It’s one of the most popular times of year for new home searches, as people look towards making a fresh start in the new year. Whatever your plans for the new year, utilise the Twixmas period to give yourself a head start.
For some, Twixmas is the perfect time to visit friends and relatives, for others it’s a chance to slow the pace and enjoy time together as a family.
It’s treasured time, and if you need ideas on how to fill it, here’s a few – Happy Twixmas!
What is Twixmas?
If you’ve ever wondered ‘what does Twixmas mean?’, let us help! Twixmas is the time between Christmas and New Year, when many people enjoy time off work. It covers the period between the official holidays – December 27 to 30 to be exact.
Although it’s a relatively new trend, ‘Twixmas’ originates from the old English word ‘betwixt’, which means ‘between’.
Start your new home search
The ultimate fresh start for a new year could be in a brand new home. If you’re considering a change read our 10 signs it’s time to move article and give yourself time over Twixmas to begin your research; looking at locations, mapping out your costs and preparing your current home for sale. It’s a good time to buy, with new houses saving homeowners an average of £2,422* on their annual energy bills compared to old, and stamp duty rates still at a temporary low until March 31. After that stamp duty thresholds are set to change so you could end up paying thousands of pounds more.
Book a show home visit today via our website. Many of our developments will be open over Twixmas, just double check the opening hours of your chosen development online first.
What does decluttering mean?
If you’re looking to sell your current property and upgrade to an energy efficient new home to save on your fuel bills, before instructing an agent, you’ll need to think about how it presents to potential purchasers. Remember first impressions count, both when people are viewing properties online and in person. You may have outgrown your home, but the person considering buying it needs to be sold on why it makes a great home. Decluttering is essential. But what is decluttering? It’s the process of removing everything you no longer need, want or use from your home. And finding a designated storage place for the items you decide to keep, so you know where to easily find them.
Why decluttering is good for your mental health
Having a cluttered home and feeling disorganised can have a negative impact on our wellbeing. Don’t be daunted by the idea of decluttering the whole house. Break the task down to make it more manageable. Take it one room at a time. Start with the kitchen and one cupboard or worktop at a time, then work around the house.
If you want to know how to declutter quickly, read on.
Four decluttering tips
Twixmas is the ideal time to declutter. You can use the down time to think about the things you want and need in your home.
You may be interested to take this a step further and increase the positive energy flow in your home by using the ancient principles of Feng Shui.
- When you’re decluttering, items should be sorted into one of the following categories – keep, sell, donate or recycle. If you don’t use something, aren’t likely to in the future and it doesn’t have sentimental value, it’s time to find it a new home. Depending on the item you may choose to list it for sale online or donate to a charity shop. Think carefully about how you categorise things, you don’t want to regret purging an underused vase or a much-loved but worn teddy.
- Investing in stylish storage solutions can help ensure your home remains clutter free. Jars are a great way of storing kitchen staples and are perhaps the exception to the rule of keeping work surfaces clear.
- If you have children, start with the eldest child’s bedroom first so that toys or clothes they’ve outgrown can be handed down to younger siblings.
- In the bathroom, move as many toiletries and cosmetics out of sight into the cupboard or you could even consider creating extra ‘hidden storage’ behind the bath panel. Decanting toiletries into stylish bottles and storing them in baskets can make a feature out of essentials.
Find more storage hacks and cleaning tips.
