Sort your space: Top tips from the pros including Vogue's home organiser
Helping young family members organise their bedrooms often involves donating toys or belongings and finding homes for new ones. Below right, Hazel Burton of The Home Reset, whose clients include Vogue Williams, above right.
Are you doing Dry January or Veganuary?
If you’re being this virtuous you’ve probably cleared the fridge and kitchen cupboards of temptation by now, and it may be spurring you on to do even more clearing around the house, especially when there’s little to look forward to in January and temperatures can be some of the coldest of the year keeping us sequestered at home.
If you have some lingering post-Christmas mayhem to bring to order, home organiser Hazel Burton sees January and February as peak time for spring decluttering. “When we think about spring, we think about cleaning,” she says.
“The key to organising is to have a place for everything and to return it there. Start your declutter with the Christmas decorations. Make a note of items you broke and want to replace. Santa will have been very generous and brought in new toys so there needs to be a place for them.”
Trained by Dilly Carter, the decluttering expert on BBC’s Sort Your Life with Stacy Solomon, Hazel counts Vogue Williams among her clients having organised both her Howth and London homes for her young family. “It’s a busy time for families getting ready for back to school,” she says.
“We need to be realistic with our time and tackle just a small space.
"We’re all under pressure to have a perfect home but we don’t need a Kardashian labelled pantry. Don’t take on too much and get overwhelmed.”
Bronagh Twomey, declutter organising coach with Clutter2calm.ie, sees the kitchen as the place to start after Christmas. “Put away all the large platters and entertainment bowls and plates that are taking up valuable space in the kitchen cupboards,” she says.
“Let go of broken and unused plates and bowls and mugs that you don't like. Organise your kitchen cupboards and you are guaranteed to make more efficient use out of them, making it easy to clean and tidy up.”
With the kitchen sorted, she then suggests dealing with paperwork and digital clutter. “This task can be done at the kitchen table. Look at the paper and decide to shred or keep it," she says.
"Put on a timer and see how many useless photos or emails you can delete in ten minutes. This can be done after dinner as you are seated at the table. Keep all the 'to do; paperwork in a box that can be put away easily. It's so satisfying and we really don't realise how much digital clutter can reduce our ability to attend to more important tasks like relaxing in the winter.”
But she stresses that the process of decluttering is not so much about getting rid of stuff but more about making an inventory of what you have in your house: “It’s about making informed decisions about items you truly love and need and letting go of the rest. It’s about being honest with yourself. In Ireland, we suffer from post-famine anxiety. We have been brought up to prepare for the worst-case scenario and some people have to keep everything just in case.”
Karen Fagan professional organiser at The Decluttering Stylist puts her focus on her attic to get clear for the year ahead.
“Tidy the attic, sort out the Christmas decorations and get rid of broken ones. If there are any you don’t want, send them to charity or donate. Put everything you’re keeping in a clear box or a labelled cardboard box so you can see what you have.
"The same with baking items you only use at Christmas and any other once-a-year items. Vacuum pack Christmas bed linen and cushions and put in the attic too. Lots of people have Easter decorations so rotate the boxes and bring those to the front.”
She also sees children’s rooms as a priority to sort. “Give unwanted gifts to charity or re-gift, and get rid of broken toys,” she says. “Any unwanted toys can be recycled or donated.”
By the time our interiors are sorted and the weather is, we hope, starting to improve, she suggests turning our attention to the outdoors which will have taken a hammering from storms and heavy rainfall. “Start power hosing and plan if the walls need painting, and check windows and sills," she says.
"If you’re planning to move house, it’s time to declutter, especially if you’re downsizing. You won’t fit everything you have in.”
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