Does the festive season fill you with joy and excitement about hosting loved ones and enjoying family traditions? Or is your run-up to Christmas fraught with worries about tidying up your home so you can fit everything and everyone in?
Balancing a festive atmosphere alongside the practical aspects of creating space for extra food, gifts and guests can easily lead to overwhelm and stress. All the decorations and extra 'stuff' is additional visual noise, making homes feel cluttered and creating more stimulus for brains to process. This makes it more difficult to get things done in an organised way and slows us down at the busiest time of year. Setting aside some time to declutter your kitchen or sitting room and remove things that you no longer need will help bring a sense of organisation to your home and enable you to enter the holiday season more relaxed and prepared.
"The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life."
Marie Kondo
Create space and time to enjoy new experiences
As a professional organiser, trained by Japanese organising guru Marie Kondo I help my clients create calm, organised homes, relieving them from the clutter that has built up during everyday life. For me, decluttering has always been a way to simplify life and focus on the most important things. Clearing away things that no longer serve you creates the space and time for new experiences and memories to be made – which is what the festive period is all about.
I know how easy it is for homes to become treasure troves of sentimental items, impulsive purchases and things you are keeping ‘just in case’ in the whirlwind of daily life. It can be difficult to find the time to get it sorted, especially at Christmas, when time seems to run away with itself.
If everything is special, nothing is special
I’m a firm believer that “if everything is special then nothing is special”. When we keep hold of everything the truly important things are swamped and hidden by items that don’t really matter. That’s not to say I don’t hold on to important, sentimental items - we have a memory box for each family member. There’s a home for all our treasured items, we know where they are and they’re stored carefully and accessible so they can be enjoyed.
But not everyone enjoys decluttering and home organisation as much as I do. For many of my clients, it’s an overwhelming task to work through possessions that have been accumulated over many years. Sentimental attachments, the fear of regret, or the belief that we might need something 'someday' are common reasons why it’s difficult to let things go. I recommend reframing the decluttering process as a positive experience where you are choosing to keep things that you love, use or need to create a home that supports the life you are living now.
Spread the joy by donating items you no longer love, need or want
One of the most rewarding aspects of decluttering is the opportunity to give items that are not needed or used a new life. At Christmas, it's the perfect time to clear space in our homes with a sense of purpose that reflects the Christmas spirit. Donating toys, clothing, and household items to local charities not only benefits those less fortunate but also spreads the season's goodwill and kindness. My clients are always happy to know that their pre-loved possessions can bring happiness to someone who needs them more – it’s helped them decide to let things go.
You could set aside an afternoon and involve the whole family in the process, encouraging children to make room for new gifts by passing on toys and games to less fortunate children. Spending a couple of hours helping them decide which items they love and appreciate is a great way to help them understand the gift of giving and will clear space for the presents they receive.
Being organised before Christmas means that you can enjoy the festivities and chaos of wrapping paper, extra food shops and hosting guests, knowing that it can be easily tidied up once the celebrations are over. Remember, your loved ones are coming to spend time with you, so once the celebrations are over, make tidying up a team effort.
Written by Sue Spencer for "The Final Say" in Hampshire Life Magazine - November 2023
Looking to tidy up after the big day.. take a look at my 5 Top Tips for Tidying Up After Christmas
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I’m Sue, a professional home organiser and KonMari Consultant based in Hampshire. I trained with Marie Kondo and the KonMari team in 2018, and I help busy people declutter, organise and simplify their homes so they can get on with the important job of enjoying life.
Book your FREE consultation for a no-obligation chat about how I can help you get organised
m: 07740 782575
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