It's Christmas!!!

Every year at around mid October when the clocks start to go back and the evenings are much darker, I start to get the ‘Christmassy feeling’, and I always tell myself it's too early and that I need to suppress those feelings until December. By the time Christmas Day rolls round, I'm over Christmas, because I deny myself to get into the spirit and put off everything Christmas until it is really too late. Although people moan that shops and TV always put Christmas on too early, there can actually be quite a lot to prepare! Especially if you have loads of plans like me! So this year my decorations will be going up on Dec 1st (I usually wait until 2 weeks until the big day) and I have already begun to prepare things, although I still feel like there is not enough time!

I have my ingredients ready to make 6 Christmas cakes for family, as they were so popular last year. I have given myself permission to buy decorations as early as October this year as all the good decorations go quick, and I think decorations like this are investments. This year I have taken more time in planning my Christmas decoration theme and I started this just by searching 'Christmas' on Pinterest and found that I love the 50's and 60's kitsch look, with lots of pink, dark blues, greens, gold and silver colours. I have also fallen in love with these mini trees that I found in an art shop in Camden, I looked at getting some online this year and they where so expensive! I couldn’t believe the price when I found them in Camden and bought quite a few! They make me so happy! I think they look so retro, and really capture the style that I am going for, I also got a few pieces in Paperchase, and some pieces from Hobbycraft that I can decorate in the style I want.

I next plan to decide on wrapping papers and bits and bobs to decorate the presents that I give, I like to make them look awesome, as I would love to receive a beautifully wrapped present. I also like to have fun with the decorations on the Christmas cakes I make, so I want to make something really nice to decorate those. I also intend on inviting family over for a little Christmas gathering between Christmas and New Year, oh and I am also going to a wedding on New Year's Eve and need to plan what I'm wearing, I'd also like to make some decorations! Phew it sounds like a lot but I'm determined not to let the Christmas spirit leave me tot early this year, and I can't wait!

Getting Tidy

I recently read the life changing magic of tiding up by Marie Kondo. Everyone on the Internet seems to be talking about how amazing this book is, and I actually love tidying so I couldn’t wait to read it. Although it took a while for me to get into, it didn’t disappoint and the whole book is quite short. Anyway, I was too impatient to wait until the end and started to tidy while half way through – which she doesn’t advise! There is an orderly process that you must go through to do it well, as I found out – I didn’t want to throw away things that people had bought me as a gift or hand me downs given by family, or things that I knew I had spent a lot of money on. So I continued to read the book and I found the advice she gives very useful, about the really tricky things to get rid of like this.

So anyway, I began to tidy on the first free weekend that I had, she says that you only tidy once in your life and in one go, which can take up to six months for some people. I thought that as I keep my flat quite tidy and organised, that I could maybe do this in a week or even the weekend. I slightly underestimated the time it would take as I am still going through the process. So far I have tidied my clothes and accessories, books, papers, miscellaneous and sentimental items. All of the big stuff really, I only really have smaller items like looking through all my photos copied on CD’s. So far I have taken just over 20 bags of stuff to be recycled or thrown out! And that doesn’t include the bags of stuff my boyfriend has thrown out!

Whilst tidying I felt kind of silly for keeping some of the rubbish that I had ‘just in case’, and as I took all the bags of stuff out of my house, I felt I was in slight shock and kind of unsure if I was making the right decision. However, once I discarded the things that didn’t bring me ‘joy’ I was able to start to put all the things I have chosen to keep away. Everything must have a place where it can be put away for your space to be eternally tidy. I found the results of putting things away as Marie says awesome! I got up the next day and opened my underwear drawer to start getting dressed and I actually said “Wow!” I kind of forgot what I had done, and it was so nice just to be able to see all the clothes that I own. Now I can easily choose an outfit, and there is nothing left that I don’t love.

After

Before

So I advise even the tidiest of people to read this book and go through the process, as it has made my home so much calmer and organised, and thats also how I'm now feeling inside.

Thanks for reading!

Lian