Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it also has a habit of creating clutter.
Decorations come down from the loft, presents begin appearing around the house, extra food fills the cupboards and overnight guests arrive with bags and suitcases. Before you know it, your home can feel considerably smaller than it did a few weeks earlier.
Getting organised before Christmas can make the festive season much more relaxing. Better still, choosing furniture with practical storage can help keep your home organised throughout the year.
Here are some simple Christmas storage ideas to help create a comfortable, clutter-free home.
1. Declutter Before You Decorate
Before putting up your Christmas decorations, spend some time decluttering the rooms you use most.
Concentrate on:
- Living rooms
- Bedrooms
- Hallways
- Dining areas
- Guest bedrooms
You don't need to completely empty every room. Simply remove items you no longer use and find better homes for things that don't need to be on display.
Clearing surfaces also gives you more room for Christmas decorations without making the house feel overcrowded.
2. Make Use of the Space Under Your Bed
The area underneath a bed is one of the largest potential storage spaces in many bedrooms.
Rather than letting it go to waste, consider a bed designed with built-in storage.
There are two particularly useful options.
Ottoman Beds
Ottoman beds allow the mattress base to lift, revealing a large storage area underneath.
This can be ideal for bulky items such as:
- Spare bedding
- Duvets
- Pillows
- Towels
- Seasonal clothing
- Suitcases
Because the storage uses almost the entire footprint of the bed, an ottoman can provide a considerable amount of hidden space.
It's particularly useful in smaller bedrooms where there may not be room for additional cabinets.
Divan Beds with Drawers
Another option is a divan bed with built-in drawers.
Drawers provide easy access to everyday items without having to lift the mattress base.
Depending on the bed and configuration, drawers can provide useful storage for bedding, clothing and other bedroom essentials.
If you're considering replacing your bed anyway, choosing one with storage can help make better use of the space you already have.
3. Clear the Guest Bedroom
Guest bedrooms often become storage rooms throughout the year.
Then Christmas arrives and suddenly somebody needs to sleep in there.
If you're expecting overnight visitors, start clearing the guest bedroom early.
Remove boxes, laundry and anything else that has gradually accumulated.
Try to give visitors some empty wardrobe or drawer space for their belongings.
4. Organise Your Wardrobe
Christmas can be a good opportunity to sort through your wardrobe.
If it's packed with clothes you haven't worn for years, you're losing valuable storage space.
Separate clothing into categories such as:
- Keep
- Donate
- Store
- Recycle
Seasonal clothing that won't be needed for several months could be moved into under-bed storage, freeing up wardrobe space for items you use regularly.
A well-organised wardrobe can hold considerably more than one where everything has simply been pushed inside.
5. Make Better Use of Chests of Drawers
A chest of drawers provides useful storage without taking up as much floor space as a large wardrobe.
Before Christmas, empty each drawer and reorganise its contents.
You may be surprised by how much space you can recover.
Drawer organisers can also help prevent smaller items becoming mixed together.
If your bedroom lacks storage, adding a suitable chest of drawers can provide valuable extra capacity while also giving you another surface for lamps, photographs or decorative accessories.
6. Use Bedside Cabinets Properly
Bedside cabinets may be small, but they can provide useful storage.
Instead of allowing the drawers to fill with things you never use, clear them out and keep them for everyday bedroom essentials.
This is particularly worthwhile in a guest bedroom.
Leaving an empty bedside drawer gives visitors somewhere convenient to keep smaller belongings during their stay.
7. Create a Temporary Christmas Present Zone
One of the biggest sources of Christmas clutter is presents.
Once you start shopping, bags and boxes can quickly appear throughout the house.
Choose one dedicated location for presents before the Christmas shopping begins.
This could be:
- Inside a wardrobe
- Under an ottoman bed
- In a spare cupboard
- Inside bedroom drawers
- In a designated storage box
Keeping presents together makes the rest of the house easier to organise – and may help keep them away from curious eyes.
