Take Control of
your Clutter! Home Styling Advice from Maggie at MHOR design
Life brings clutter, receipts, letters, documents, magazines, kids stuff, pet stuff, the list goes on. All kinds of paraphernalia mysteriously multiply on the kitchen worktops, hall table or office area in your house. These small items need to be corralled before they are out of control! To stop clutter taking over decide where your ‘hotspots’ ‘paraphernalia’
are. Create collection points around
your home. A pretty piggy bank for loose coins. I have one painted with black chalk paint that has ‘feed me’ chalked on it. It sits in the laundry room and all the loose change gets dropped in it. I use it for treats for the kids. A patterned box on the worktop or on a shelf can collect letters or ‘to do’ mail. Just remember to clear it out every month so things don’t build up. Consider purchasing a sketchbook and paste all the torn out recipes or torn pages from magazines in it. These can then be filed in date order on a shelf in the home office. Alternatively look at digital notebooks like Evernote to store your info. For bills, receipts and other items of home admin I advise having clearly marked folders (use attractive ones). For keys I use a key cupboard that is attached to the wall. That way you get into the habit of hanging them there and keys don’t go missing.
We all have junk drawers where we place things we need to hide sometimes but to avoid all drawers ending up with junk, use drawer dividers and baskets or boxes to compartmentalise. IKEA do a great range of drawer dividers and storage solutions. Start a
12
‘lost and found’ box or basket for those items that get misplaced, the odd sock, the button that has fallen off.
Either you are a hoarder or not. Living with clutter can leave you feeling chaotic, so editing is key to avoiding that feeling. Be positive about clearing out! If you haven’t used it or worn it in the last 6 months then question if you really need it!
One way of keeping on top of clutter is to purchase ‘dual function’ furniture. Furniture that doubles up as storage. Think trunks or chests for side and coffee tables, chest of drawers as bedside tables, a console with drawers by the door in the hallway for keys and post. A cube with a lift off lid for CD’s, (I use mine for Wii games and console items) and they double up as foot rests. A bed with drawers or storage underneath for linen storage.
The crucial thing is to plan ahead before you buy. Streamlined, built-in storage is another option as you can have it customised for your needs. Also, think about access, how often will you need to get to the items? So arrange things accordingly.
whole wall to storage may seem excessive but once fitted you will wonder how you ever managed without it!
This is the last article provided by MHOR design. I am busy packing up our lives to relocate to the USA this summer. Thank you to all our customers for letting us into your homes and wishing you all a ‘Happy Contented Home’ .
To advertise in thew
Sacrificing a
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100