House and Home
Page 38 Make your home a cleaner, happier place Clear out the clutter:
A New Year, a new start, and now we are in February already, let’s hope this year doesn’t fly by quite like 2016 did!! Many people start the New Year with a resolution to have a good old clear out and spring clean, so this month I thought I would share my top tips for de-cluttering.
At this time of year when the weather’s changing for the worse and we find ourselves spending more and more time in our homes, it’s an ideal opportunity to clear out those cupboards, organise that kitchen, sort out that wardrobe and put the paperwork in order. It can seem like a daunting challenge but with a few guidelines, you can put the winter months to good use and bounce into the spring relaxed in the knowledge that your house is in order!
Take it one room at a time!
Flitting between rooms makes de-cluttering a much bigger task, one almost impossible to complete, and one that you will soon tire of as your house turns into a bomb-site! The answer is to set aside a day to do one room and commit yourself to finishing it. Stack everything that lives elsewhere into cardboard boxes to be dealt with later and separate the items you don’t want into 3 piles; PACK, DONATE and TOSS.
Make a Mess! Don’t be afraid of making a mess; the best de-cluttering method is to pull every single item from your shelves, drawers and cupboards and lay it all out so you can see exactly what everything is. And if you have stuck to the one room at a time rule, then the mess shouldn’t impact the rest of your house. This tactic works especially well for clearing out your wardrobe; as well as identifying all those clothes you haven’t worn for years, you’ll ‘re-find’ clothes you’d forgotten about and even discover new outfits as you view your entire wardrobe in one glance!
Female Focus
Be Logical! When it comes to reordering your house, there are two basic rules. First, store like with like: all light bulbs should live in one place, so when you need a new one, you know exactly where to find it.
Second, keep belongings in the room where they are used because, when things migrate around the house, your home becomes a black hole and you’ll never find anything. As an extension to this second rule, store things as close to the place you use them as possible: we all store washing powder next to the washing machine, tea in the cupboard above the kettle and it seems common sense but when this simple rule is extended elsewhere in the house, you’ll soon realise how illogical some of your storing has been. “A place for everything, and everything in its place” is the key to maintaining an uncluttered house.
Secret Spaces
The lack of storage space in Spanish villas is a common moan amongst us Ex-Pats. Often with no garage, garden shed or attic space, simply finding a place to store everything can be an effort. However, look to your walls and you will find unused space that just cries out to be utilised in a creative way. The number of smart horizontal storage units now available on the market is huge, ideal when floor space is at a premium, and an ideal way to transform blank walls whilst creating functional storage space. Using baskets and pretty boxes means that clutter is stored out of sight but the unit is still visually
appealing...ideal for the spare bedroom or bathroom.
Not all Clutter is Junk Clearing out your home needn’t turn you into a robot. We’ve all got treasured mementoes that might not look much to other people yet they mean the world to us: cinema ticket stubs from your first date, your first Mother’s Day card, a lock of baby hair.
My top tip? Buy yourself a pretty storage box to pack away your keepsakes rather than leave them scattered all over the house. Then you have a special box full of mementos that you can take out now and again and enjoy.
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