It’s true, the Christmas countdown is on! If you haven’t already started, now is the time to get down to it and prepare your home for the festive season. Let’s be honest, as soon as advent hits, we don’t want to be cleaning, clearing and decluttering. We’d much rather deck the halls and dress the house in beautiful, sparkling adornments, ready for the merry chaos of Christmas.
Whether or not you intend on inviting family and friends to the house for parties or dinner, the man in red is sure to make an appearance. And we all know that Father Christmas brings a whole load of stuff you just haven’t got the room for. By prepping your home before December, whatever surprises Santa has in store, you’ll know where it can be kept before and after Christmas day.
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The great, big Christmas declutter | Before you start
Before you throw yourself into the deep end, make sure you’ve got the family on board. While you’re tackling the tough stuff, asking children and teens to help around the house is a great way to keep on top of things. These recycling bins with colour-coded lids are perfect for separating waste and recycling – providing a way for kids of all ages to contribute. Adding recycling stickers helps to ensure that the right items end up in the correct bin. Other overlooked bits and bobs include making the beds, pairing socks, washing pots. It’s about time, isn’t it?
But where to start with the great, big Christmas declutter?
Go from top to bottom, that typically does the trick. Get yourself up into the loft. Go through the Christmas decorations. Keep your faves and donate any golden oldies that don’t feel so festive nowadays. Dust everything off, and make a list of anything you need to add to your collection. While you’re up there, make the switch from summer to winter duvets.
Don’t forget the little details
As you’re cleaning and disinfecting the house, don’t forget to skim the skirting boards and door frames too! It’s easy to miss them. Steam mop hard floors, clean the carpets to freshen them up. In playrooms and children’s bedrooms, give the walls a good wash down. Those rooms have seen some seriously sticky hands, slime, muck, and gunk.
Charity, Sell or Dump?
Throw away any broken toys, while making a pile of any unwanted, older ones. Either take them to your local children’s hospital or donate to charity. They will make some children out there really happy this Christmas! Give teddies a bubble bath, in warm water and washing liquid, and as they dry off, rearrange the space so there’s room for any new arrivals.
Storage, storage storage
As you make your way into the kitchen, try to do the same. Clean the cupboards, buy storage to keep items organised. It’s great for categorising loose food items and packets, too. It’s always annoying when they’re falling about the place. Give appliances a good scrub, ready for the Christmas abuse! Don’t forget to throw out any BBE 1999 tin cans and spices. That is unless you’ve become rather fond of them over the last 20 years.
More ways to prepare your home for Christmas
And when all that’s done and dusted – quite literally – kick back, relax, and enjoy some online Christmas shopping with a cup of something mulled.
Win a set of recycling bins with colour-coded lids
To help you start your Christmas declutter we have a set of ADDIS recycling bins with colour-coded lids to giveaway to one lucky entrant.
Prize: A set of three ADDIS recycling bins with colour-coded lids
To enter simply complete the Gleam widget below, all entries are optional and each one completed will gain you more entries into the random draw.
ADDIS recycling bins with colour-coded lids (AFFT)
Review Feature
123 Comments
I’m always decluttering but don’t seem to get too far
I try to declutter before Christmas and try to focus on the bedroom, living room and kitchen as they are the most used rooms. The best decluttering is after all the Christmas presents are given out though as then there seems to be so much more space (until the next Christmas comes around!)
I try to declutter the kitchen
I would love these to recycle everything, every 6 months I de clutter my wardrobe
such a good idea to say organised!
My spare room/storage room. Every few months I go in and give stuff away if I didnt use it
Yes, always do a pre-Christmas de-clutter. I’ve started alteady with the “room of doom”, aka the guest room where everything has been dumped over the last few months. It’s tiny, so was hard even getting from one side to the other!
Yes I try to do the whole house to make room for new things!
I try to decluter my kitchen often expeciall precooked meals containers they easily mount up on the cupboards
I always declutter my freezer and I try to do the kitchen cupboards and living room
I usually have a de-clutter, cncentrating on the kitchen, so there is plenty of space for festive foods.
I always give a good clean and declutter around the second week in December, because after that all hell lets loose with school plays, last minute Christmas gifts and food shopping, by the end of year it’s needs doing again.
I’m on my own so don’t need to tidy up for Xmas as I don’t get any visitors or bother with decorations or tree. I just sort things out once in a while.
Yes I make sure the living room is clean and tidy before we put decorations up and I de clutter the kids toys and bedroom
I like to give the kitchen and living room a good clean and sort out in the autumn so its usually fine for Christmas. Doing it early takes some of the pressure off over the festive period
Yes! I declutter everywhere- kitchen cupboards, freezer, clothes and toys!
I usually start with the kitchen. Ideal time to tidy up the cupboards.
