Our home office can be a blessing and a curse. This is because items which should remain in the office often spill over into various other rooms in the house, and the office itself can quickly become inundated with a collection of unrelated items, such as kids’ toys which end up on the desk, and lots of miscellaneous items which scatter the floor.

But when it’s organised and decluttered, then it becomes a blessing, somewhere you can quietly focus on your work, or household accounts, and a place for everything and everything in its place. Okay, so this is the ideal and it may not always look beautifully organised, but when systems are in place it’s a great deal easier to put everything away at the end of the day. [Read more...]

How often do you go to your pantry, perhaps looking for inspiration, and feel immediate frustration because there’s so much in there that you can’t see the wood for the trees… A well organised pantry is not only a joy to behold, you’ll also save time and money.

Imagine how much easier it would be if you could see at a glance exactly what you’ve got, and you can access any item without having to move several others. You also won’t be over-buying on food that you didn’t realise you already had. I once worked with a client who had 6 packets of the same type of pasta and at least 5 of rice! She said she kept buying these items because she couldn’t find them in her overstocked pantry.

[Read more...]

Do you suffer from clutter regression? Have you spent hours decluttering your home and now feel like it’s back to the way it was? Don’t worry, we can all slip back. My home is very small, and incorporates my home office. Is my home uncluttered – absolutely! Do I work at keeping it that way – absolutely! Just last weekend I had a dedicated session going through all the papers and files in my home office to cull what I knew I’d never read or need again, and finally threw out 3 bags of paper! I was determined to create more space for my files and business papers, and my office space feels wonderful.

Don’t be embarrassed if you feel your decluttering efforts appear to have reversed themselves. Think of the Tango, that gloriously sensuous dance – it’s about two steps forward and one step back. Each time you make a start on your decluttering, even if you don’t complete an area or room, you’ll still be ahead.

[Read more...]

Whether you feel your entire home needs decluttering, or it’s just one room or area, these guiding principles will help you get started:

- Create your vision of how you would like the area to look i.e. a minimalist clutter-free room, or a comfortable ‘lived in’ look with your favourite bits and pieces on show. Your vision will give you the impetus to get started, and keep going.

- Write a work plan outlining what you’ll need to do, which can include moving furniture, investing in new bookshelves, cleaning out and reorganising cupboards and drawers. [Read more...]

Our bedroom can be a gorgeous inviting space where we can totally relax and replenish ourselves. Or it can be a nightmare of clothes, shoes, books and miscellaneous objects thrown on the bed and every other surface available, which is anything but restful.

I don’t have room within this newsletter to go into every recommendation I would make for a master bedroom, but here are a few starting tips: [Read more...]