Tag Archives: Chrismas

With “Twelfth Night” fast approaching, I’m starting to un-Christmas and de-tinsel the house for another year. Sob. Sob.

Fear not, here are a few ways to make the job easier and next December’s unpacking task simpler. Win! Win!

1. Store it all in one place. Sounds simple, but it’s easy to squirrel things away in different places and then forget where you put it 11 months later. Obviously it’s depends on how much storage space you have available, but we’ve been able to set aside a corner of the loft for all things Christmas. I don’t just put all the decorations up there, but also Christmas plates, tableware and linens, leftover cards and wrapping paper, candles that I only ever seem to use at Christmas anyway, Christmas books we read to the children, novelty soap bottles and even a pair of my son’s Christmas pyjamas I’m saving for the year my daughter is big enough to wear them…Reading the list, it is clear I love a bit of festive tat!
2. Only store the things you use. We seem to have collected three wreaths but only have one front door and I’ve been unpacking the two redundant ones every December and repacking them every January for the last few years. Madness. I’ve had a bit of a blitz this year and finally getting rid of those broken and unwanted decorations we’ve amassed.
3. Store them safely. By using a couple of big stackable plastic boxes, you can hopefully avoid any potential damage through the year. I’ve repurposed a handbag protective bag, an old Christmas gift box and a liquitabs box to add extra protection to my decorations.
   If you’ve got any breakable baubles, use some old egg boxes as seen here on Babble.
   

   store those breakables using egg boxes

4. Use roadside collection for your real Christmas tree. Some councils offer free collection of real Christmas trees with your recycling, which can save on the hassle of humping it down to the tip and getting all the needles in your car. Mine doesn’t unfortunately, but always worth checking.
5. Make a note of who sent you Christmas cards before getting rid. Save any embarrasment next year and make a quick note of all those who sent you cards in the back of your address book, that way you’ve got a ready-made Christmas Card list. My 88 year old Nan does this, but she also almost seems to relish crossing the names out if the recipient has died that year – well stamps are so pricey nowadays!

Happy packing – watch out for those pine needles!

Posted by thechaosqueen in Declutter Tags: Chrismas