How to Decorate Your Home and Still Have a Clutter-Free Christmas.
Festive lights, baubles and tinsel add some much-needed glitter to what can be a dark and gloomy time of year.
But one aspect of the holiday season that I am not a fan of is the clutter and waste created at Christmas.
So what can you do to avoid creating more clutter at Christmas?
Here are some ideas for Christmas decorations that can be eaten, composted or recycled at the end of the season. Meaning that you are not adding clutter to your home, you are not creating plastic waste, and in most cases, you are saving money too.
Christmas Wreath From Natural Materials
In this Christmas Wreath making tutorial, I walk you through the steps to make your own stunning Christmas wreath using natural materials. This wreath is built on a wire frame which can be used year after year.
The best part is that all the greenery can be composted at the end of the season and will not end up as clutter in your home!
Paper Snowflakes
Paper snowflakes make a lovely clutter-free and plastic-free decoration. With a little practice, they are deceptively easy to make, and they are a great project to keep kids busy.
Press them flat, then hang them from a string. Or use them as plastic-free window clings.
To stick the snowflakes to the window use this eco-friendly paste recipe:
Put a tablespoon of plain flour in a bowl. Add boiling water a little at a time and mix to a paste. Keep adding water and mixing till you get the consistency of double cream.
You can then paint this paste mix onto your snowflakes and stick them to the window. Add a teaspoon of salt to the paste to prevent mould and it will last long enough to use for other craft projects too.
Once Christmas is over peel them off and simply put them in the compost or your paper recycling. Ta-da! No clutter.
Here is a tutorial video for making these paper snowflakes.
Natural Table Runners
Decorating for Christmas doesn’t have to be hard or complicated, as shown by this gorgeous pomegranate table runner. Simply lay out some greenery with festive fruits and voila! You are done!
Afterwards, simply eat the fruit and compost the greenery. No clutter, and no plastic tat in sight!
Dried Orange Slices
Another of my plastic-free, clutter-free decorating favourites. These will store, so if you want to you can save them for next year. Being flat, they take up very little room. Or just compost them and make fresh ones next year.
You can see the tutorial from Back Road Bloom here. A key point to note is that this tutorial is written for a U.S. audience. When she says pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees, she means Fahrenheit, not Celcius! (That’s just under 100 degrees Celcius).
Don’t make the same mistake I did and cook your orange slices to a nasty shade of brown!
Christmas Jar Luminaries
I love how super quick and simple this project is. All you need are some glass jars with the labels removed (I’ve been saving mayo and pickle jars), some sprigs of greenery, a votive candle and cranberries. And if cranberries aren’t available where you are, then I am sure it would work just fine with other natural berries too.
Of course, you could keep things simple, and guarantee a clutter-free Christmas by not decorating your home at all.
There is certainly no obligation to decorate, and in this world of comparison on social media, we may find ourselves putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves to make our homes Instagram-perfect at this time of year.
But you could scale back or ditch decorating entirely, and still enjoy the festivities of the Christmas season.
Here are some ways to enjoy the beauty of the festive season without decorating your home.
Go on a Nature Walk
Nature does a wonderful job of decorating without our help. Go on a nature walk to notice all the beauty we might often miss by hiding away in our homes.
Take a close look and you’ll see a stunning array of berry colours, frost-glazed leaves and branches or the jewelled webs of spiders.
Enjoy Someone Else’s Christmas Decorating Efforts
From high street displays to whole neighbourhoods decorated for Christmas, there are lots of places to go and enjoy decorations without feeling pressured to put up your own.
Check your local Facebook groups for the lowdown on where the best streets are for Christmas lights or go to the city centres for guaranteed sparkle. Many homes, gardens and attractions are going full out for Christmas too, so you can book a day out for festive fun.
Opt For a Clutter-Free Christmas to Save Money
Another benefit of clutter-free Christmas decorating is saving money, as most of these ideas cost very little or nothing at all.
For more money-saving festive ideas check out the post How to Have a Debt-Free Christmas.
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