March heralds the start of spring and yet, as the first day of the month rolls around, it is still winter. But by the last day, spring has sprung.
For many of us, the first tentative buds of spring bring about a new resolve: to declutter the home and to keep it clutter-free. Casting off the shackles of winter, the annual spring clean was a task many housewives performed. In many ways, we do the same today – it just gets called a different thing (and it’s not about thwacking the dust out of rugs with a tennis racquet either…)
The problem with clutter
Clutter is ‘stuff’ that you somehow seem to accumulate but not sure how. Some of it is useful, it just needs a place to be stored. Other bits of ‘stuff’ is exactly that: clutter. Sleeves rolled up, you decide to tackle the clutter in the bedroom and the kitchen, two rooms that seem to have magnetic qualities when it comes to attracting ‘stuff and clutter’.
But, no decluttering process is completely done until there is storage for the items you decide to keep.
The Kitchen
When you have decided what to keep and what to recycle and/or reuse, you need to make sure you have the storage solutions. May we suggest…?
- Sideboard – minimise the room taken up by plates and crockery by decanting some from the kitchen cupboards to a sideboard in the dining room. Reclaimed wooden sideboards are not only stunning in style and finish, they offer so much space and storage for all kinds of items.
- Bespoke kitchen cupboards solutions – even if you aren’t replacing your kitchen, there are some handy cupboard storage additions that make sense. Carousels that magically reveal items when the door is opened, for example, are an inexpensive but worthwhile addition.
The Bedroom
Just because you don’t spend all day in here doesn’t mean that it is the right place to dump store things. May we suggest bedroom storage including…?
- Toy storage boxes – you may think that the toy storage box is only for the children’s bedrooms but if you want versatility when it comes to storage in the bedroom, say hello to the blanket box. With so many blanket boxes to choose from, it’s hard to know which way to turn but, this versatile piece of furniture works in any room.
- Chest of drawers – drawers are perfect for putting order on the things you store but rather than opting for drawers that are uniform, opt for a piece of furniture that gives you a little more scope to separate things. The Standford reclaimed wooden chest of drawers is 5 drawer and cupboard arrangement that gives you a lot of storage options. Or choose something like the tall 8-drawer Winchester tower that is great for sliding into a corner and perfect for storing all kinds of items from clothing to accessorise.
Clutter & Storage = Tidy Home
There are times when clutter gets the best of us, but you will find that with adequate and accessible storage solutions, it becomes less of an issue. Run free from coats hung over fabric dining chairs and clutter in every corner. What storage options will you include in your declutter, spring clean?