I do not declutter and if possible don’t put Christmas decorations either then I don’t have to take them down. Result
i have had a good clear out of toys/clothes that all go to a local women’s refuge
the kitchen ,clothes etc
I am trying to declutter especially toys, books, childrens clothes etc and make the spare room into a play room rather than a junk room!
I declutter the kids toys to make room for new ones.
We’re moving house so definitely decluttering. Packing stuff we want and getting rid of the rest!
yeah i take a load of toys down to our local school so they can make use of it x
These would be really handy for our kitchen
I think I declutter every week! It seems never ending! lol
De-cluttering is a daily battle for me..sometimes I worry I just might get swamped if I don’t do a little at a time…trouble is my partner tends to bring back in everything I throw out 😉
I get spurts through the year to declutter. Somedays the mood just takes me!
Blitz the whole house every six months or so, always starting with the kitchen!
I am constantly decluttering but the clutter appears to go no-where! The childrens’ rooms are the worst, they never seem to be cleared.
I always declutter before xmas I focus mainly on the children’s stuff so we go through their toys and wardrobe and bag it up for charity. It also gives me a chance to put toys together in the correct boxes haha!
No, New year’s Resolution time is when I start to declutter although I seldom get very far.
I do have a general tidy up in time for Christmas, mainly the kitchen.
I don’t usually no, usually I end up having to do it after! I suppose doing it before would make things easier but that would be sensible and I’m not blessed with an abundance of sense.
Definitely! l mostly focus on the livingroom and kitchen which will be having decorations up and of course kitchen will be super full over Christmas, then another de clutter after Christmas!.
I tend to declutter the living room. This year we moved house so we have 2 living rooms- the one we call the ‘front room’ is for storing stuff but we are thinking of having the tree in there so we desperately need to declutter the whole room lol
I have a regular de-clutter routine, and I recycle almost religiously 😉 I really could use a set of those bins! 😀
i usually do it after xmas
I try to de clutter but as quick as I get rid of stuff so I find something to fill in the gap
I try to pass on some of the children’s toys to make space for new ones.
Yes, I try to declutter & sort the toys ready for the next wave! Last time I had 10 bags for charity!
dont bother decluttering any of the rooms, the mess might last a few days but thats all
Try to declutter the whole house if possible.
I always declutter before christmas. Primarily i focus on the dining area and my 2 x boys rooms as thats where it needs it the most.
i always have a huge de clutter and there isnt a room in the house tht escapes 😉
Gosh, no ,I leave my clutter where it is, it’s mostly my to-read pile, if I’m honest, there’s not much else taking up space in my home lol!!
I must admit, i keep the kitchen very tidy, so im a bit of a goody goody….many thanks
Not usually…l but I think I’m going to need a declutter of my little girls toys before this Christmas!
We cleared the shed out and had a huge pile of unwanted stuff on the back lawn for a while.
I do declutter before Christmas especially in the bathrooms, kitchen and bedrooms
I declutter the entire house before Christmas. I tend to give lots of things to school fairs, Beavers fundraisers etc
I love decluttering I did the dining room today. I would love to get in my daughters room with the bin bags because she lives in a total mess
I do declutter in time for Christmas. I tend to focus on the kitchen and bedrooms.
Under the bed / in the loft!
Usually in the Living room and in the cupboard where I keep the Christmas tree when it isn’t in use x
Mainly the kitchen although I do try to get to my other cupboard space around the house.
I always have a declutter before Christmas, mainly sorting through the draws with various forgotten junk
We always declutter my daughters room, and make a deal with her that it is make room for all her Christmas presents.
I try to declutter in the run up to Christmas. I focus on clothes.
We do – the living room as we will all be in it and the kids bedrooms to make way for new stuff.
The kitchen cupboards, wardrobes & kids bedrooms get decluttered before Christmas!
I try and declutter as much as possible in the run upto christmas
We do under the stairs, the attic, and the airing cupboard 🙂
I always start with the kitchen. Just taken everything out of my freezer, quick wipe down and then put things back in an orderly fashion. Now I know what I have and what I need to get. I do the same with my fridge and cupboards.
We focus on our spare room because thats where we store the presents
I always de-clutter, usually the kids toys which I give to charity
I usually start de-cluttering in the kitchen and tidy up the cupboards.
My bedroom I organise my wardrobes by clearing out old clothes.
We don’t do a special declutter for Christmas as I spend all year doing it, haha!
Yes I declutter pretty much every where I can.
I tend to declutter on a regular basis. Although I have started to encourage the children to sort out toys
yes i do my son bedroom 😀
Like to have a good tidy and clean before I put the Xmas decorations up, clear the kitchen too ready for Xmas baking x
I try to declutter regularly but in the run up to Christmas it’s the kitchen cupboards, freezer, kids rooms and lounge
The kitchen have sorted and given away lots of odd glasses, mugs etc that were at the back of the cupboard, already done freezer and going to start food cupboards to make room to hide some goodies.
