Filed under: General Commentery
Each year it become more and more difficult to find original ideas for Christmas presents for our friends and family. All too often we buy something that simply adds to the ever growing piles of possessions with which we’re all increasingly surrounded. Instead of doing that, why not give something that helps people make the most of things they already have and in the process makes their lives a little better?
Our gift vouchers for home styling sessions are individually tailored to the person you have in mind, and can cover many different aspects of home organisation and styling. Maybe they’d like to have their wardrobe streamlined and make the most of their outfits so that dressing each day is a pleasure, or to discover how to restyle a room without spending a fortune with simple changes such as rearranging furniture and adding accessories. Or maybe they’d appreciate help in creating an oasis of calm in a frantic world with a hands-on clutter-busting session. The possibilities are endless!
As a special offer in November and December there’s 10% off normal prices, so why not give us a call on 0844 846 5854 or email us at info@home-space.biz to find out more.
Filed under: General Commentery, Maximise
Australian company, Howard’s Storage World, has recently brought its range of storage solutions to the UK. They offer a good selection of shelving systems, drawer organisers and other storage ideas, as well as less utilitarian items such as their environmentally friendly bamboo range. I particularly like this elegant boat wardrobe.
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They also have a handy answer to the perennial problem of where to store your ironing board if you’re short of space, with various ironing caddies which allow the board and iron to be hung on a wall or even behind a door.
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For more ideas take a look at their catalogue at www.howardsstorageworld.co.uk
Filed under: General Commentery
When you’ve had a clear out, don’t automatically send all that unwanted stuff to the tip. Rather than adding to the landfill problem, think about other ways of disposing of your clutter.
Donate it
For smaller items, use the “Find a Shop” link on the Association of Charity Shops website (www.charityshops.org.uk) to locate charity shops in your area handily displayed on a local map.
Charities which accept furniture and larger items can be found through the Furniture Re-use Network (www.frn.org). For example, Emmaus (www.emmaus.org.uk) offers homeless people a home and work, relying on donations of good quality furniture and household goods which are then sold in their shops. Larger items are collected free of charge and whenever I have used them, they have been efficient, polite and, if you warn them beforehand, they are unfazed by the need to dismantle things and get them down the stairs!
Pass it on
The aim of Freecycle (www.uk.freecycle.org) is to match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them so that usable items are kept out of landfill. Simply register with your local group and post a description of the items you have on offer.
Or why not try posting an ad in the “Freebies” section of www.gumtree.com, the free classified ads site?
Recycle it
Enter your postcode on www.recyclenow.com to find out what you can recycle and the location of your nearest recycling banks.
Sell it
Post an ad on www.gumtree.com or use eBay (www.ebay.co.uk) if you like to sell your unwanted stuff from the comfort of your own home, or if you fancy trying your hand at striking a hard bargain, look at www.carbootjunction.co.uk to find your nearest car boot sale. Just remember not to fall into the trap of coming back with loads of “bargains” from other stalls – the name of the game is to declutter, not reclutter!
Filed under: Declutter
At the end of the day, do you walk into your house and find an oasis of calm? Or do you have to fight your way in because there’s so much clutter in what can be one of the narrowest spaces in the house?
When I’m helping people to declutter their homes, there are three things that I see again and again that cause problems in the hallway: coats, shoes and paper.
Coats
If coats have to live in the hallway, go through them and make sure that only the ones that are used every day are kept there. There’s no need for your summer jackets to be in the hall in the depths of winter!
Maybe you need to put up some new pegs or invest in a coat stand so that everything isn’t piled on the newel post at the bottom of the stairs. For traditional wooden coat stands, take a look at www.thewhitecottagecompany.com, or for something more contemporary, try www.dwell.co.uk.
Shoes
Sort through shoes in the same way, keeping only those that really need to be there in the hall. Don’t use up valuable space with your trainers if you only go to the gym once in a blue moon!
