Organise Your Home for Christmas in London

With Christmas just weeks away, many people will be thinking about what they’ll do over the holidays in London. With the festive season approaching, many households in London are planning their celebrations and preparing their homes to welcome guests or enjoy cosy family gatherings. Is it too late to start organising your home to accommodate guests?

Anthony Ward Thomas has the capacity to accept last-minute jobs, and we’re only a phone call or email away. Self storage is the ideal fit for creating more space and preparing to invite family and friends over for the holidays. We’re here to help you organise and prepare for the festive season. 

Contents

• A Cause for Optimism for the Festive Season
• Decluttering Before Guests Arrive
• Last-Minute Removals and Storage are Available
• Using Self Storage to Create More Space
• When is Container Storage More Suitable?
• Festive Decluttering Tips and Preparing Guest Spaces
• Storing Decorations and Planning an Eco-Friendly Holiday
• Organising Key Spaces and Maximising Storage for Festive Shopping

A Cause for Optimism for the Festive Season

The festive season is a time to embrace joy and togetherness, and preparing your home can help set the stage for a memorable celebration with loved ones. So, the best course of action might be to prepare either way and get a quote from us for storage.

By doing this, you’ll have costs and relevant information ready should you go with this option. Plus, you’ll already know someone at Anthony Ward Thomas to speak to if you have any queries. We’ll gladly discuss things in more detail, and you have no obligation to book with us. We don’t need to ‘hard sell’ our services because we understand their value.

Our self storage package is an excellent way to free up more room in your house or apartment before the festivities begin. There’s no minimum term contract to worry about, and it’s all about meeting your storage needs. Whether that’s for one week or six months, it’s up to you, as it’s a store for as long as you want. You’ll have all the benefits of having somewhere to store things outside your home, a smart place for Christmas presents.

It’s time to think positively and organise your home, even if your plans don’t involve having guests for Christmas day. This is a fantastic opportunity to set your home up for a clutter-free and welcoming holiday season, leaving you refreshed and ready for the year ahead. With a thorough cleaning and possibly some small home improvements, you’ll start the new year with a fresh start.

Decluttering Before Guests Arrive

If you want to organise your home, you’re up against it, and there’s no time to waste. The aim here is to get everything done in less than a week. That means all hands on deck, so bring the whole family in on the task. You can always think of ways of making it fun by giving some small treats or prizes for good work.

On the practical side, concentrating on individual rooms is a good idea. Create a checklist and inventory as you go. Separate things you rarely or never use and put them to one side, ideally in a different room. These items are going—it’s up to you how this happens, but you should avoid the urge to put things back.

It’s time to apply the rule of the three Rs – recycle, resell, and repurpose. If you think there’s a possibility of making some money, take photos of each item and put them on sites like eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Additionally, there are lots of charities and upcycling collectives in London who would welcome donations. Furthermore, there are hundreds of recycling points throughout Greater London.

Renting a self storage unit will allow you to reclaim rooms and spaces in your house. You can finally clear the spare room for guests, whether for the holidays or a catch-up next year. This also applies to the usual suspects of clutter—the garage and loft. If you free up space in these rooms, it might be possible to repurpose them to create a utility room in the garage or a new bedroom in the loft.

Last-Minute Removals and Storage are Available

Anthony Ward Thomas is open and ready to assist with your removal and storage needs throughout the holiday season. We’ll likely have reduced hours over the festive period and publish details on our website. We’re accepting new bookings and honouring current removals and storage jobs, so there’s no need to panic if this concerns you. Moreover, we have the scope to take on emergency removals and storage because we have the right team members and specialist equipment available.

If you find yourself in a tricky situation and need to move or store things urgently, the best thing to do is contact us without delay. We can assess your requirements and advise you on the most suitable removals or storage package. In extreme scenarios, we’ll do our best to deploy a removal crew for emergencies. But it’s vital to avoid hesitation and get in touch straight away.

