Five tips for planning a pre-Christmas clear-out

As Christmas starts to loom on the horizon, if the idea of anymore ‘stuff’ making its way into your home fills you with horror, it may be time for a full house clearance. And we mean a REAL clear out.

For those of you with a skip’s worth of junk lying around in attics, sheds, in the garden and at the back of wardrobes – let alone the furniture you’ve been meaning to update and the garage that needs ‘streamlining’ – this guide, together with our house clearance services, are for you. Here’s Skip It’s five top tips for planning your pre-Christmas clear out.

The first thing to do when embarking on a major pre-Christmas clear-out is to think about what you want to achieve. If you desperately need to clear the spare room so that guests can stay in comfort this year, then make this room your priority.  If, however, it’s all about making space in the shed for the new bikes your kids have got their hearts set on, then prioritise getting rid of the junk that’s piled up there.

Making a plan may sound easy, but it takes time and patience. Sit down with a computer or even a pen and paper and consider each space you want to tackle. Walk around and write down the key large objects that need to be dealt with and what your goals are.

Once you have the plan in mind, consider how long it will take you to get it done and when you will have the time to dedicate to the job. Before Christmas preferably!

If you decide that skip hire is the way to go, make sure you consider the environmental impact you are having. The Skip It skip hire services come with a promise that the majority of what we take away in our skips will be recycled using local facilities.

Waste clearance doesn’t always leave you with a sense of having ‘done your bit’ for the environment. It’s easy to feel like you’re throwing away usable items or sending perfectly good, yet ‘well-used’ items to landfill, but it doesn’t need to be this way.

Firstly, think about whether you know anyone who might welcome any of the items you are clearing. Baby equipment is particularly expensive to buy new and basic furniture is almost always in need. Consider contacting local charities that may pick useful things up from your home if you donate.

Doing the heavy work involved with a full-on clear out is not fun on your own. Asking friends or family to help you with the clear out will save you from breaking your back and will also mean the job gets done a lot quicker.

If you prefer to keep your hands clean and your back intact, it might even be worth paying the experts to the do the heavy work for you and investing in our wait and load service, which means you’ll avoid the loading part of the clear out entirely. The added bonus of this service is that you don’t need to keep the skip on your driveway for days on end, keeping your curb appeal intact for those all-important Christmas visitors.

If you’ve hired a skip to take your waste away, once you think you’ve completed your planned clear out, have a final look around and see if there is anything else you can bear to part with. Think about your outside waste, such as rotten old planters, broken fence posts, or garden toys and play equipment you simply have no need for anymore.

It’s easy to neglect the outside of your home when undertaking a clear out, but pre-Christmas is the ideal time to take stock and ensure everything looks spick and span right from the moment your guests arrive at your front gate.

Once the hard work is done and your home is well and truly de-cluttered, consider making changes that you will actually maintain. Invest in some better storage solutions that will allow you to organise your belongings more effectively or introduce a new rule that you will sort through your household waste regularly, recycling as much as you can.

Go by the rule that if you can get through a year without using something, or even looking at something for that matter, you simply don’t need to keep it. Go on, clear it out. You’ll feel so much better.

Here at Skip It, we are great believers in the power of a clear-out. Not only does it clear your home of clutter, it clears out the mind and simply makes everything that little bit easier. Pre-Christmas and New Year is an obvious time to make changes in the home, so why not make decluttering your home this year’s New Year’s Resolution?

Contact us today to kick start your pre-Christmas clear-out.