It’s that time of the year … when our houses become more cluttered than ever! The silly season should be renamed the messy season.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, filled with friends, family, food and – clutter. With gifts galore, wrapping paper, decorations and more, your house can begin to feel a lot more hectic than it does merry. 

How can we avoid the mess and enjoy the holidays? Jo Carmichael, decluttering specialist from All Sorted Out, has perfected the art of tidying. She is here to give some easy to follow steps to avoiding Christmas clutter.

1.  Dedicate an area 

Choose a room and go wild. This is your Christmas area, to be used as storage for food and gifts in the lead up to the big day. On Christmas Day or Boxing Day, encourage guests to store their extra stuff in this room – keeping the rest of your house safe from holiday madness!

2. Have a bin ready to go

On the big day, have a basket or bin in the area where your gifts will be unwrapped. Encourage guests to throw their paper away as soon as they unwrap their gift. Make it fun and see who can scrunch their wrap & get the most hoops in the basket. This helps keep your space tidy and avoids the post-gift-opening craziness.

3. Get organised 

As extra guests descend on your house for Christmas, it is important to have your space prepared in advance. Have a pre-Christmas declutter. Otherwise, this season will simply add mess on top of the mess.

3. Stay calm

When the relatives pile through the door and the kitchen gets buried in extra groceries – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, the last thing your home needs is a messy mind! Breathe in, breathe out, stay calm & enjoy. Keep the big picture in mind and remember that the Christmas season is only a few weeks. Soon, you will have your house back in its usual state. 

4. Hire a skip 

At Christmas, the cardboard and waste can pile up – leaving major mess for weeks to come. If you predict that your mess is going to overfill your usual bins, hire a bigger bin for the occasion. Avoid that mid-week panic of an overflowing recycling bin! 

5. Assign rooms 

This is a simple way to keep your house under control – assign guest rooms and make sure all their belongings stay in this room. You may even want to colour code linen and towels to make sure everyone has what they need. Be prepared and stay as organised as possible to avoid stress.

At Christmas, make your home a place filled with laughter and joy – not clutter. There are plenty of practical steps you can take to make this Christmas an uncluttered & calm one.

About All Sorted OutDecluttering specialist Jo Carmichael takes your home from messy and cluttered, to organised and stylish, whether you’re selling or staying. Jo is a Professional Organiser, who declutters homes in preparation for sale or just to get the home back on track because life is sooo busy. It’s a collaborative process – we work with you and your home.  It’s a team effort. When selling, All Sorted Out works with Real Estate Agents and Property Stylists to ensure vendors achieve the maximum price for the sale of their property.