How to enjoy Xmas without breaking a sweat

As Christmas draws nearer, home owners who are fussy about marking the event and have been waiting for it throughout the year are bound to become anxious as the task of decorating their home might seem daunting. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A lot of trash is generated during festivities, and dealing with garbage disposal can often be pushed to the back burner.
  • To eliminate foul odour that usually comes from decomposing kitchen refuse, Ms Wairimu recommends that you chop up a lemon and throw it in the trash can together with several ice cubes in order to neutralise the smell.

As Christmas draws nearer, home owners who are fussy about marking the event and have been waiting for it throughout the year are bound to become anxious as the task of decorating their home might seem daunting. 

Mr Benson Hinga, a freelance interior designer, has been criss-crossing the city and its environs putting up Christmas decorations in numerous homes and offices. However, he has no complaint about the festivities, saying the period around Christmas is his favourite time of the year.

“I usually have a lot of fun while decorating  houses for Christmas and the New Year,” Mr Hinga says with a smile, adding that pulling off  a perfect holiday need not be exhausting.

His first tip to home-owners preparing for Christmas is to start as early as possible. As Christmas nears, tasks like shopping and last-minute trips might crop up, making one’s cleaning and decorating schedule unmanageable. To avoid finding yourself in such a situation, don’t wait until the last minute, the designer suggests, or you might wear yourself out struggling  to juggle stuff.

His suggestion? Create a to-do list that clearly lists all your preparations on a day-to-day basis.

This is one time of the year when you should apply the saying, “Many hands make work light”.

 “Gather family members and come up with a seven-day cleaning programme, then divide the chores among the members,” Mr Hinga suggests.

This is also the time to consider repairs around your home such as replacing the ceiling that’s almost falling off or giving your house a fresh coat of paint to make it look more appealing.

For those expecting guests, Mr Hinga says, it pays to assess the type of your guests you will be hosting so that you can take into consideration any special needs. For example, if you are hosting elderly people who problems getting around, you will need to figure out how to make your home easily accessible by putting up make-shift ramps. If you are expecting young children, your home will definitely require a little child-proofing.

“To avoid accidents, you can child-proof your home by covering electrical sockets, installing safety latches on cabinets and drawers, and locking away medicine and cleaning materials,” the interior designer suggests.

“A fortnight or so before Christmas, it is best to schedule a general cleaning of your home,” Mr Hinga advises. During the general cleaning, think about cleaning the places that usually get neglected in the daily cleaning most of the year. Wash the curtains, wipe the windows, and remove dust from light fixtures. If you have children, it is advisable to have your carpet professionally cleaned as children will sit on it a lot as they play with the toys that you’ll get them as Christmas presents.

In the living room, Mr Hinga says, Christmas should provide a timely opportunity for you to consider a furniture upgrade. You can also give your sitting room a new look by shifting the furniture around and adding some new artwork on the walls. Feel free to seek the help of a professional interior designer if you’re at a loss regarding how to achieve an alluring look that will blend in with the Christmas theme.

 During the festivities, people have a tendency of gathering in the kitchen for snacks, drinks and conversation, making it a focal point while cleaning the house in preparation for the holiday.

De-clutter the room and add stools to create adequate sitting places for everyone. If you still have some space left, you can consider adding a dining table.

Stove tops, microwaves and ovens usually get dirty and if unchecked, can start emitting a foul smell that will ruin the Christmas spirit in your kitchen. To avoid this, Ms Sellah Wairimu, a food and nutrition expert, suggests that you add baking soda to water to create a powerful scouring solution that can be used to clean kitchen appliances.

HANDLING TRASH

A lot of trash is generated during festivities, and dealing with garbage disposal can often be pushed to the back burner.

To eliminate foul odour that usually comes from decomposing kitchen refuse, Ms Wairimu recommends that you chop up a lemon and throw it in the trash can together with several ice cubes in order to neutralise the smell.

