all the half-empty or unused products that are cluttering the shelves and cupboards. Sort the best of the used products into men’s and women’s and offer them as free job lots on recycling sites such as Freecycle and Freegle if there’s a group near you - less well-off families will be very grateful for them.
Unused bathroom products can also be donated to your local domestic violence service for use in their refuges, see womensaid.org.uk
Animal charities will often take towels, tea towels, and bedding. Check first before donating.
As with the kitchen, so with the bathroom. Some body and bath products are almost bound to be in everyone’s Christmas stocking, so make way for them by clearing the bathroom of all the half-empty or unused products that are cluttering the shelves and cupboards. Sort the best of the used products into men’s and women’s and offer them as free job lots on recycling sites such as Freecycle and Freegle if there’s a group near you - less well-off families will be very grateful for them.
Unused bathroom products can also be donated to your local domestic violence service for use in their refuges, see womensaid.org.uk
Animal charities will often take towels, tea towels, and bedding. Check first before donating.
On your (book) marks!
Are your shelves groaning with books you’ve read and will never read again? Or even never read? You know what to do .. donate them to a charity shop or Christmas bazaar or recycle the unread ones as gifts. The same goes for CDs and DVDs. T
Are your shelves groaning with books you’ve read and will never read again? Or even never read? You know what to do .. donate them to a charity shop or Christmas bazaar or recycle the unread ones as gifts. The same goes for CDs and DVDs. T
Inspect a gadget – or 2, or moreSort out those gadgets and gizmos that were ‘must-haves’ when you got them. If they’ve been gathering dust, or superseded by a better, newer model, are you REALLY going to use them again? If the answer’s no, they’ve gotta go. This applies just as much to unused kitchen ‘essentials’ (when did you last use that fondue set or cappuccino frother?) as ‘boy’s toys’. Flog 'em on eBay or give them to a charity shop and you could make someone else’s Christmas.
Cut the paper trail
Christmas means wrapping paper. Lots of it. But before you rush out and buy rolls and rolls of it, are you sure you haven’t got leftovers from last year sitting around somewhere waiting to be used up? One tip is to buy gold, silver or coloured foil wrapping paper that doesn’t have obvious Christmas decorations or greetings on it – then it can be used for wrapping gifts for birthdays and more throughout the year.
Make space for your guests
Is your spare room a depository for all the stuff that won’t fit anywhere else in your house? Then it’s sure time to declutter if you’ve got guests coming for Christmas. If you don’t have the time or the task feels too overwhelming why not treat yourself a practical pre-Christmas present? The Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers has friendly experts based all over the UK who can help turn a spare room clutter mountain into a welcoming bedroom in just a few hours.
Make space for your new gifts
Decluttering brings a sense of peace and goodwill that can be a pretty good Christmas present in its own right, but let’s hope Santa will bring you something nice too. Homes can feel pretty crowded at Christmas so it makes sense for everyone in the family to make a space ready to store their Christmas gifts so they are not cluttering up the living room once opened.
Recycle
Once Christmas is over, clear the house of all the festive clutter as soon as possible – wrapping paper, cards, tree and bottles can all be recycled. And as for those unwanted presents? There’s someone out there who would LOVE them – so let them go and make someone else happy, whether you sell them or donate to charity.
If you want
need decluttering before or after Christmas, Clarify Interiors can help - the clue's in our name! See www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk or telephone 01865 594955
or 07917 716004 or email clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk
