Curb clutter and create a happier, more orderly home
Get your home fit for 2019 with a much-needed clutter diet. A
new year isn’t just the time for a new look for you - it can also be the perfect opportunity to
transform your home, and rid it of the clutter that may be clogging up space and ruining its appearance (and, let’s face it, adding to daily stress). “It’s the nature of modern life that new possessions flood into our homes all the time,” declares Debora Robertson, author of DeClutter: Te Get-Real Guide To Creating Calm From Chaos - a blueprint for anyone who wants to take control and take rooms from cluttered chaos to orderly calm. “Clutter drains you of energy, steals your time, robs you of storage space and fills up your weekends with things that need cleaning, mending or putting away,” Robertson adds. She promises that, with a bit of planning and a new approach, it is
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possible - and even quite simple - to achieve a smart, organised haven. To imagine what it would feel like, she suggests recalling the sense of calm and relaxation experienced when staying in a hotel, where there are “just enough” possessions for your needs. Here’s Robertson’s guide to transforming four key zones in your home...
KITCHEN CALM “Believe me, if you get your kitchen right, everything else will flow from there,” says Robertson. “It’s the room a lot of use the most, and getting this right prepares us to work a similar magic on the rest of our homes, one bit, one bite, at a time.” Step 1: Do the 15 Fling! Take a rubbish bag and set your kitchen timer for 10 minutes. Fill it with 15 things you don’t love or don’t need. “Don’t
think too hard about it, otherwise you’ll remember you have some emotional attachment to something that will make you indecisive,” she says. “Don’t, whatever you do, look back into the bag. As soon as that buzzer goes, seal the bag, put it in the outside bin. Do this once a day and do it in other rooms too.” TIP: You can do the ‘15 Fling’ with possessions that are in good condition and useful but just not for you, and recycle them at charity shops. Oversize appliances and gadgets gobble up space, so confront the truth about who you really are. If you’re not a person who’s ever going to make your own yoghurt, ice cream or bread, get rid of those gizmos.
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