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November 30, 2020

34 Comments

Let’s not get our tinsel in a tangle this festive season. With the holidays officially in sight, we need to start thinking about getting rid of that Christmas clutter.

How can we avoid the chaos and enjoy the holidays? Jo Carmichael, Professional Organiser & Decluttering Specialist from all sorted out, has perfected the art of tidying. Jo shares her tips, to avoid Christmas clutter.

1. Get organised

Before extra guests descend on your house for Christmas, it is important to have your space prepared in advance. Have a pre-Christmas declutter.   The kitchen bench is the epicentre of entertaining so give it a clearing. Remove items that don’t relate to cooking and entertaining – ie move the bills, school notes & mail to a desk or computer nook. Go thru the pantry and toss any expired items or half eaten biscuit packets. Ditto with the fridge – jars & cans of food that are no longer fresh could be tossed – give the shelves a wipe clean ready for fresh produce.

2. 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 your guests to leave their extra stuff in this room – keeping the rest of your house safe from holiday madness!

3. Have a bin ready to go

On the big day, have a basket in the area where your gifts will be unwrapped. Encourage guests to toss their paper into it soon after unwrapping gifts. This helps keep your space tidy and avoids the post-gift-opening craziness. The gift wrap and packaging is then ready to recycle.

4. Stay calm

When relatives march through the door bearing gifts and the kitchen gets buried in extra groceries – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Remember to Breathe in & Breathe out, to stay calm and enjoy the family excitement.

5. Gather opened gifts

Encourage family and guests to place their opened gifts, back under the nearly naked foot of your tree, in a pile or gift bag. This prevents every chair or bench becoming a leaning post for their gifts while you’re in entertaining mode.

There are plenty of practical steps we can take, to fill our homes with laughter and good times instead of Christmas clutter.

What are your tips to avoid Christmas clutter in your home? Tell us in the comments below.

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  • I guess we are super organised. Christmas clutter has never been an issue here

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  • I’m reminding myself of all these things for this year!

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  • I think these tips can be helpful for birthday parties also

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  • Great tips, bookmarked for next year to remind me haha

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  • Great tips! Have always had a bag for wrapping paper rubbish on the go! It always helps tokeep the place a little cleaner!

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  • After a few glasses of champagne and oj at breakfast time, I am definitely calm! Clean as you go is my tip! Removing the paper makes a huge difference and having your dedicated gift piles


    • Totally agree, champagne, remove the paper & gifts restocked in piles – under the tree keeps it pretty. Jo

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  • We try and clean as you go

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  • Thanx for sharing, some good tips here

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  • We have a very small home so it’s very easy to get cluttered. I always make sure the kitchen bench is clear and a rubbish bag or bin is close by so all the wrapping paper etc. can be removed immediately. These are definitely some great tips to make Christmas more enjoyable for everyone including the hosts.


    • Yep keeping the kitchen bench clear & clean really helps when you’re the hosts. Enjoy. Jo

    Reply

  • Organizing is really important for a big day.


    • couldnt agree more, keeping organised is calming. Jo

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  • Create spaces for Christmas decoration/planning. This also makes it easier when packing up.

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  • Great tips for Christmas Day – thanks for sharing.

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  • I love number 4 stay calm. That’s my favourite tip.


    • Staying calm is key – decluttring is like yoga for our home, so breathing in & out slowly is the key. Jo

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  • We open pressents on Christmas day with my hubby’s family and on boxing day with my family. To keep everything together, we take an empty large tub to put all our things in. It keeps all our pressies together so they aren’t spread all over the place.

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  • Have lists and tick them off when done, like food items so you don’t double buy.

    Reply

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