The Reverse Santa cleaning rule used by professionals to make Christmas a breeze and keep you totally clutter free too
THE festive season is almost here – a time for good food, joyful drinks, and gathering with friends and family.
With the countdown on, there’s no better moment to kickstart your holiday home declutter, making space for all the cheer to come.
This inspired the cleaning expert Miroslav Radov at London House Clearing Company Rainbow Rubbish Removals to share his best decluttering tips for making your home feel calm, organised, cosy, and ready for the Christmas season.
Here, he reveals his top tips for making the festive season a breeze this year.
The “reverse Santa” rule
We all love our homes to look festive, and it’s hard not to go crazy over Christmas decor and gifts when each year you find something even better than last year.
This is when you need to introduce the “Reverse Santa” rule.
How to: For every new gift or decoration you bring in, remove one item from your home.
This makes room for holiday additions without the extra clutter.
Gift wrap your junk
When it comes to decluttering your space, you come across items you aren’t sure if you want to let go of, wrap it up.
The gift wrap technique can help you with the items that you aren’t sure if you need in your day-to-day.
How to: Wrap up your item and if you don’t feel compelled to ‘open’ it by New Year’s, it’s time to donate or bin it.
The “12 days of decluttering” challenge
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me… a cluttered house that needs months of cleaning! Well maybe not with this festive hack – this is the perfect way to get everyone in your household involved, especially children.
How to: Set up a designated bin, and for 12 days straight remove those items you no longer need or use.
Day one, one item. Day two, two items – and so on.
Christmas countdown clear-out
A daily five-minute mini-blitz per zone helps to declutter without you needing to set aside dedicated “decluttering days”, and will surprise you with how much you can get done.
A way to do this is, instead of tackling a whole room at once, declutter by focusing on specific zones within each room.
This technique not only works wonders as working in a time crunch makes your decision process work faster but by taking on small sections at time is less complicated and overwhelming.
How to: Whether it’s a cluttered basement or a messy kitchen, break the room into sections either by space or category.
Label one box “To Keep” and another “To Go” and set a timer for five minutes each day.
See how quickly you can make decisions and clear surfaces!
Present triage
If you are struggling with what to keep and what to toss, this method is for you.
When you’re considering the gifts you plan to give this holiday season, take a moment to reflect on the items in your home.
If you can’t envision giving them as a gift, it might be time to let go and create space for what truly adds value.
How to: Make a mental note of the people you want to get presents for this year and look around your bedroom, living room, and bathroom cabinet.
Picture these items as gifts for the people in your life. If you can’t imagine gifting them, why keep them?
How to look after your real Christmas tree
HERE'S what you need to know if you're buying a real Christmas tree:
First thing’s first: buy a pot (if it doesn’t come in one already).
You’ll need to treat your tree just like a houseplant and give it water and attention.
Make sure the container has good drainage – and it’s a good idea to put something underneath to catch the excess water.
Check the soil everyday to make sure it’s not drying out.
If it feels dry, give it some water. If it still feels moist, leave it alone as too much water can also kill a tree.
Also check the LED bulbs on your tree lights aren’t too hot as they could burn it, and keep your tree away from radiators.
When Christmas is over, try planting it in the garden so you can dig it up and use it again next year.
It’s a good idea to take it out of its pot when you do re-plant it though, as large trees don’t survive well in pots as their roots need space to grow.
The snowflake rule
Embrace the idea that, like snowflakes, each item in your home should be unique and essential.
By eliminating duplicates – whether it’s the extra spatulas or redundant kitchen gadgets – you create a more functional and streamlined space, ensuring that everything you keep truly serves a purpose.
How to: Start by assessing categories like kitchenware or clothing and decide if you really need more than one of each item.
Keep only the most functional or favourite pieces, then donate or recycle the extras.
Moving forward, commit to only replacing or adding items when truly necessary to maintain a streamlined, organised space.
Holiday-themed declutter bingo
No matter whether you live by yourself or in a full house, it’s hard to get everything decluttered and organised on your own.
One way to get everyone involved is to create a Christmas-themed bingo card, with an incentive for the winner.
How to save money on Christmas shopping
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save money on your Christmas shopping.
Limit the amount of presents – buying presents for all your family and friends can cost a bomb.
Instead, why not organise a Secret Santa between your inner circles so you’re not having to buy multiple presents.
Plan ahead – if you’ve got the stamina and budget, it’s worth buying your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.
Make sure you shop around for the best deals by using price comparison sites so you’re not forking out more than you should though.
Buy in Boxing Day sales – some retailers start their main Christmas sales early so you can actually snap up a bargain before December 25.
Delivery may cost you a bit more, but it can be worth it if the savings are decent.
Shop via outlet stores – you can save loads of money shopping via outlet stores like Amazon Warehouse or Office Offcuts.
They work by selling returned or slightly damaged products at a discounted rate, but usually any wear and tear is minor.