Inside: How to declutter before Christmas to beat the overwhelm.
Christmas is just around the corner and that brings with it a whole lot of joy but also a whole lot of overwhelm. With guests visiting you want your house to feel calm and welcoming and not crowded and stressful. With gifts to be received you want to be able to fit them in your home. With a turkey to prepare you want to open cupboards without Tupperware landing on your head. I get it.
Decluttering is often done after Christmas but it is actually a great idea to do it before the holiday season so that you can welcome guests & gifts into your home without feeling overwhelmed. It doesn’t have to take long, just a few simple tasks and you’ll feel calm and ready for the big day.
If you follow my list over the coming weeks then you will feel in control and ready to enjoy the season.
How to declutter before Christmas
The holiday season is notorious for being stressful but it really doesn’t have to be that way. With careful planning and preparation you can enjoy the festive period as it is meant to be. Putting the stress of buying the perfect gifts aside, the overwhelm comes in the form of Christmas clutter (i.e. the decorations adding to the clutter you already have) and the influx of Christmas gifts from family members and your friends.
By doing a pre-Christmas declutter you can make space for new items and clear the decks ready for the Christmas decorations and of course, the Christmas tree!
Clear the surfaces
Surface clutter is the first thing you want to tackle in this situation as it is first impressions that count when you or a guest walk into a room. It’s all very well tidying inside drawers and cupboards but if your surfaces still hoard a huge amount then the cupboards don’t matter.
Get yourself a box or a trash bag and stand in the doorway of each room. Starting in the living room, scan the room as if you were a guest – what do you see? Really look at each surface, the tv unit, the coffee table, the window sills… really pay attention to what is there. Now go from surface to surface and place everything that doesn’t belong into your box.
You’ll immediately notice a different and feel accomplished so you can have the motivation to sort through the box.
Donate
Anything that is in good condition can be donated to charity, to homeless shelters, to friends or family. You can also find reuse/recycle groups on Facebook that encourage free swaps – anything to prevent people from taking things to the dump unnecessarily.
Sell
Sometimes you want to try and recoup some of the money that was spent on the item in question. eBay is great for this as are Facebook selling pages. Be realistic in what you hope to achieve – often people want to pay next to nothing for items and you may wish that you’d simply donated it rather than having the hassle of posting etc… just for a few pennies.
Trash
If you cannot donate or sell an item then take it to your local refuse centre where you can place it in the appropriate recycle bin. Most things can be recycled in some way instead of ending up in landfill. Or, if you have a lot to get rid of that really can’t be recycled, you might consider using Thanet Skip Hire or another local company to you to clear everything away.
Re-home
…. in your own home. Just because something is cluttering up a surface in one room doesn’t mean it needs to leave the house. Put it back where it belongs or make a home for it if it doesn’t have one. The key is to ask yourself why it became clutter in the first place.
Once the surface are clear, you’ll have room for any Christmas cards you receive as well as any little treasures and trinkets you like to display.
Make space
If you need to move furniture to accommodate the tree or move anything around to make it cosier for guests then now is a great time to really think about what you have in your main living areas.
If you have any boxes, baskets or other storage units then take a look inside and see if you can get rid of the contents by donating or selling them. Toys are a huge contributor to added clutter in the living room – are there any that the children have outgrown?
As well as removing objects to create space, you can look at the storage you have and how you can re-jig things inside to make more room for things. Using racks and shelving can increase storage in cupboards so that you can fit more things inside.
Note: It is much better to remove items entirely than to increase storage to fit them in. Reduce is the aim of the game.
Clear the table
Imagine sitting down to a beautiful Christmas table, with the turkey centre stage surrounded by all the trimmings. Wouldn’t that be lovely?
Now look at your dining room table and see what needs to be done to get it there. Take everything off and once again you need to decide whether to donate, sell, trash or re-home the objects.
Place a Poinsettia in the centre and it will be a lovely space to enjoy.
A bathroom to be proud of
If you are having guests over during the Christmas season then they’ll more than likely need to visit the bathroom. You want them to walk in and feel like they’re at a spa, not a knick knack shop! Clear the surfaces, nothing needs to be decorating the side of the bath or clogging up the window sill.
If you have storage units, take everything out and once again decide whether you need to donate anything that is realistically never going to get used, trash anything that has expired or put somewhere to store if you have a few items you’ve bought in bulk.
With the space you’ve created you can now put away the shower gels etc that usually sit on the side as if they are ornaments.
Nice clear sides, a fresh towel and it is now a calm space to enjoy.
Make an entrance
First impressions count so look at your entrance hall and remove anything that doesn’t add to the space.
Can you put the summer coats and shoes in storage? Vacuum bags are great for this!
Piles of shoes by the door? Get an attractive basket to put them in instead?
Anything that is not adding to the space and is not functional needs to go!
Clear the food cupboard
Do you know what is in your food cupboard? Those 6 packets of spaghetti tell me not…
Get everything out, shelf by shelf and make a note of everything. You can then aim to use everything up over the next couple of weeks by planning out your meals.
Firstly, this will save you money as you won’t be buying extra food when you already have items in the house.
Secondly, you will use up all the random bits to make room for all of the exciting Christmas foods!
Remember, anything that is in date and unopened can be dropped off to your local food bank too.
Empty the fridge Freezer
If you are having guests over throughout the holidays then you will need to feed them. And if you’re fridge freezer is full to bursting you won’t have space for the extra food.
When was the last time you took a full inventory of the contents? Take everything out, make a note of what you have, chuck out the expired food and as with the food cupboard, aim to use up everything so that you don’t waste any more food and can then make room for all the treats!
Sort through toys
This is the biggie. Your post-Christmas self will thank you for it. It is also a great way to get the children involved as you can explain that they have to make room for the new toys they will be getting by getting rid of the old toys. They’ll be much more likely to help compared to after Christmas when suddenly everything is their favourite.
Kids toys are a popular thing to sell on FB selling sites as people are always looking for ways to save money. If they can buy a toy in good condition from you second hand then it’s a win all round. They save money and you make space for the new things entering the house.
Declutter your holiday decorations
Do you get the boxes down each year, only to use half of the decorations? Why are you hoarding the other half?
Yes those boxes are out of sight most of the year but wouldn’t it be nice to have everything stored nicely and not have to rummage for the things you actually want to use? I think so.
When you get your decorations down, it is the perfect time to have a real sort through. Anything that wasn’t used last year or the last couple of years can be donated for someone else to enjoy.
Next year you will be able to get down your decorations and know that you love each and everything item.
Once you have decluttered, be sure to deal with the items straight away. Take the trash to the recycle centre and the donation box to your nearest shelter or charity drop-off station. Whatever you do, do not just chuck it into any spare rooms. The sooner it is out of the house the sooner you can enjoy your calm space.
You’ll be able to have guests over, enjoy the festive period and welcome new gifts into the home without fear of where you are going to keep them!
Enjoy!