8. Don't Let Christmas Take Over the Living Room
The living room can become particularly cluttered during December.
You have your normal furniture plus a Christmas tree, decorations, presents and potentially additional seating.
Before decorating, remove anything that doesn't need to remain in the room.
You might temporarily relocate an occasional table, chair or other small piece of furniture to create more space.
The aim isn't to empty the room but to give your Christmas decorations enough room without making the space difficult to use.
For more ideas, read [How to Get Your Living Room Ready for Christmas].
9. Use Furniture That Does More Than One Job
In smaller homes, multifunctional furniture can be particularly valuable.
Look for pieces that combine everyday practicality with additional storage or functionality.
Examples include:
- Ottoman beds
- Divan beds with drawers
- Storage benches
- Sofa beds
- Extendable dining tables
- Storage footstools
Furniture that performs more than one role can help you make better use of limited space.
This becomes especially useful at Christmas when you may have more people and belongings in the house than usual.
10. Make Space for Christmas Guests' Luggage
If family or friends are staying overnight, remember that they'll arrive with bags and suitcases.
Think about where those items will go before your guests arrive.
Leaving enough space underneath a bed, inside a wardrobe or in a corner of the guest bedroom can prevent luggage taking over the room.
If guests are sleeping on a sofa bed, try to provide another area where their bags can be stored.
11. Prepare for the Presents Coming In
Most pre-Christmas organisation concentrates on making space before the big day.
But what happens afterwards?
Christmas Day can introduce an entirely new collection of toys, clothes, electrical items and other gifts into your home.
If you have children, this can be particularly noticeable.
Try decluttering children's bedrooms and storage areas before Christmas rather than waiting until afterwards.
The principle is simple: make some space before new things arrive.
12. Keep Hallways Clear
Hallways can easily become crowded when guests arrive.
Coats, shoes, bags and Christmas deliveries all need somewhere to go.
Keep the hallway as clear as possible and remove anything unnecessary.
Apart from looking tidier, this also makes it easier for guests to enter and move around your home.
If possible, create a dedicated area for coats and shoes rather than allowing them to spread throughout the house.
13. Don't Buy Storage Just for the Sake of It
Buying more storage isn't always the answer.
Sometimes the problem is simply having too much stuff.
Before purchasing another wardrobe or chest of drawers, decide whether you genuinely need more storage or whether a proper declutter would solve the problem.
Once you've removed items you no longer need, you'll have a much better idea of your actual storage requirements.
14. Think Beyond Christmas
The best Christmas storage solutions should continue working long after the decorations come down.
If you're buying new furniture, think about how it will fit into your everyday life.
An ottoman bed, for example, may solve your Christmas storage problem, but it can also provide useful space for bedding and seasonal clothing throughout the year.
Similarly, a well-designed wardrobe or chest of drawers should improve your bedroom organisation every day – not just during December.
15. Create a Home You Can Enjoy This Christmas
A clutter-free home can make Christmas feel much more relaxing.
Start early, tackle one room at a time and concentrate on creating space where it matters most.
Declutter before decorating, make better use of wardrobes and drawers, and consider furniture with integrated storage where appropriate.
Most importantly, don't feel that every cupboard and drawer needs to be perfectly organised.
The goal is simply to create a comfortable home where you have enough space for decorations, presents, visitors and everything else Christmas brings.
If you're looking for practical bedroom storage solutions, Paul Antony Beds & Bedrooms offers a range of ottoman beds, divan beds with drawers, wardrobes, chests of drawers and bedroom furniture designed to help you make better use of your space.
For more festive ideas, return to our [How to Get Your Home Ready for Christmas: The Complete Guide].
Continue Our Christmas Home Series
You may also enjoy:
[How to Get Your Dining Room Ready for Christmas Dinner]
[How to Prepare Your Guest Bedroom for Christmas Visitors]
[Sofa Beds: The Perfect Solution for Christmas Guests]
Next in the series:
[Small Home, Big Christmas: Space-Saving Furniture Ideas]
