Check yourself into ‘interiors rehab’ and follow our experts’ guide to achieving clutter-free calm
If your home has taken a pounding over the festive period, why wait until spring to set things straight? A good declutter can eliminate the need for unnecessary housework, and will clear your mind as well as your living space.
Joanna Gosling is an author, journalist and broadcaster
Taking time to work through clutter makes a big difference to getting your life to run smoothly and stress-free. It's not only about clearing out storage areas, but also helping to clear much-needed head space by saving yourself a lot of wasted time and effort in the long run.
There are easy ways to get organised, too, such as a simple, but utterly foolproof, way of making sure you never forget anything when you leave the house – a clothes peg stuck to the door. Things can then be clipped there right in front of you – the shopping list, school activity reply, a letter to post, the list goes on. You need a wooden clothes peg and some double-sided adhesive tape. The peg can be painted or decorated, or just left plain. Fix it to the door or a convenient spot you can’t miss on your way out. Simple but life changing. Delve into Joanna’s book Simply Wonderwoman (Kyle Books).
Oliver Heath is an interior designer, TV presenter and eco expert
Decluttering shouldn’t mean chucking everything out. Recycling is a must – from furniture to electrical items. Take unwanted goods to a charity shop or ask for them to be collected if they’re large furniture items. I love to make use of old drawers, transforming them with paint and wallpaper. They’re perfect for displaying your treasured items and make a striking wall display. Decluttering can be artistic, too. Check out Oliver’s blog.
Anna Ryder Richardson is an interior designer and TV presenter
My mantra is always REduce, REuse, REcycle, UPcycle. Upcycling is the latest trend where you turn an unattractive and useless item into something delightful and useful. My failsafe solution for keeping tidy is clever internal storage for wardrobes and for under beds. It really helps keep bedroom clutter at bay. Anna also owns Manor House Wildlife Park.
Emma Forbes is a TV presenter turned lifestyle guru and author
1. Don’t lose sight of the things you love because your home is too cluttered. The perfect example is a crammed wardrobe full of clothes you never wear because you can’t find anything in it. If I haven’t worn something for six months, I get rid of it.
2. Children love decluttering, so suggest that they start a ‘gift drawer’ of things that are new, but that don’t get used or are things they already have.
3. Don’t just shift clutter around and clear one room by moving it all to the next – declutter methodically room by room, and don’t move on until you’ve finished. Look out for more tips on Emma’s website Forbes Style.
Kim Woodburn is the nation’s favourite cleaning expert
My approach has always been ‘clean as you go, throw as you go’. Make it your New Year resolution and you’ll never need to do a big decluttering session again.
Kim’s top tip: It can be hard to keep the clutter at bay when there are small children around. Invest in some storage boxes and ask the kids to help you clear their things away. If you turn the chore into a fun game with a prize, it makes things a whole lot easier.
1. Approach a room with the following idea: ‘Everything I see has to be used and liked’. If it’s not, get rid of it.
2. Start from the top, otherwise once you’ve finished with downstairs, you’ll be too tired to go upstairs. Where possible, create simple storage solutions. That way things are kept where you need them and are to hand when you want them.
3. If you can afford it, get professional advice. An outsider will be much more objective about what should go.
1. Store like with like. You have to be logical about where you keep things and why you keep them there. For example, if someone looks in the cupboard above your kettle, they should find tea and coffee.
2. Be clever with furniture. Choose a coffee table with drawers so you can tidy things such as the remote control away, or with a lower rack for storing books and magazines.
Fly Lady is an online housekeeping support group run by Marla Cilley and her team
Perform a ‘hot-spot fire drill’.
A hot spot is an area, which, left unattended, will gradually take over. Just as a forest fire would run wild and burn up all the forest. Clutter attracts clutter – so if your family starts using a place to dump things when they don’t want to put them away, nip this in the bud. Get rid of that pile, find the surface underneath and stop this hot spot from becoming a raging clutter inferno.
Want to spruce up your home? Have a look at the latest At Home catalogue online
