Organisation Blog
Organisation Blog
Am not going to bore you with top tips to prepare your home for market in 2017 I just thought I would share some quick and easy organising tips that you can do to make your home feel more organised, less cluttered and function better. Being Slightly OCD I have already dipped into some of these myself; ask my family and they will tell you by the first of January our tree is already stripped of anything vaguely Christmassy and is usually adorned only in its white lights, I will also have been secretly removing all other Christmas decorations so that by January 1st New Year’s Day I can quickly whip the tree down and drag it into the woods so that we can make our fresh start. The organising usually follows shortly after the tree removal – so here goes…..
Clean Clean & Clean
Might be the kind of job you like to put off but we all know how much better we feel in a clean and tidy house and after you have taken the decorations down and the house looks bare it a great chance to reorganise. Throw out what you don’t need, find new things hidden away in cupboards that you could display, and whilst you in cleaning mode, you could try reorganising your furniture. They say a change is as good as a holiday and it’s certainly true with interior design moving your living room around gives a fresh perspective and can sometimes even make your room look bigger.
Sort out your pillows
If like me you have had guests staying over for the holidays, kids back from Uni you will have had mountains of bedding to wash and sort out and store, so it’s a timely moment to see if you need new pillows which are so cheap to buy you might as well throw out the old ones and replenish, the ultimate test to find out if you need new pillows is to fold the pillow in half and if it doesn’t spring back into shape then it’s probably past its sell by date if in doubt throw it out and a good night’s sleep should not be compromised.
The messy Kitchen Drawer
You know the one, and especially now after all the extra cooking things will inevitably have been slung in here by mistake. So be brutal have you read “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” Marie Kondo? a life changing book on organisation – think of it like your wardrobe, if you haven’t used it in over a month, or you have two of the same thing, or another gadget that does it better then throw it out. Drawer organisers will keep everything in place lay everything out just how you would want it in the drawer then take a quick pic on your phone, head over to IKEA or similar and pick up one that will fit everything in.
Pare down the Pantry
I’ve done this one, am I that sad that this excites me so much? Start with all your dried food stuffs cereal boxes with the odd cornflake left at the bottom, spices that have been opened a year ago for that one recipe and never used since, THROW duplicates of the same spice you keep buying more of the same because you can’t see what you have start with a good clearout. Keep the items you use most regularly in your prime pantry real estate. This is the space between your shoulders and knees, it’s easier to reach and easier to put back after use. I recommend items you buy in bulk be stored in the bottom of the pantry (because these items are typically heavy), snacks should be up top so you have to reach for them, and spices at eye-level for easy access.
Candles
The quickest way to freshen up and enhance your home is with fragrance. Orange is uplifting and vibrant whilst vanilla brings a cosy serenity to the house. A good tip when lighting a new candle for the first time or first burn is to trim the wick to around 3mm before lighting and keep it trimmed during burning, really important as will help the candle to burn evenly and also help to prevent smoking.
Tidy your home office
Paperwork and especially piles of mail get out of hand quite quickly, open your mail and file into piles to action, file or recycle and as soon as you are done put your recycling in the bin. As of 2016 you don’t need to keep tax documents from before 2008 – they just attract dust, check with your accountant before shredding but once you get the green light go for it.
Kids Rooms
Wicker baskets and colourful bins are great storage options for children to do their own tidying up but this trick takes advantage of the walls and encourages the little darlings to help you. Instead of squashing all the soft animal toys into a tub you can create a wall display that changes every day. Take a length of Velcro and glue along the wall at the right height for your toddler, stitch or glue a small piece of opposite Velcro onto the toy then you simply stick them both together.
Bright new rug & cushions
If you still feel your living room looks a little bare the cheapest and quickest way to inject some colour would be to invest in some new cushions, choose a bright colour like this yellow, its a feel good colour and will liven up the darkest of rooms you could even add a rug to tie everything together.
Photo bomb your walls!
While the New Year is a time for ‘out with the old and in with the new’, it’s also a time recap on the year gone by. For a fun interiors feature, why not create a photo wall using framed photos taken over the past year so that your memories are treasured. Using an eclectic mix of photo frames from vintage to new and differing sizes can create a great effect.