10 reasons why organised Mums declutter before Christmas!
Christmas seems ages away yet, but if you’re a mum with clutter now is the perfect time to get organised ready for Christmas! Here’s why! 1) Wardrobe
It’s time to say goodbye to summer dresses and sandles (sob!) and hello to thick winter jumpers and boots. As the year changes so do fashions and our own taste (not to mention our waistlines) so now’s the perfect opportunity to go through all your summer clothes and decide what will make the cut for next year. No point storing items you know you won’t wear again. As you get your winter wardrobe ready you can sort through and check that everything still fits, and nothing needs sewing or mending, or sending to charity. Check out just what you have, do you really need 5 pairs of almost identical black leather boots, or do you only wear one pair which is your favourite? If so, time to give away the redundant four pairs just gathering dust and taking up valuable space. 2) Visitors
Christmas time tends to be a social time of year, lots of visitors and maybe family staying over. Due to this, it’s the perfect time of year to declutter the spare room so it can be used as a guest room. Time to sort through all that bedding and time to dispose of those threadbare towels (check with your local dog rescue, they might be grateful for them). As you declutter your home you might find items you can regift, or sentimental family items you no longer wish to keep. By deciding on what you wish to discard, you can offer family first refusal to take away those sentimental family heirlooms, photos etc so you can then lose any guilt of not keeping them! 3) The loft
Nows the time you venture into the often forgotten space of the loft. Maybe it’s time to get the Halloween things down, or the Christmas decorations. Either way as you don’t go in there often nows the time to have a good old sort out. Most things get put in the loft for storage, but really it’s out of sight, out of mind! Ask yourself is this the time to let it go? For many people the only time they go in the loft is to get the Christmas stuff down, or when they move home. Such a waste of space! Declutter it today and literally remove a weight from above your head! 4) Food
As the major supermarkets have now released their Christmas delivery slots, now’s the time to get organised with food! Time to clear out the back of those cupboards, check the use by dates, use up items in your freezer to make some room. Consider doing a ‘no shopping’ week (or even month!) and only making meals from what you have in the cupboard and fridge/freezer. Okay, so there might be some weird combinations but you’ll get some much needed since ready for all the delicious Christmassy food and save money in the process. Any non perishable items you know you won’t use, now is s really great time to donate to a local food bank. 5) Electronics and games
As you declutter you’ll find that in November/December demand for second hand but good quality electrical items like game consoles increases, as does the price people are willing to pay! If you have old electronics in the house get them on Facebook market place, gumtree or eBay! Earn yourself some cash to put towards Christmas, or even spot a bargain present or two! 6) Save money!
Christmas is an expensive time of year, but when you declutter and organise you discover what you already own. By having an organised home you know what you have and where to find it, so will save money as you don’t need to buy duplicates of items you can’t find! I’ve lost track of the amount of scissors, sellotape, gift bags and Christmas cards I’ve found with clients. There’s always more than you think! Have it all in one place (consider a stationery space) so you can find things straight away. Useful in the rush of last minute gift wrapping! 7) Wish lists
Not only do you know what you have, but being organised means you can also easily spot what you need! Friends and family will probably be starting to rack their brains to figure out what to get you, so make it easier on them, have a wish list of items you have pinpointed that you want or need. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, but it will save from you getting tons of chocolates or smellies and it will be things that you have a space for in your home. It will also save you money as you won’t have to buy them later! 8) Big furniture
As you declutter the little things, you’ll discover an almost ‘Tetris’ effect happening. When space is made in drawers and cupboards you can move items from one place to another, and you can end up with whole items of furniture empty and surplus to requirements. Removing big pieces of furniture means you really get to transform a space, and appreciate just how much room you now have. This also means when you have to fit a blooming great big Christmas tree in your room, you can! 9) Christmas cards
If you’re anything like I was, you always forget about the cards you’ve bought, and don’t realise just how many cards you have! Get all the cards together in your newly formed stationery area and work out just how many you actually send! Consider sending e-cards and donating money to charity instead. Look through any old cards you’ve kept. Cards can be extremely sentimental, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sieve through them and discard some. Cards from family members that are no longer with us always tug at the heart strings. Consider if you have other items that remind you of that person instead? If it’s their handwriting that you want to keep you can always create a collage of signatures or bits of writing from those you love which can be displayed in a pretty frame, no need to keep a pile of cards hidden in a drawer never to be looked at. You can get some lovely paper cutters in all sorts of shapes you can use to cut out the specific bits you want to keep and create a really lovely remembrance picture. 10) Get ready for influx of new stuff
There’s no getting away from it, unless you have a truly minimalist Christmas, your home IS going to have a big influx of things. By decluttering now you’re making a space for all the new things that are going to be brought into your home, which will make post-Christmas tidying so much quicker and easier! One way to combat the endless flow of toys coming into your home is to ask grandparents etc for experiences rather than ‘stuff’. So gift certificates for trips to Zoo’s, the cinema, family days out or even an IOU for babysitting services or a home cooked meal are all really lovely presents to receive and remembered much more fondly than a toy whose novelty has worn off by the new year. So there you go, a quick blog on 10 reasons why organised Mums declutter before Christmas! Are you going to be one of them this year? If you’re wanting to transform your home and feel like you need a bit more help than this simplified blog post can provide, I’m just about to launch my new online course. “Children’s Declutter Christmas Countdown” is specifically designed for busy mums overwhelmed by the clutter in their children’s bedrooms. For an early bird discount and to find out more, head over to www.untangledbytingle.com and register to receive my newsletter. Let me be the first to wish you a Merry clutter free and calm Christmas!
