Were Santa’s sleigh a guddle, imagine how many gifts would end up in a puddle. Take a tip from The Big Man and declutter your home so that you’re all nice and streamlined for Christmas. At Dumfries Self Storage, we’ve tailored storage deals to suit you, so it’ll be ding-dong merrily and all that malarkey.
Otherwise, we’re talking a Christmas takeover that would try even Saint Nicholas.
You don’t need us to tell you that, over the years, festive clutter has a habit of finding its merry way into all corners of your home – we’re talking decorations, gift wrap, extra chairs, winter wardrobe, bulky toys, the lot – but Dumfries Self Storage can help you create a more sustainable Christmas.
A greener festive season doesn’t feel excessive, wasteful, plasticky, and completely out of step with taking care of the planet.
In a nutshell, taking a self storage unit in Dumfries can mean you buy less, reuse more because you keep stuff in good condition longer, and avoid the annual frustration and time it takes to go fish everything out of the loft.
Here’s how to create a calmer, more sustainable Christmas…
Real tree or plastic tree – which is more sustainable?
Manufacturing a plastic tree uses roughly ten times more energy than goes into growing a real one, so you might be looking at buying a real one this year if you don’t have one or your plastic tree has seen better days.
But if you do have a plastic one that’s got many more Christmas futures in it yet, the best thing you can do from a sustainability perspective is use it for as long as possible. This will keep it out of landfill until there’s no other alternative, and you can store it with us from Christmas to Christmas, while you’re at it.
You might want to invest in a pot-grown tree – the king of sustainable options – because you can return it to the garden, and keep repotting it as it grows, eventually becoming an outdoor Christmas tree.
Sustainable lights and wrapping
LED bulbs are the most sustainable option for festive lighting, while you can recycle those old-style fairy lights that used to keep blowing and getting all hot and bothered. Brown paper, as it’s not bleached, is a far more sustainable wrapping option than other giftwraps.
Not all tapes, ribbons and labels are made equal, and not all are recyclable, so you might be best with string and some holly and stencilling to make it more festive and glitzy.
Reuse what you already own
Not being able to lay your hands on Christmas stuff quickly can be one of the biggest barriers to a greener Christmas, because without the luxury of time, it’s often easier in this disposable culture of ours to nip out and buy a replacement instead.
That’s why, for sustainability’s sake, the only stuffing you should be thinking of this Christmas is the turkey, and not decorations in cupboards etc.
Dumfries Self Storage provides you with a tidy, well-organised, clean and dry space so that you can keep your cupboards for other things, likewise the loft. Artificial trees, wreaths, table linens and decorations, lights, garlands – you name it, we can house it.
Box it up and keep it all in one place.
Use self storage and decorations last longer
Sustainability isn’t just about everything being made from wood or being labelled organic; it’s about caring for what you already own so that you can use it over again.
Fairy lights can remain tangle-free and won’t get messed up mid-way through the year when they get in the way of you searching for other stuff in the cupboard under the stairs.
Glass baubles and other delicates will be able to hibernate safely all year without being damaged and smashed, in likely similar circumstances. Your artificial tree will emerge dust-free from your self storage unit, gift wrap will be crisp and dry, along with Christmas table linens, and there’ll be no fishing out damp outdoor decs from your musty garage either.
Impulse buying be gone!
How many bags of gift wrap, tags, ribbon etc have you come across over the years? Buy it. Store it at home. Can’t find it. Buy it again.
The same goes for leftover rolls of wrapping paper that roll onto your head from on top of the wardrobe, caked in dust.
Get them to a storage unit!
Make space for guests
Are you dreading having to clear out the spare room to accommodate Christmas guests?
Are some of your Christmas decorations hiding in there, ready to pounce? If you get your skates on and sort through it, then move it into one of our storage units, you won’t be tempted down the wholesale sling away the lot out of desperation because you have left it to the last minute.
Even if it’s a temporary fix so that you can come back to it at your leisure, it will mean that you don’t waste anything that’s being shipped out of the spare room in a panic when relatives are zooming up the motorway.
Hide gifts in the best place
Hiding gifts successfully is something that we all struggle with – from kids and big kids! A storage unit to which only you have the key is the answer.
You can keep all your presents in one clean, organised place, and wrap them in peace and quiet, with no nosy interruptions.
Then you can keep tabs on exactly where you’re at and not buy any duplicate gifts etc. You can fill your unit with reusable fabric wraps, kraft paper, compostable tape, together with reused ribbons and tags. It’s easier to be thoughtful and sustainable in a dedicated space.
Create your Christmas library
Think of your storage unit as your perfect sustainable Christmas library, enabling you to store and then swap Christmas items with friends and family for years to come. We’re talking extra table settings, reusable crackers, gift bags, party games, Christmas jumpers, unwanted items for re-gifting, baking stuff, folding chairs and tables.
Keep items out of landfill
Poor home storage causes wastefulness at Christmas. Mould, damp, or just plain broken things that get forgotten for most of the year – it’s easy to shove them in a leaky or damp garage or shed with the intention of shifting them after not too long, before life gets in the way, and it goes clean out of your mind.
This is not good for electronics, fabric, or cardboard, or anything really, to be honest.
You can forget all of this with Dumfries Self Storage, and you can shelve your unit for maximum storage and organisational capacity, so they stay out of landfill, and that’s you doing your bit for the planet and for sustainability.
When your home isn’t overflowing with stuff and you buy less and waste less, sustainability becomes a beautiful by-product.