Your to-do list may be as stuffed as a Christmas Turkey will be, but before you fill your home with gifts, decorations and guests, it’s time to prepare your house for Christmas. Now is the perfect time to do it, before the additional clutter of the festive season. That way, you’ll feel far more in the Christmas spirit and less like cursing every time the beautiful tree so much as sheds a needle.
It’s very easy to get very busy quickly, at this time of year. If you’ve got the family at home for Christmas, and certainly if you’re entertaining, you will need to be organised. Discover our tips on how to prepare your house for Christmas.
1. Have a big clear-out
Before kids get new toys, teens revamp their wardrobes and your bookshelves burst with the latest bestsellers, it’s time to clear out. Go around your home making three collections: to sell; for charity; to throw away. Then make sure they all leave the house to the right places.
If you’re tight for room now, you don’t want to be feeling cramped come Boxing Day, so be ruthless and make some space.
2. Get cleaning
Now you’ve got rid of the clutter, it’s time for a deep clean before it gets full again. Not just that, but ornaments, the tree and presents all make your normal cleaning routines harder. Therefore, get a good baseline clean which will tide you through to the New Year, with just some surface ‘top-ups’.
Knowing that Christmas will make your house fuller is better inspiration for a spring clean than spring ever is.
3. Do an inventory
If you’ve got guests for the season, then you need to be sure you’ve got everything you need to be fantastic hosts. Check you have enough linen and towels, as well as basic items like crockery and glasses. Christmas Eve isn’t the time to find out that you’re down to only 3 wineglasses and 5 dinner plates.
Don’t forget to think about the bigger items too. Have you been meaning to replace the guest mattress? Do you always avoid the right side of the sofa because of broken springs? Can your dining table fit 12 now the kids are growing teens? Now is the time to order larger furniture items to ensure there is plenty of time for them to arrive.
4. Take a step back
Before you go any further preparing your house for Christmas, now is the time to take a step back. What decorations do you have that you love? Are you wanting an entirely new theme? What looked tired last year?
Then you can actually conceptualise what you would like your decorated home to look like. This way, you’ll only make smart decoration purchases, rather than randomly chucking in an eclectic mix which you’ll regret.
5. Plan the dates
Next take a look at the actual dates that you will be using your home in a Christmassy way. Perhaps you have the neighbours popping in for drinks on the Saturday before Christmas. Maybe you’re got your children’s friends coming over at the end of term. All before the wider family arrive on Boxing Day.
Use these dates to mark out whether you need to prepare anything else within the home in order to be ready.
6. Make it winter-proof!
Part of preparing your home for Christmas, is simply preparing it for winter. Check that door and window seals are in good working order. Invest in some new draft excluders. Pop blankets within reach on your sofas, and perhaps change your cushion covers to a more cosy design. A few candles dotted around and Christmas scents also help to give a warming feel.
All that’s left is for you to actually get on and enjoy the festive season. With your home in order, you’ll be able to relax and welcome guests without the stress.