Our team has a proven track record of delivering reliable removals and storage services, ensuring our customers can count on us when they need us most. We promise to update everyone soon with our festive opening and closing times in our blog section.

Using Self Storage to Create More Space

Self storage is our most popular package and provides people and businesses in London with superior services. While this is often the choice for shorter storage periods, unlimited access is often a factor. E-commerce enterprises use self storage because it’s straightforward to move stock in and out of their unit with minimal fuss. They can perform collections and deliveries multiple times throughout the day.

If a delay occurs, this can be an invaluable service for domestic customers who are moving to a new house. This is one of the most common reasons people contact us, and it’s critical they have somewhere safe and secure for their possessions while they rectify any issues with things like a mortgage chain problem.

You can access your storage room whenever you need to during our business hours. There are no additional fees for this, whereas there are some for container storage. Our facilities have top-notch security features, like twenty-four-hour CCTV monitoring. Every storage room has individual access codes for additional security.

Self storage is also the perfect solution for people who need to create more space in their homes or offices. Our storage units can free up a surprising amount of space to help improve your living spaces. For example, a 100-square-foot storage room is equivalent to an entire apartment’s worth of possessions. You can imagine how this would suit someone who lives in a luxury city centre complex with limited storage provisions.

When is Container Storage More Suitable?

Anthony Ward Thomas offers an extensive range of services, including a variety of storage packages. Our container storage is for you if you need a more long-term solution and won’t need regular entry to your unit. The Household Storage package provides the best level of protection, and with prices starting from £17 per week, you also get excellent value.

It’s also simple, as we do most of the heavy lifting and organising for you. We’ll bring the empty container to your address and load everything there. As everything is packed, we create and update an inventory of your belongings. Then, we seal the container and transport it back to our depot, where we use a stacking system.

When your storage period ends, we’ll transport the unit back to your home or chosen location. Then, our team will unseal the container, and your items will be in perfect condition. This is due to storage units with environmental and temperature controls. No matter the weather outside, it won’t affect your items inside the unit.

Festive Decluttering Tips and Preparing Guest Spaces

In this section, we’ll discuss our best industry insider tips for decluttering and preparing for guests over the festive season, including any staying overnight. We recommend giving yourself at least one week to complete your decluttering exercise and enlist help from family or friends if it’s a big job.

Room-by-Room Decluttering Strategies

• Tackle clutter systematically, room by room, starting with high-traffic areas like the living room, kitchen and hallways.
• Focus on spare rooms and multipurpose spaces, ensuring they’re free of unnecessary items to make them functional for guests.
• Use sorting categories (keep, donate, store, discard) to make decluttering decisions efficient and effective.
• Consider tackling and reclaiming the garage and loft from clutter—this will open more space for additional luggage or for temporarily moving furniture out of your dining room or lounge for Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve.

Quick Guest Space Makeovers

• Refresh spare rooms with fresh linens and soft furnishings like throw pillows, blankets, and rugs to create a warm, welcoming ambience.
• For a welcoming seasonal touch, add festive accents like holiday candles, string lights, or a small decorative centrepiece.
• Rearrange furniture strategically to maximise space and ensure guests have easy access to essentials, like bedside tables or seating.

Leveraging Self Storage for Space Optimisation

• Store excess furniture temporarily in self storage to create a more open and inviting atmosphere for guests.
• Use storage for rarely used belongings, such as seasonal decor, large appliances, or hobby equipment, to keep guest spaces uncluttered.
• Free up closets and drawers by storing out-of-season clothing or household items, giving guests dedicated storage space for their belongings.

With these practical hacks and festive touches, you and your guests can enjoy a relaxed time these holidays. Plus, you’ll solve the clutter issue, making packing up and storing your decorations more manageable after the festivities end.

