Between Christmas and New Year, there’s that strange, floaty bit of time where no one’s quite sure what day it is, the Quality Street is down to the toffees, and the recycling bin is crying out for mercy. It’s also a brilliant moment to quietly sort your life out at home, without the pressure of ‘new year, new you’ hanging over your head.
Here, nationwide supplies presents the 5 must do DIY tasks between Christmas and New Year that future you will genuinely thank you for.
Tame the post-Christmas chaos and reclaim your living room
Christmas is lovely. The aftermath? Less so. Piles of toys, opened gift sets scattered everywhere, rogue bits of cardboard packaging hiding under the sofa.
Use one afternoon for a proper post-Christmas reset:
– Gather all new presents into one space, ideally near where they’ll live long term
– Create a keep/donate / return box so you’re not hanging on to things you’ll never use
– Break down all the cardboard boxes and flatten them ready for recycling
– Get batteries into anything that needs them, and bin the dead ones properly
If you’ve got kids, this is a golden opportunity to quietly remove broken toys and outgrown clutter while their attention is on the shiny new stuff. Have a charity bag ready for decent items, then pop it by the front door so it actually leaves the house before school starts again.
Do a mini home safety MOT
Not glamorous, but incredibly important. This is the DIY job most of us forget until there’s a problem.Make yourself a checklist and tick off:
– Test every smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm in the house
– Replace any missing batteries
– Check extension leads and multi-plug adaptors for scorch marks, frayed cables or wobbly sockets
– Look at trailing wires around TVs and Christmas lights and tidy them up with cable clips or ties
– Make sure exits and stairways are clear of boxes, shoes and bags, ready for the January school and work rush
While you’re at it, quickly check the loft, under the sink and around windows for any signs of leaks or damp after the winter weather. Spotting a tiny patch now can save you a very expensive headache by Easter.
Sort your storage once and for all (especially for decorations)
If every January you swear you’ll ‘do the decorations properly next year’, this is that moment.
When you’re taking everything down, don’t just shove it in the nearest bin bag. A bit of DIY organisation now will make next Christmas so much easier:
– Wrap fairy lights around cardboard strips or old gift boxes and label them
– Store baubles by colour or tree in clear boxes so you can see what’s inside at a glance
– Use zip-lock bags or small tubs for hooks, spare bulbs and fixings
– Label each box with the room it belongs to, for instance, ‘living room tree’, hallway garland, ‘kids’ room’
Then look at the rest of your storage. That cupboard under the stairs, the hallway shoe pile, the overflowing coat rack.
Between Christmas and New Year is the perfect time to:
– Fit a couple of simple wall hooks for bags and a school kit
– Add a budget-friendly shelf or cube unit for shoes and hats
– Put up a rail or over-door hooks for guests’ coats if you hosted and realised you had nowhere to hang anything
It’s not full-on renovation, just small DIY tweaks that make the house feel calmer immediately.
Give one tired room a quick refresh
You don’t need to repaint the entire house. Pick one room that’s really bugging you and give it a fast, realistic refresh.
Good contenders are:
– The hallway that’s scuffed to bits from school bags and muddy boots
– The downstairs loo that guests always see but you never bother with
– The bedroom that’s still got the same layout from pre-pandemic days
Between Christmas and New Year, choose one:
– Touch up paintwork on skirting boards, doors and high-traffic walls
– Fill obvious picture-hook holes and cracks with ready-mixed filler
– Swap out one or two things that make a big difference, like a grim lampshade or a broken curtain pole
– Rearrange furniture to make better use of space, especially if you’ve gained a big toy kitchen, gaming chair or exercise bike this Christmas
Do a winter maintenance blitz before the real cold hits
The fun stuff is indoors, but there are a few essential outdoor and practical DIY tasks that are far easier to tackle now than on a dark Monday night in February.
Add these to your list:- Bleed radiators and check they’re all heating evenly
– Clear any obvious leaves and debris from drains, outside steps and pathways to stop them turning into skating rinks
– Check window and door seals and add inexpensive draught excluder where you can feel a chill
– Fix or replace that wobbly curtain rail or blind that you keep ignoring, especially in draughty rooms
– Look at external lighting at the front door and pathways – swap dead bulbs and consider adding a sensor light if you’ve been fumbling with keys in the dark
If you’ve got a garden, do a 20 minute sweep:
– Bring in or cover any remaining garden furniture
– Secure loose items that might blow over in winter storms
– Move plant pots closer to the house wall for a bit of extra shelter
The time between Christmas and New Year doesn’t have to be a strange, slightly hungover blur of leftovers and half-finished box sets. A few well chosen DIY jobs, done at your own pace with a cup of tea and a festive playlist on in the background, can genuinely change how your home feels for the whole of next year.