Shaynna

With the beautiful weather upon us and the days getting longer, we throw open our blinds and curtains and see our home in a whole new perspective. I’m not sure if anyone has their yearly ritual of spring-cleaning anymore but I find with the change of light, fresh air and new fragrances entering my home I feel like a fresh start. And I’m not just talking cleaning but de-cluttering.

It is easy get caught up in the spring sales, end-of-winter-sales, pre-Christmas, kids on school holiday sales etc. and let the cupboards pile up with all those bargains you just cant do with out. You don’t have enough storage to put these things in till you find a place for them so you buy another cabinet or blanket box or bookshelf or… and the list goes on. Next thing you know you are trapped in a situation of not being able to let go of anything and your clutter becomes the focus of your interior and not the beautiful, spacious free-flowing area you were hoping for.

You need to take stock of all the accessories, decorator items and pieces of furniture you bring into you home BEFORE you go out and buy anything.
Make a list of the changes you want to make such as:-
Colour
- Are you looking to brighten the area and could you achieve this by painting rather than bringing something else into the home?

New cushions
– Check if the inserts are still fine and just change the covers. Reducing your storage needs by one-fifth.

Extra seating
– Look at different arrangements within the room and see if you can swap pieces from other rooms to create a quick and simple difference. Could one chair be covered with a loose cover for a temporary look?

If you want a big change or just freshen the place up you will need to delete some items already in the home. Adopt a ‘one-in-one-out policy’. If you are brave, one-in-two-out. Clutter doesn’t just visually impair your interior but reduces the efficiency of your home. There are many studies on how clutter affects our thinking, our energy levels and quality of day-to-day life. So it is best to get on top of it before it gets out of control. If you find it hard to let go of things get a friend into help and make three piles. What will stay, what will be stored and what will go. Then do it again to the “stay and store” piles. By doing it twice you will be able to think a bit more rationally and find it easier to let go. Now I’m not saying we all have to let go and become minimalist but we need to be conscious of what we bring into our homes will add to the ‘whole’ of the interior and not just give a quick injection of fun and then become a ‘hangover’ to deal with in the future..