Four things to declutter before Christmas

As Christmas approaches the conversation in the office has turned from “how’s the Christmas shopping going?” To, “I need to get rid of some stuff!” It’s at this time of the year when you realise how much you’ve accumulated over the past 12 months, and how much you’d benefit from a serious decluttering! Christmas is a story of two halves when it comes to decluttering; the first half is about finding space to store all of the presents that you’ve bought and the second half is finding homes for the new gifts that you all receive. To help stop your home from looking like Santa’s workshop, here are our top tips to declutter before Christmas!

1. Toys

Just as you think your child has enough toys to open their own toy shop, Christmas comes along! To prevent your home from becoming a serious post-Christmas clutter-fest, now is the time to sort through the endless boxes of unused and unwanted toys.

You may want to schedule this decluttering session for when your child is out of the house – it often seems that when they see toys that haven’t been played with for months, they suddenly won’t let them go! You may also find it hard to let their old toys go as they bring back fond memories but try to remember that their new toys will help them to grow as they get older, and their old toys can benefit another child.

If their unwanted toys are in good condition, you could sell them using sites such as Facebook, Gumtree or eBay. Alternatively, as it is the season of goodwill, why not donate them to your local charity shop, or perhaps consider asking your local nurseries if they would like them?

2. Food

The Christmas food shop is often the most expensive and biggest of the year, from crackers to crisps and lemonade to liqueurs, but are your cupboards ready? You may be surprised by what you’ll find in the back of your kitchen cupboards – we once found food colouring from 1992! Before you start to plan your Christmas feasts, go through each cupboard and decide what you can keep, throw away or perhaps give away to a local food bank.

Whilst you’re at it, now is a great time to go through your kitchen gadgets and serving dishes. Some of these may only get used once a year and, if you’re honest, some are probably never used. If you’ve replaced old with new, consider donating to charity or perhaps a family member who has recently bought their first home and is starting from scratch with their kitchenware.

3. Decorations

It’s so easy to accumulate a large amount of Christmas decorations over the years. The temptation to buy new Christmas decs is everywhere, but you need to restrain yourself – particularly if you’re selling your home. Try to tone down your decorations so that they don’t overwhelm potential buyers or hide beautiful features that need to be on show. Now back to decluttering – throw away anything that’s broken or unused, and focus on keeping your décor simple and stylish.

4. Clothes

We were very sad to put away our summer clothes, especially as now our wardrobes have been filled with thick winter coats and chunky knit sweaters, but how much of it do you actually wear? If you didn’t wear an item last year, will you really wear it this year? Perhaps you’ve changed size, in which case you need to make room for new replacements.

Your old clothes can make you money, even if they’re no use to you anymore. Sites such as eBay, Depop and Shpock are the best places to sell your second-hand clothes online. Maybe then you’ll have some space in your wardrobe to hide presents from the rest of the family, or maybe you’ve had your eye on some new winter essentials?

Now that you’ve made some space for Santa, we hope that your home feels cleaner, more spacious and ready for the festive period. If you’ve been decluttering to sell, please give our team a call on 01633 870777 for a market-led valuation.