With October half-term quickly approaching and festive gifts already appearing on the shelves, celebrity organiser Dilly Carter says now is an ideal time to clear out the clutter ahead of all the hosting, decorating and gift-giving that takes place at Christmas.
As the company behind the clutter-clearing HIPPOBAGs, waste removal firm HIPPO joined up with TV star Dilly Carter earlier this year in a bid to encourage more of us to get decluttering and to do so in a way that’s kinder to our environment.
Organisation expert, author of Create Space and TV presenter, Dilly is the best ‘go to’ expert for those looking to transform their cluttered chaos into an organised oasis. And, as an eco-friendly, hassle-free alternative to the cumbersome metal skip, HIPPO’s HIPPOBAGs are just one of the resources that Dilly would recommends employing.
Dilly says: “Now is a great time to declutter ahead of Christmas before you start filling your home with more decorations, gifts and no doubt the odd house guests too! This is why I’m delighted to collaborate with HIPPO and their genius HIPPOBAGs in encouraging more of us to get decluttering! These are my Top Tips for clearing the clutter before guests come round:
1. Go through your crockery
Is your fine dining crockery kept separate from your everyday sets? Should you be using your fine dining sets more often, instead of it sitting there unused all year round?
Don't save the best for the best! Go through the plates and make sure all dining sets are together, matching styles and sizes. Even making sure a set is grouped together can change the aesthetic of your cupboard and help you distinguish what you can do without.
2. Sort your linen and towels
What is the linen cupboard and towel situation like in your home? When you have guests staying over, could they easily snag a towel to use? When did you last go through your towels? How long have you had them? How are your towel sets organised? Do you have too many or maybe you don't have enough? You can stash your sets inside a pillowcase belonging to that set so it’s easier to find. And try and separate them into baskets for single, double, king size, etc.
3. Borrow don’t buy new cutlery or furniture
So many of us buy items we use for one day that then take up space we don’t have. Only buy what you have room to comfortably store.
4. Organise Christmas decorations
If you shoved everything away last year then let’s organise our decorations this year so it’s a doddle when it comes to decorating our homes next year.
Buy storage boxes or use employ shoeboxes to separate different types of decorations. Label every box with a pen, labeller or just use white stickers. It’s always helpful to separate decorations by style or colour. The more we split our decorations the easier they are to find and use what we need or don’t each year. It also helps to wrap your lights around a hanger to keep them from getting tangled up. Make certain you use one hanger per set.
5. Get rid of your Christmas clutter
After Christmas Day, sort through the inevitable pile of rubbish by grouping items together according to how and where they can be safely disposed of.
Remember sticky tape, glossy wrapping paper and broken glass decorations can't be recycled, unlike Christmas trees or old toys and clothes that have now been replaced by a new gift.
If you don’t have the time or energy to work through your rubbish then HIPPOBAGs are a brilliant fix. These fully recyclable skip bags are a hassle-free, greener alternative to the metal skip. Once you’ve filled your bag, HIPPO will simply take it away, contact-free, and ensure over 95% of it is recycled for you, with the remainder disposed of safely and ethically.
Available to buy online at hippowaste.co.uk or through the HIPPO App, HIPPOBAG prices start at £13.99 for the MIDI Bag or £189.99 for the MIDI Bag with collection. These clever skip bags come in three handy flat-packed sizes so they don’t take up valuable space outside your home until you need to use them.
For more information, please give HIPPO a call on 0333 999 0 999 or visit hippowaste.co.uk.