But even while the kitchen is the heart of the home during the holidays, another room that usually experiences heavy traffic, especially with guests around, is the bathroom. Get your bathroom in as hygienic a state as possible to prevent the spread of germs.

Replace leaking flashing tanks and faulty taps. Bring out toilet paper, towels and toiletries and place them on open shelves so guests can find them easily. Put a trash bin near the toilet to prevent your guests from flushing items that that should not be flushed such as sanitary pads and condoms, thus avoiding potential blockage. It also helps to keep a plunger in the toilet for use in case a drainage point gets blocked.

Preparing for Christmas might also include getting ready for the holiday guests who might drop in. If you have a guest room, your aim should be to make it as comfortable as possible so that it feels like a home away from home to your guests.

“People with guest rooms don’t use them much during the year, such that when a guest comes calling, the room will have probably gathered dust, making it quite musty,” Mr Hinga observes. “To make the room smell good and look ‘lived in’, one can introduce fresh flowers in a vase. Fresh bedsheets should also be spread on the beds a day before the guests arrive.”

As the year draws to an end, it provides a perfect opportunity to get rid of clutter around your home, so go through your rooms and donate the clothes, books and other items you do not need to charity.

Clear out your wardrobes, the attic, store and the garage and get rid of items you have not used since the beginning of the year since  it is highly unlikely that you will need them in future. You can even sell them online for extra cash which could come in handy as you buy Christmas decorations. While disposing of unused stuff will leave you feeling more satisfied, Mr Hinga notes that it has the added benefit in that a decluttered room always gives the illusion of being clean, even if it isn’t.

 

***

Oh yes, you can put a tree even outdoors

But even as you clean the indoors, Mr Benson Hinga points out that you should not forget the exterior in order to create a good first impression. Here, you should  confirm that the outdoors lighting is working, sweep the walkways, mow or cut the grass on the  lawn, and tend to your outdoor garden.

If you have trees in your compound, you can put decorative lights around the trunk and along the branches. With your neighbour’s consent, go ahead and decorate the fence and hedges too. To have a house that outshines all the others in the neighbourhood, extend the lighting to your roof too. Of importance to note, Mr Hinga says, is that indoor lights should not be used outdoors as they are not water-resistant. As you do your Christmas shopping, be sure to specifically ask for lights that are safe for outdoor use.

“There is nothing wrong with desiring a white Christmas,” Mr Hinga says. So do not be shy if you want to cover your decorations with “snow”, even though we live in a country where it  does not snow. Mr Hinga says one can easily buy fake snow from the stores and place it on the Christmas tree and other decorations.

You can make your own snow by shredding  cottonwool, punching paper holes or shredding u toilet paper. To achieve an effect of melting snow on presents and other decoration, you can light a white candle and let the wax drip on them until you achieve the desired effect.

Fruits and candy are central to Christmas decorations, and Mr Hinga says he likes getting creative in their display.

Leave plenty of sweets and fruits in every room not only for people to indulge, but also to improve the aesthetics. You can put fruits in a bowl with a candle in the middle.  I always hang candy and  fruits like bananas, apples and oranges on Christmas trees so people can ‘pluck’ them. I also place a lot of fake fruits around the house to create colour,” he reveals. 

A trick that will make your living room merrier is to display the greeting cards you receive from friends and family. Simply hang the cards on a long string and run the string along the stair case or the wall. In addition, Mr Hinga suggests, you create a feeling of homeliness by displaying family photos on the walls.

The Christmas tree, according to Mr Hinga, should be the centrepiece in every living room.  Even when you do not have a lot of space to put to a large tree, you are better off putting a table-top version, since even a small tree will certainly make a difference.

CORRECTION

In our story on the possible effects of corruption on the property market on December 1, we referred to Ms Leah Kanda as a registered quantity surveyor. It has since been brought to our attention that she is a graduate quantity surveyor.