Children

Yay for Spring! I love this season and have been enjoying getting into some decluttering after what seems like the longest Winter ever. If you’re as keen as I am to get into some of those spaces in your home that need some attention this Spring, my 5 step method will really help you to conquer any of them.

Before you start though, make sure you have some tools on board. Here’s what I suggest:

• Banana boxes (for charity, recycling and relocate items)
• Rubbish bags (also great for bulky items that get donated)
• Cleaning items (so you can clean as you go)

Not sure where to start? Start somewhere small, like a shelf, junk drawer, a cupboard or the likes. Your car is a GREAT place to start! Just don’t start in a sentimental area or an area that is too emotional for you. Especially if you haven’t decluttered in a while.

Finally, create a vision for the space. How do you want it to look, feel and function (function being the most important.) Ask yourself what is working in the space and what is not working?

Step 1: Which ever area you decide to start working in, take everything out of the drawer, cupboard, shelf, box, you get the idea. Simply take all of the items out of the space.

Step 2: Put like with like items together. By doing this, you can see exactly how much of each item you have and when they are all together like this, it makes it a lot easier to make decisions on the items, whew!

Step 3: Time to make decisions on the items – pop over to my blog on “10 questions to ask yourself when you declutter” to help you here. Be honest with your decision making and ask a friend to help you if you are struggling on your own. Here’s where you use your banana boxes for charity, recycle and relocate items and the rubbish bags for rubbish and the bulky donate items.

Step 4: Move onto the next shelf, drawer, cupboard and repeat steps 1 – 3. Once you have finished, it is time to reorganise the items you have decided to keep. Reorganise them in a way that makes sense to you and at their point of use. The most important thing to remember is that the area needs to function well. You can always pretty it up later. Keep what is working in the space and change what is not working.

Step 5: Take the rubbish and recycling to your bins, the charity items to your car (rather than sitting around the house as you or others might be tempted to go back into them!) and put your relocate items in their correct place. If they don’t have a home, you will have to create one.

If you are struggling to get started, put a date in your diary at a time that will work for you and stick to it. Call a friend to hold you accountable. Get the family on board to help! Doing a little each day even if it’s only ten minutes, will eventually add up. It’s completely okay to do a space in stages, if that is what will work for you. Set a timer and reward yourself when you are done, put on some music and make it fun!

Have an awesome Spring, good luck with your decluttering and let me know how you get on 🙂

It’s that “Back to School” time of year again already! It’s time to drag out those summer uniforms, purchase the school stationary and get your head back into routine mode……..which sparks me to ask: How organised are you with your kids school paperwork and art? What do you do with their reports, certificates, photos and yearbooks? How about their creative writing work? Does it get shoved into a box or cupboard, in the hope that you might deal with it one day? If this sounds like you, this blog post is for you! If you don’t have a place and more importantly a SYSTEM for these items, they will build up and potentially be forgotten or even lost.

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I recently had the opportunity to share my ‘5 Top Tips’ with one of my favourite magazines Your Home and Garden on how to create practical living spaces for kids. 

“Organise Your Home in a Month” is a great read, where experts are sharing their tips and ideas on ways to declutter and organise your home over 30 days. (more…)

Well it’s that time of year again when we are all feeling relaxed and sun kissed from our lovely summer holiday, yet the kids are back to school next week and it’s the last thing on our minds!  It can be a stressful time for everyone and you don’t want to be rushing the night before trying to find everything in a mad panic. Getting organised now will save you time, stress AND money. Here are my 5 top tips that I think will really help you to get back into the swing of school life! (more…)

Trying to juggle life when you are a busy mum is tricky and difficult at the best of times. Sound familiar? I cannot think of a better time in your life to be more organised! Especially when it comes to getting the kids organised for school. Read ahead for my 5 top tips, to make your life easier.

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Creative kids – I know, every piece is a masterpiece, and although we truly treasure the masterpieces our budding artists create, let’s face it…without a way to organize and store our children’s artwork, it adds to the clutter in our homes. A refrigerator can only hold so much art!! Here are some tips on keeping on top of your child’s art.

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