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Christmas is a chaotic time of year, to say the least. Our lives become overrun with Christmas music, glitter and lots of colours. However, one of the biggest things we need to prepare for Christmas is the space in our homes.

Make Space for Christmas

During the festive period, our homes will become a dumping ground for paper, presents, food, drink and decorations. Our homes will be full to the brim, and unless we take some measures to prepare for this, it can make moving around the house a huge task.

In The Kitchen

The first place to start is the kitchen. Take some time at the weekend to go through your cupboards and get rid of anything you know you will never eat. Take this to a food bank where others can get some enjoyment out of it. Next up, bin anything which is out of date. It is surprising how many of us don’t check the dates of tinned goods, and this can mean we end up with a lot of waste at the end of the year. Once you’ve tackled the cupboards, take a look at the fridge and freezer. If you have a lot of random items in your fridge and freezer- think about what you need and what you don’t, then dispose of them.

Clear Out Furniture

During the festive season, your home will be full of decorations and the Christmas tree will take up a huge chunk of space. Rather than struggling to move around your home, use self-storage units nearby to keep any furniture you don’t need for the time being and then you can take them out of storage once the tree is gone. London homes should check out Shurgard Self-Storage Chingford Highams Park who offer a great service.

The Wardrobe

Most of the time we will end up with a jumper or a new set of pyjamas at Christmas. Because of this, we will need to start making space in our wardrobes for new items of clothing. Take a look at your clothes and immediately get rid of items that either don’t fit or that you will never wear. Give them to charity or a homeless shelter and make the most of the new space you have in your wardrobe!

The Bookshelf

If you like to hoard books but never read them, now might be a good time to take a look and decide which ones you want to keep and what you could either sell on a site such as Gumtree or give to a charity shop.

Linen

Towels and bedding are something which we don’t often think about replacing, but they need to be replaced every now and again just like our clothes or anything else we use on a day to day basis. Take the opportunity before you start having guests over to refresh your collection and get rid of anything which is a little too used.

Clear Out Old Gifts

We all have a stash somewhere of gifts we received last year which have never made it out of the box. Instead of wasting them, give them away to someone who will use it, sell it online or donate them to charity raffles and table-top sales. There’s no point keeping things you will never use.

Decorations

Many of us will have lots of ornaments around the home which we have collected over the years. Instead of letting the shelves become overcrowded, go through and get rid of anything which you aren’t in love with anymore. The great thing about this is you won’t have as much dusting to do!

Paper

Because of ordering presents online, wrapping, receiving cards and everything else in December-you will end up with a lot of paper in your home. Instead of putting it all in your paper bin, take the opportunity to make a trip to your local recycling centre and get dispose of the paper there instead. It means you will have a less crowded paper bin and you won’t run out of space.

Toiletries

We all end up with a bath set of some kind at Christmas, it would be weird if we didn’t. The thing is that we also probably still have some of the stuff we go last year. Again, if you aren’t going to use it there is no point in keeping it. Take the time at the weekend to clear out anything you won’t use to make room for the inevitable shower gel you’ll receive this year. Charities such as The Trussell Trust accept non-food items for donation and distribution to those who need help.

Your Calendar

The most important thing to de-clutter during the festive season is your calendar. Take some time to get rid of appointments and meetings to make room for seeing your family and friends. The main point of Christmas is to spend time with the people you love and make the most of their company. So make sure you do that as your number one priority.