Once you’ve done that, add some shoe storage. Lakeland (www.lakeland.co.uk) has open tiered shoe racks and IKEA (www.ikea.com) stocks closed shoe cabinets in various different styles.
Paper
We all suffer from the deluge of free newspapers, pizza delivery fliers and junk mail that comes through our letterboxes and it’s all too easy for this to pile up in the hallway. If this is your problem, consign the accumulated paper to the recycling and then make sure that you have a wastepaper bin somewhere near the front door so that you can throw things away as soon as you pick them up from the doormat rather than letting them accumulate on every available surface. And if you want to cut down on the amount of junk mail you get in the first place, why not think about registering with the Mailing Preference Service (www.mpsonline.org) which can remove your details from up to 95% of direct mail lists?
For further ideas on how to create a welcoming entrance, you can also take a look at these articles from the February 2010 editions of House Beautiful and Ideal Home magazines. (Click to open)
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Filed under: Declutter, Maximise
As summer approaches, we all know it’s time to start tidying the flower beds and mowing the lawn, but if you want to make the most of your outdoor space, you should think of it like a room. Just as you can enhance a room in the house without redecorating simply by decluttering and reorganising, so you can make more of your garden without relandscaping or changing the planting.
Declutter
First start by taking a good look at the garden and thinking about how you and your family want to use it. Is it a place for the kids to play? A place to relax or entertain? Once you’ve decided that, start by decluttering in just the same way as you would inside, taking out anything that isn’t appropriate. Take the time to get rid of any broken pots, old gardening equipment or other bits and pieces that have been stuck out in the garden over the winter. If you have lots of toys and play equipment in the garden, go through them and get rid of anything that’s broken or that the kids have grown out of. If they’re too big now for the climbing frame, why not give it to friends with a younger family, sell it or Freecycle it at www.freecycle.org?
Storage
Once everything you don’t want has gone, think about what’s left. The key to keeping a room tidy is to make sure you have somewhere to put things away, and the same is true of the garden. Maybe you need extra storage for tools. If you have loads of toys, think about where those can be stored. A garden chest that you can throw everything into when you want to relax at the end of the day is ideal. B&Q (www.diy.com) has a good range of storage choices in various shapes, sizes and finishes, some of which double as seats.
Seating
In most gardens, seating is essential and there’s a huge selection of garden furniture to suit all budgets available everywhere from DIY superstores to upmarket department stores. What type of furniture you choose will depend on how you want to use it.
Wooden furniture is durable and sturdy, but remember it’s heavy so it’s not the best choice if you want to be able to move it around the garden. The same applies to wrought iron. Woven rattan and wicker are attractive and comfortable as well as being easy to move, but can be damaged by sun and rain, so only go for this option if you can cover them or store them indoors when not in use. Less expensive options include aluminium and plastic. Aluminium gives a smart modern feel but it does get hot in strong sun. Plastic is light, hard wearing and easy to keep clean. It may discolour over time, though a protective coat of car wax can help to prevent this.
And if you have the space, why not think about a sun lounger as well as a table and chairs? This comprehensive guide from the June 2010 edition of Ideal Home magazine can help you find the perfect way to relax outside.
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Finishing Touches
Once you have the essentials, don’t forget those all important finishing touches. Inside you’d finish a room by adding accessories, lamps, fresh flowers and the like, and it’s no different in the garden. For example, if you have a small garden, why not hang a mirror to create the illusion of more space? The Urban Garden (www.theurbangarden.co.uk) has some great mirrors which can give the impression of a window looking out into another garden. If you’e going to be outside in the evening, candles in lanterns are an inexpensive and stylish way of lighting your seating area, and if you want to light the garden itself without fuss, try DIY stores such as Homebase (www.homebase.co.uk) for solar powered lights that can easily be installed without the need for wiring.
For those of us who aren’t green fingered, garden centres have some great ready planted pots which can give you an instant splash of colour. Then all you need are some bright cushions for your chairs and you can sit back and relax and enjoy your garden “room”, British summer weather permitting, that is!
Posted on November 21st, 2011 by admin