Let Us Help You Declutter January 10 2017

Feeling overwhelmed by clutter? Know that you put that document in a safe place but can't exactly remember where it is? Fed-up with tripping over others' possessions?  If you've been procrastinating in dealing with that huge elephant or any other animal who may be languishing amongst the muddle in your rooms, today is 'Organise Your Home Day'.  If having a specially dedicated day to decluttering does not provide the impetus to act, here are some tips we've put together from our rather too tidy barn on the farm:

1) Struggling to get started? Decide to devote just ten minutes to tidying - even use a timer.  Not only do we always do more than we think is possible, when we are up against the final stages of a tight deadline, but you will probably find that once you start you want to continue for longer.
Add your text to floral signs at www.honeymellow.com2) What to declutter? Our motto is from William Morris, 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful'.  Use it, love it or throw it away. 

3) Still got lots of stuff?  No matter how much you love or use it, you don't need duplicates so give it to a charity shop so someone else can treasure it instead.  Supermarkets often have charity bins for shoes, books and clothing to make decluttering both easy and virtuous.

4) Where to put stuff? Attractive baskets and boxes are great for minimal organisation and keeping the same stuff together.  Have one for shoes near the front door, books in the living, toys in playrooms and one devoted to useful stuff which is your first place to look when hunting for that elusive safe place. Separate bins for laundry whites and coloureds clearly labelled will make washing so much easier together with our cheeky 'Drop Your Pants Here' sign.  Get some of our pretty blank signs made to label your boxes with 'toys', 'shoes' etc. or the name of a messy person to encourage them to tidy their belongings away.

5)  Where should the little stuff go?  Cosmetics, small pots, pens etc. are perfect for putting in pretty tins or even a lovely gift or attractive shopping bag.  As long as it hides it away but still makes it accessible and more importantly keeps surfaces easy to dust. Have hooks for keys or for ones used more frequently a dish for people to drop them in as they come in through the door.

6) What to do about cupboards? Use dividers in drawers to separate similar items and put in extra shelving or hooks or layer clear labelled boxes to maximise the use of space and see what you have at a glance. If you've high empty shelves, stick only the things you hardly use here.

Blank signs to personalise at www.honeymellow.com
7) Overwhelmed by paper? Photograph or scan documents to store them electronically and then you can get rid of the hard copies.  If you need to keep it, just label some box files to keep them safe until you have time and the inclination to deal with it.  Have a chalkboard for reminders rather than bits of paper left out.  We've plaques such as our Vital Signs, 'No junk mail' to stick up to avoid daily deliveries of unwanted postl that needs sorting and shredding.

8) Fed-up with having to keep putting things away?  Well don't! Make space somewhere accessible for those items you use regularly,  provide storage in the space where they are always used and keep items used together in the same place.  Make life easy for everybody.

9) Things still look messy? Get stuff off the floor.  Stick hooks on the wall where possible or hide large items in cupboards.  A clear floor creates a sense of space and avoids the many household accidents that occur from tripping each year.  

10) You've tidied and it's just been wrecked by others?  Make clearly labelled space in entrance halls for people to know where to put coats, shoes, umbrellas, bags, keys and all the temporary stuff that gets dumped here: make it easy for them to use.  See our Vital Signs range which includes 'leave your wellies here' and 'remove your shoes' plaques.  

Still overwhelmed?  Go shopping, running, cycling or even have a little nap: anything that takes you away from the mess and clears your head instead.  As you can imagine, we've personalised signs for these activities, to leave behind in your newly organised house too!

Find our range of blank signs to help you organise you home at: http://etsy.me/1oX63U7 and http://bit.ly/13Km9F8 

Remove your shoes wooden sign at www.honeymellow.com