I especially give my front room a thorough clean in time for getting a Christmas tree and putting up decorations, but I like to give the whole house a sort out of clutter and a good clean x
im doing it righht now and i focus on kitchen and the kids bedrooms
I declutter the kids toys before Christmas, kids get way too much these days!
I declutter my kitchen so that I know nothings going out of date before Xmas shopping and to know what I need to get in for xmas
I love a good declutter, I’m not really a hoarder so it is usually pretty pain free 🙂
Always declutter and sort out the kids bedrooms at the start of December, ready for their Christmas presents and then have another declutter a few months later in their rooms
Definitely, especially in the lounge, to make way for the tree and all the decorations 🙂
I declutter everywhere. From CDs, DVDs, books, to clothes and cosmetics. Love making room for new items
I make sure I go through all the kitchen cupboards and pass on anything I haven’t used or don’t intend to use soon to a food bank
I usually declutter the kids toys.
Decluttered massively 6 months ago when I moved house!
In the middle of a massive declutter at the moment. Sticking a whole bunch of stuff on Ebay.
I feel like I am always decluttering but I do like to sort the kids rooms out before Christmas.
No not really. I try to stay clutter free all year.
I usually have a little declutter. This is focused on the living room where the Christmas tree will be.
i dont really declutter, but generally just do a really good sort out and tidy up
the living room and kitchen so we have a fetsive areato relax and don’t get too stressed preparing the dinner!
i have a really good clear out of clothes at this time of year to make room for new ones xD
i try with the kids bedrooms – books and toys – really difficult though
I concentrate on the kitchen to make way for fresh dinnerware each year
We try to keep clutter down during the year, but an extra tidy up and charity shop run with anything we don’t need.
I have bookmarked this. I desperatley need to de clutter for my own sanity! so hopefully you have given me the motivation
Not really, so much to do at Christmas without worrying about decluttering.
I try and declutter the kids bedrooms ready for all the new things they’ll get on the day!
Yes I do declutter before Christmas. As well as everywhere being tidy and been to the local rubbish tip to declutter around the house, I do like to have a sort out of my fridge and freezer. I get rid of old jars of pickles, bottles of sauces that only have a drop in, use up food out the freezer ready for any Christmas food I can start picking up.
Yes, I did the kids room yesterday
i’m always decluttering, hate clutter and hoarding!! x
I don’t as a rule, but this year we are also moving in the Spring so I am on a serious house-wide declutter!
I always have a sort of kids toys and bedrooms to make space for all the new things from Xmas
I always focus on the living room so there is room for all the fun Christmas morning brings. This year we are spending Christmas in our new house which will hopefully be our forever house so I want everything to be perfect xx
I always have a clear-up in November and concentrate on clothes and toys which i take down to the charity shop. I also like to mend and reuse clothes if i can.
A general de-clutter before Christmas to make room for three new pressies and to donate to charity
I have a general de-clutter before Christmas to make room for three new pressies and to donate to charity
I clean out the attic
We declutter and spruce up, basically a second spring clean. The whole house gets the treatment all ready for setting the tree up and preparing for family and friends visiting from all over the country
I don’t declutter but I probably should
I always de clutter before Christmas! I have 6 children! You can imagine the clutter! haha!
The kids bedrooms are a huge must to de clutter before Christmas so there is room for what Santa brings!
Also! I always de clutter my freezers before Christmas so there is room for lots of Christmas food! For November and December, we live out of the freezer and aim to get them as empty as possible… some interesting meals come from freezer diving! 😀
These bins are absolutely brilliant! My 4th child (Joe – 12) is our family recycler (they all have a little job in the house for responsibility!) He would be chuffed if I won these! I picked him for this job because he is my only perfectionist out of my 6 children! He enjoys organising and sorting the recycling! He would love these as they are colour coded and he could organise everything in his ‘perfectionist’ way! 🙂
Thank you! What a useful prize! I have my fingers crossed!
i love the idea of these bins, its so important to look after our environment and clean up properly! Switzerland have a great recycling programme, we should be more like them in that way!
yes the kids rooms
We focus on the living and dining room as this is where we spend the majority of our time at Christmas and it’s vital that it’s clutter free – especially if we have guests over.
I do and I mainly focus on the living room as I like it to be neat and tidy ready for putting up the tree and because I know come Christmas day the room will look like a bombs hit it lol
I always focus on the hallway which is littered with abandoned shoes coats school bags and other assorted paraphernalia
Mainly the living room and bedrooms getting rid of old toys
I always declutter the toys and all of the wardrobes and food cupboards 🙂
Always trying to decluter as much as I can, if I can o donate toys or clothes otherwise I do my best to recycle
No, but I should
Yes we do declutter. Mainly our conservatory which has our dining table in & we need for Christmas Dinner as everyone comes to ours. We tend to dump stuff in there as soon as it starts getting cold as we don’t go in there so it’s easy to forget about how much is in there!
No, I try to do it all year round, fail (sons bedroom)