Storing Decorations and Planning an Eco-Friendly Holiday

Decorations can be expensive, especially if you replace them yearly due to breakages. We’ll highlight some best practices for storing your decorations to ensure they’re pristine and usable for years to come. Similarly, we’ll throw in some eco-friendly tips and tricks, adding to a greener Christmas and New Year.

Neat and Efficient Decoration Storage

• Prioritise organisation by sorting decorations into categories (e.g., lights, ornaments, and wreaths) to make retrieval easier next year.
• Use proper storage containers like sturdy, stackable bins to prevent damage to delicate items and save space.
• Label boxes clearly with contents and locations (e.g., “Living Room Decor”) to minimise guesswork during setup and packing.

Eco-Friendly Holiday Preparation Strategies

• Switch to recyclable or compostable wrapping paper instead of foil or glitter-based varieties.
• Invest in reusable decorations like fabric garlands or LED lights, which reduce waste and last for years.
• Declutter and donate older or unused decorations to local charities or thrift shops to avoid landfill waste.

Self Storage Solutions for Decorations and Supplies

• Use self storage to safely store bulky decorations like artificial trees, oversized inflatables, and seasonal lawn ornaments.
• Secure seasonal decorations in climate-controlled units to prevent damage from humidity, dust, or temperature changes.
• Leverage storage to free up space at home during the off-season, keeping holiday items out of closets, attics, or garages.

Now, you can keep your decorations in working order for many years without having to fork out for replacements, which reduces your environmental impact. Fortunately, the public desire for decoration manufacturers to use recyclable materials is improving, but it’s still worth doing what you can to avoid buying them annually. A simple act such as buying brown paper for wrapping instead of traditional paper can drastically reduce your negative environmental impact.

Organising Key Spaces and Maximising Storage for Festive Shopping

Decluttering and spacial organisation are the perfect team, allowing you to focus on the high-traffic hotspots in your home. This will help you keep your household in order, and you invite more people into your home.

Organising Essential Holiday Spaces

• Remove non-essential items from the kitchen, dining room, and living room to make room for festive decor and activities.
• Create functional zones in key spaces, like a serving station in the dining room or a cosy seating area in the living room.
• Reorganise the kitchen cabinets and pantry to prioritise easy access to festive cooking essentials, such as spices, baking tools, and holiday serving dishes.

Creative Festive Setup Ideas

• Set up a dedicated gift-wrapping station with all necessary supplies—wrapping paper, scissors, tape, and bows—neatly organised in one place.
• Create a holiday activity corner for family fun, complete with crafts, board games, or festive movies to encourage quality time together.
• Use decorative storage solutions, like baskets or festive bins, to store holiday items in plain sight without sacrificing aesthetics.

Using Self Storage to Manage Holiday Overflow

• Store bulk festive shopping items, such as non-perishable foods, party supplies, or extra tableware, in self storage until needed.
• Keep gifts hidden and secure in storage to avoid spoiling surprises, especially when buying in advance or bulk.
• Use self storage for off-season items (e.g., garden furniture or sports equipment) to free up space for holiday essentials in the home.

This brings us to the end of this blog. We hope these practical steps will help you prepare your house for your guests’ arrival. The next step is to contact the Anthony Ward Thomas team to discuss how our premium self storage and container storage can help you organise your home this festive season.

Anthony Ward Thomas – Helping You Prepare for Christmas in London

From everyone at Anthony Ward Thomas, we wish you a merry Christmas and all the best for the festive season. Even though it’ll be a bit more tedious than usual, let’s also have a joyful New Year’s Eve. We all have a busy year ahead, where businesses will hope for a turnaround in our collective circumstances.

At Anthony Ward Thomas, customer service is our number one priority, and we always strive to attain complete satisfaction for every job we undertake. Our customers have additional checks and balances in place to protect their interests. We are BAR-affiliated and have a stringent quality policy protocol. Our team will go the extra mile for our loyal customers.

Please contact us today if you want to create more space before Christmas. Our self storage service is the perfect way to add more room as you organise your home for the festive season.