Christmas is coming. Are you feeling calm or frazzled? Here are some great tips for the home, head and heart.
HOME
If your home is a mess your mind will be too. Decluttering expert Amy Revell has shared some ideas of how to give our homes a quick calming make-over before school breaks up.
1. Declutter toys
If you have time before Christmas, sit with your kids and go through their toy collection. Anything they no longer used can be given away to make space for new gifts”, suggests Amy. “This is a great activity to do with your children in December is to do a thorough declutter of their toys. Use the opportunity when you know they’re likely to receive new toys for Christmas to work with them to donate and declutter toys they no longer love and play with. Clear out space so that after Christmas when it’s time to put new toys away you actually have space to fit them and find a home for everything.
2. Clear out hard rubbish
Go around the main living and entertaining areas in your home and declutter the obvious un-wanted, un-needed and broken items in your house. Anything that cannot be donated can be discarded. Tip: do it right away; don’t leave bags of rubbish at your front door or clogging up your car.
3. Donate to others
Consider not selling your gently loved toys and usable household goods and donating instead. Drop these off to a charity organisation near you and they could have a second life with another family this Christmas. Important: remember to actually drop donations off as soon as possible and do not leave them in the back of your car until New Year!
4. Make stations
Set up a “wrapping station” before Christmas every year. Other than paper, ribbon and labels, ensure to include scissors and sticky tape and remind other family members to keep everything together. The wrapping station could just be a big plastic tub in the corner of your living room or a designated shelf in a cupboard.
HEAD
Get your mental load organised. Crack out your calendar and face the reality of your time.
1. Make friends with your calendar
Give your calendar lots of attention by checking in every couple of days. You can plan some things weeks in advance, but make sure the little things like gifts, food platters and Christmas clothes are organised at least a day in advance from an event. Try and make it a goal to avoid the last-minute dash to the shops or frantically searching for a Santa hat.
2. Be realistic
There is no room for perfectionism at Christmas, or any time of the year in fact. Saying no and “sorry, but we already have enough on our calendar this week”, is not only okay, but healthy for you and your family. Amy says “Kids are particularly tired during December with all the additional childcare and school activities so it’s okay to pop into an event rather than be the first to arrive and the last to leave. It’s even okay to pass on an event that you know will have a negative flow on effect to your family routine and capacity”.
HEART
Gives should come from the heart, not just from your head and purse.
1. Create a gift list
Amy advises that before you buy any more gifts this year, take a moment to write down who you intend to buy for and if you’ve already bought items, write these down too. “It’s easy to overspend at Christmas when you forget you bought something and buy another gift for the same person. Keeping a list will keep you on budget and help you feel organised”, explains Amy.
2. Go Christmas List Shopping
Take your kids to two or three shops that sell things that you know they like and get them to wander around and look at everything. Once they show you what they like, you can take a photo and make a note of the price. Use this time to help your kids to understand how many gifts is appropriate to ask Santa for and if you think what they have chosen fits with Santa’s budget.
3. Buy experiences
Amy says this year get creative in your gift giving and think about moving away from physical gifts to giving experiences. We often do this for adults, but it’s fantastic for kids too. Think movie tickets, play centre passes, local theatre group ticket, theme park voucher, lessons for a hobby (craft, music, theatre, sport), there are so many great experiences for kids that will get them active, creative and learning new things.
4. Make a gift stash
Why not cook up a batch of marmalade, lemon butter, jam or apple sauce with your kids? Or maybe a fruitcake, shortbread or a gingerbread house? This won’t do for “big” presents, but for smaller gifts, a little hamper of homemade deliciousness is perfect.
– Amy Revell, is a mum of two, a professional organiser and owner of The Art of Decluttering course and podcasts: www.artofdecluttering.com.au
