Set yourself up for a speedy festive cleanup

There is nothing like the chaos of a post-present swop living room.

Bits of discarded sticky tape stuck to the soles of your feet, snippets of ribbon just waiting for the cat or the toddler to swallow and send you to the vet or hospital and mounds of torn wrapping paper…it’s a wonderful mess of memories and mayhem.

But how do you clean it up before you sit down to dinner, without shouting away the festive cheer and ruining the moment.

Begin with the end in mind:

Avoid the chaos by having a plan before the first piece of wrapping paper hits the floor.

Wrap right

Before you buy your festive wraps for the year, think about sustainability. Buying the pretty, sparkly, plastic and foil-based wraps might be tempting, but the fact is that they are not necessarily recyclable and definitely not eco friendly. Our favourite wrapping paper at Homemakers is basic biodegradable brown paper. Draw some stars on it in glitter marker, add a few stickers or a nice bow, and you have all the festive cheer with none of the eco-guilt. Because it is cheap and recyclable, you can chuck all the brown paper wrapping into a paper recycling bag and simply drop it off at the paper bank next time you drive past. (just remove the sticky tape and stickers)

Save your boxes.

Strategically place some empty open boxes around the living room – you know, those ones that keep piling up thanks to your online shopping habit…Designate each box for something: reusable gift bags, fabric ribbons and twine or bows you can re-use and then one for gift tags or Christmas cards. After the guest shave left you can go through the card box and really appreciate each holiday wish and blessing before you decide what to do with the cards and tags. Store the rest of the things in a cupboard for next year’s wrapping!

Make a game of it.

Have a bowl of tiny Christmas chocolates ready and hand out a sweet to each person who helps clean up. This is basically the Carrot and Stick experiment, but instead of the proverbial spanks, you avoid shouts, and instead of proverbial carrots you hand out candy. Yes, this might lead to sugar highs under your most diligent guests, but at least the floor will be clean, and you can start your dinner without tripping over wrappings.

You deserve a break!

The festive season should be all about celebrating, giving thanks and relaxing. Every little trick and hack you can employ to keep the peace is worth it. So, take a minute and plan for the cleanup before the mess is made.

Need some Christmas gift ideas – we share some re-gifting tips and ideas.