Tag: decluttering

Reasons to de-clutter your home this month

Reasons to de-clutter your home this month

Clutter can accumulate with considerable ease. It only takes a few minutes for your house to look like a bomb has gone off, but it takes a lot longer to organise everything, and you might have to look into skip hire before you even try. When you consider this, it’s not surprising that a lot of people put off de-cluttering. However, if you do one thing this month, you should set aside a day so that you can de-clutter your home. You’ll thank yourself for it later – we promise! With that in mind, let’s have a look at some of the different reasons why you should de-clutter your home this month.

  • You’ll find things that you’ve been looking for for ages – Once you begin to de-clutter, you’re bound to come across things that you thought you’d lost. This always happens! Whether it’s a misplaced T-shirt or an old keepsake, you’re bound to unearth something unexpected during the de-cluttering process.
  • You’ll find your home a much more relaxing and enjoyable place in which to be – We’ve all had to spend more time than expected in our homes over the past 12 months. You may be sick of seeing the same four walls! However, by de-cluttering, you create a more zen and relaxing environment. It can be impossible to relax and de-stress when you have belongings all over your home, which is why de-cluttering is such an important task.
  • You can get rid of things you no longer need – If you haven’t used something for a year, the chances are that you’re not going to use it this year, or next year either, for that matter. It makes sense to look into hiring skip bins so that you can get rid of anything you no longer need. So many people have heaps of belongings that are simply weighing their home down. You can make sure this is not the case at your property by thoroughly de-cluttering.
  • You can store sentimental items that are taking up space – Sometimes items that haven’t been used in a while have sentimental value, therefore, getting rid of or donating them is not an option. Try storing these items in an onsite storage unit. The items will still be easily accessible, but they won’t be taking up precious space in your home.
  • You can donate items to those who need it – You know what they say; someone’s rubbish is someone else’s treasure! By de-cluttering, you’ll come across items that you can donate to those who need them most.
  • Make your home look bigger – In addition to the benefits that have been pointed out so far, another advantage that cannot be ignored is that it will make your home look bigger. By getting rid of all the extra bits & pieces that are lying around your home, you open up the space, making it appear much bigger and more welcoming too.

Cartoon of a person holding clutter back behind a door

So there you have it: some of the different reasons why you should consider de-cluttering your home this month. Clutter can cause so many problems. Not only does it make it incredibly challenging to find the things that you need, it prevents you from being able to unwind and relax, which is exactly what your home should be used for! If you take just one day in March to de-clutter your home, you’ll find that you’re able to enjoy it so much more.

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How to make your room look classier without throwing anything away

Bright, modern living room

You may have recently been looking at the glossy home decorating magazines and finding the recommended room makeovers to be hugely expensive. Without breaking the budget, you’d probably prefer to find a way to make your existing room look classier and perhaps include the odd addition to jazz things up for that finishing touch.

Here are a few suggestions for improvements and upgrades that look upmarket without being exorbitantly expensive.

Plant on a bedside table

Go natural

Adding some plants or freshly cut flowers to a bedroom brings new colour, vibrancy and air purification into the room. Look for a vase that you haven’t used in ages. Maybe it’s in storage or tucked away at the back of a cupboard. If you’re unable to find an attractive one, look at a local charity shop to see if there’s something affordable that someone decided they didn’t like any longer.

Watch a YouTube video on flower arranging to get an idea how to put fresh plants together in an attractive arrangement for your bedside table. And there you have it; a fresher looking bedside table that brings a little nature into the bedroom.

Grey buttoned sofa with collection of throw cushions

Rethink the throw cushions

Older cushions, and particularly their covers, tend to look a bit weathered over time. The colours fade a little with each washing cycle and the fabric isn’t as interesting any longer. Changing cushion covers for new ones with an interesting pattern is inexpensive to do. Anyone who is a dab hand with a sewing machine can take some fancy fabric and turn it into a usable cushion cover. If you’re not this handy, then consider buying separate covers but keeping the existing fillings.

With cushions that don’t feel plush, consider adding a second foam or fill to the inside of the cushion to double its size. There are many new, inexpensive fills for cushions delivering refreshing comfort even to an older sofa. And when your sofa’s fabric or leather has seen better days, consider a long throw to cover the length of the sofa adding that touch of luxury and increased comfort without needing a complete replacement sofa.

Grey buttoned ottoman bed

Knowing when it’s time to replace the bed

Older beds lack suitable under-bed storage options and don’t necessarily provide the simple luxury and elegance that’s much needed. Wooden Ottoman beds provide new options for home-owners who feel it’s time to replace their tired bed frame with a more complete, modern one. Made from wood and covered in attractive fabrics or leather, these Ottoman beds offer something different than the typical brass bed frame we’ve all seen before.

Minimalist whitewashed room

Reduce clutter

Reducing the amount of clutter is often the last thing that anyone thinks to do; however, it’s effective in making every room look larger while giving the existing decorations and furniture a better chance to get noticed. Many of us collect too much of everything over the years. By cutting back on what we actually need to keep hold of and finding places to discretely store items out of sight, it transforms a living space and opens it up for further refinements to entirely change how it feels.

Adding a touch of class to every room doesn’t have to cost the earth. In many cases, it takes some re-imagining of each living area to determine how to get the most out of it along with a few small additions to bring something new.

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How to organise a self-storage unit

How to organise a self-storage unit

Self-storage units can be an absolute godsend when trying to keep a cluttered house under control. Unfortunately, attempting to store a large number of items in a plain concrete room tends to lead to more clutter than you started with at home. How do you manage to keep things organised and be able to find anything in storage?

Having all the right storage supplies as well as a bit of a plan for your unit is the way to go. You can get your self-storage unit in ship shape with just a few tips.

Different sized seld-storage units

Right sized space

Before you can start planning on organising your unit, you really need to be sure you get one that’s large enough for your belongings. Trying to jam too much stuff into a tiny space makes organising almost impossible. Before renting space, make a list of what you want to keep in it and make some realistic estimates. Perhaps even gather everything up in one spot first and measure how many square feet it all needs.

Stack of banana boxes

Proper containers

Don’t resort to the hasty (and cheap) solution of jamming things into big garbage bags. They are very difficult to manage in terms of organisation because they don’t have a rigid shape. You can’t pile or stack bags, and they’re notorious for tearing at the wrong moment. The best option is plastic totes with lids, but even sturdy cardboard boxes are better than bags. Not only are boxes easier to label than bags, they are a lot more secure for your belongings. Moisture, dust, insects or even rodents can get into your stuff if it’s not well protected.

Labelled files on shelves in storage

Label and list

This is probably the biggest key to keeping your self-storage unit organised. Label everything in clear, large letters. Never assume that you will always remember what’s in certain boxes. Add more detail whenever you can as well. Labelling a box “Kitchen Stuff” is minimally helpful, so tape on a label or sheet of paper that has a quick bullet list of what’s actually in the box.

To be really on top of things, go one step further and put together a master list of the contents that you can keep at home. Knowing what’s in your unit without having to go back and paw through boxes can (and will) save a lot of time.

Shelves with numbered boxes

Shelves

If you’ve taken our earlier suggestion and stored your stuff in boxes or totes, it can be really tempting to just stack one on top the other. That can work if you are storing things you don’t access much. In situations where you do need to get at things periodically, having to move 4 or 5 boxes around because what you need is invariably at the bottom can be irritating and difficult. Having your boxes organised on shelves means you can pull out the one you need without having to shuffle everything else around.

So, taking these ideas into account, you should be able to put your storage unit to better use and have your important belongings right to hand when you need them.

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