If you’re one of the many well-intentioned folk who decided that a good old declutter was a fine January resolution and your home is now feeling fresh and cleansed, well that is a job well done! However, a month or two on and you might notice that stuff is starting to accumulate once more; it turns out that further action is required. In this blog we look at why after a rigorous clear-out, your home is still prone to the build-up of clutter and what you can do to combat it on a permanent basis!
Everything In Its Place
Once you’ve decided which items are destined for a new home and which of your treasures are staying, you can then work out exactly the type of storage provision you need to keep them looked-after and organised. If you have a large number of coats and shoes which need housing in the porch or hallway, there’s little point in having a drawer chest, rather a shoe box, racking and clothes hooks. Likewise, if you have an inordinate number of bulky items, such as towels and bedding, small wardrobe shelves or a slimline drawer unit aren’t going to cut it. Wide wardrobe shelves or over the bed storage are far more practical options.
Space Under Pressure
With so many of us spending all day in our homes, all living spaces are having to work harder than ever before. You may now have several rooms which are facilitating more than one activity, such as a guest bedroom which is now also a study following the addition of a desk, chair and some storage for your resources. All that furniture sounds like a busy room, but a multi-purpose solution is a practical choice in this scenario. A wall bed will invisibly fold away against the wall when not in use, giving you much more space to spread out and function effectively.
Easy Access; Keep It Simple
Much like other solutions, if you keep them simple, they are less likely to go wrong and people will stick to the rules! If your household includes children, make sure they can reach the cupboards where their games are kept and the hooks and shelves for their clothes. If you put together teenagers and a complex storage system in their room, you’ve no chance of getting their stuff up off the floor! When life’s busy, it’s sometimes easier to ram items into a drawer, but a little planning will mean if an item is worth keeping, it has a specific home and you’ll be able to find it the next time you need it!
Regular Decluttering and Tidying
You can’t actually organise clutter. If an item holds no value to you, don’t put it back it in the drawer; decide there and then where it’s going – bin, new home or a specific place in your home. And if you do fall prey to temptation, make sure you do regular mini-declutters to keep your home looking ship-shape. If you don’t tidy regularly, you won’t remember where things go and you’ll be back to square one. Make sure you share any new storage systems with your household too.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
A key point to remember is that if you don’t buy stuff, it won’t become clutter! When you do buy something new, try to throw something away in its stead. So if you’ve just added to your handbag collection, apply the ‘one in, one out policy’ and this way you’ll probably find a handbag you haven’t used for years and wouldn’t miss. Keeping abreast of what you have in your cupboards will also mean that if you come across an idea for upcycling, you’ll be able to identify a suitable plant pot, cushion or table lamp in a jiffy!
At Hartleys we specialise in designing fitted storage solutions for bedrooms, home-studies and lounge areas. Our aim is to always to make the very best use of a space with exactly the type of storage required for the planned usage of the room. This will make it much harder for clutter to build up because everything will have a place. If we can help you keep your home looking stylish and clutter-free, you can contact us via our website at www.hartleysbedrooms.co.uk or on 01756 700471.
