Now is the time to prepare your home for Christmas

The new school year is here and with it comes the feeling of a fresh start. Even though the days may still be warm and sunny, the evenings are getting noticeably darker, and there is the definite sense of autumn in the air. 

There are many fun things to look forward to in autumn – including Halloween celebrations and fireworks displays – but it always seems to race by. Which means that Christmas is already on the horizon!

In many ways you may feel it’s far too early even to be thinking about Christmas, but it’s never too early to prepare for Christmas and start getting your home ready, particularly if you are going to be hosting friends and family during the festive season. This year wouldn’t it be great to have everything prepared well in advance instead of the usual last minute rush? You could then sit back and enjoy the season without still having a long To Do list.

In this article we look at five things you can do now to ensure your home is ready for the festive season.

Plan essential redecorations and repairs

Being realistic, you are not going to completely transform your home between now and Christmas. However, make two lists – “Essentials” and “Desirables”. Your Essentials list should contain anything that really needs to be done to get your home in full working order. Your Desirables list should focus on a few extra things that you would like to get done if possible just to spruce up your home a little bit. 

A few examples of both the above could be:

• Essentials

  • Fix dripping taps or other plumbing issues;
  • Ensure regular maintenance visits are done (eg boiler service);
  • Replace light bulbs as needed and check all electrical sockets and gadgets are working;
  • Clear gutters and drains;
  • Clear away garden rubbish;
  • Replace any broken window panes;
  • Make sure your doors open and close smoothly and that locks are functioning properly.

• Desirables

  • Add a fresh coat of paint wherever needed;
  • Get carpets cleaned;
  • Wash curtains;
  • Replace old blinds;
  • Add new brassware to front door;

Taking time now to plan a few of the above jobs will mean that you get up to date with things that need doing anyway, will help you prepare for Christmas and also reduce the risk of anything going wrong and needing to be fixed over the festive season.

Declutter your home

Starting to prepare for Christmas now also gives you plenty of time to declutter your home. This means that by the time you are putting up the Christmas decorations you won’t have to continually move around piles of other stuff to fit everything in. Hopefully your home will look lovely and festive rather than completely cluttered.

It’s a good idea to put some time in the calendar to do your decluttering and plan what you are going to do when. This makes it more likely to be a success rather than if you just plunge straight in then get completely overwhelmed. Making a plan helps you to break down the task into manageable chunks. For example you may prefer to tackle a room at a time, or focus on a particular category of items throughout the home.

Either way, be ruthless! Try to adopt the principle “if in doubt, out”. Why take up precious storage space to keep stuff just in case you need it? Chances are if it’s not been used for the last couple of years it’s never going to be.

Take time to find new homes for things you are getting rid of. You may be able to pass them on to family or friends, donate them to a local charity or charity shops, or list them on donation websites such as Freecycle. Or you could perhaps make a bit of extra Christmas cash by selling them online – for example on eBay or Facebook Marketplace – or taking them to a car boot sale. For more inspiration check out our ‘how to make money selling online‘ article.

Sort out the Christmas decorations

As part of your decluttering process, get all your existing Christmas decorations out to see what you have got. It’s so easy to put things away at the end of one Christmas then completely forget about them the following year. So lay everything out to see what you have. You may be surprised to see the extent of it all.

If there are things that you either don’t like or no longer use, you can get rid of them as suggested in the Decluttering section above. Or another option might be to arrange a Christmas decoration swap with other local families.

Once you have sorted out what you already have, take time to think about what kind of additional decorations you need to make your home look exactly the way you want it to. The good news is that by starting to prepare for Christmas early, you stand a good chance of picking up bargain decorations from other families who are also having a clear out. So check out those online sites and car boot sales as a buyer and you will hopefully find some great bargains.

Start a cleaning rota

One of the miseries of the Christmas season is realising too late that your home needs a really good clean. So you start off planning to get the decorations up but end up also having to clean up lots of mess as you go, which can kill the Christmas spirit completely. 

You can avoid this last minute crunch by starting early. If you get into a regular cleaning routine now, your home should be in really good shape by the time Christmas comes.

An easy way to do this is to focus on two parallel kinds of activities : daily and weekly:

• Daily cleaning tasks

  • Clear up any mess as soon as it’s made; 
  • Always put everything away in its proper place rather than leaving it lying around;
  • Put rubbish out as soon as the kitchen bin is full;
  • Wipe bathroom and kitchen surfaces after each use;
  • Sweep or vacuum floors as soon as they need it, so dirt doesn’t build up.

• Weekly cleaning tasks

  • Do a quick dust and vacuum round of each room;
  • Sort out one drawer or cupboard;
  • Deep clean one room.

The more you can get into regular routines – and involve as many of the family as possible – the easier it will gradually become to get and keep your home clean. By Christmas you should be ready to relax and enjoy your home.

Get your spare room ready for guests

If you are having people to stay over Christmas, take time to get things ready for them. You don’t have to do anything fancy or complicated, just think of a few extra touches that will make them comfortable during their stay.

It can help to take a good look at your spare room and imagine you are seeing it for the first time. Try to be completely honest and see if there are improvements that could be made. 

Obviously, much depends on the space you have available, but you may want to consider a few of the following:

• Try to create some storage space for your guests such as a section of a wardrobe or drawer.
• Think where you can provide space for them to leave cases and bags.
• Consider their privacy. For example, does the bedroom door close properly, and are there curtains or blinds that cover the whole window?
• Is there space in the room to put a small chair so they have somewhere to sit?
• Could the room use a few decorative items such as cushions, throws, rugs or wall art?
• Could you provide a few extra comfort items such as bedside light, clock, TV or radio, books etc? 

The main thing is to try and think of the things that you would like to have if you were staying in someone else’s home, and make sure you provide them for your own guests.

If you can put at least a few of the above ideas in place, your home should be well prepared by the time Christmas comes around. 

If you need any additional finances to get things in shape, remember that Loans 2 Go offer a range of personal loans which may be able to help.

For more useful lifestyle tips, visit us here again soon at Loans 2 Go.