The Secret to an Organised Home

I don’t know about you, but I have never really got involved with the great Spring Clean. Spring comes, Spring goes, my windows remain the same – unless the window cleaner drops by. Life carries on as normal with no sofas being moved or mattresses being turned. December, however, it’s another story…

December is, for me, the month when no pile of clutter goes unmoved. No stack of stuff left undisturbed. The reason for this is twofold – when the boys were small it was all about clearing out the old plastic tat to make room for the new plastic tat. But before that it was some sort of instinct (not necessarily primeval but pretty strong all the same) to get everything sorted out before the New Year.

For the same reason the tree has to go on 27 December. I can’t bear to see it hanging around all wilted and empty once all the presents have gone. I have been known to go into whirling Dervish mode clearing everything out and finding new places to store things so that I can start with a clean slate both literally and metaphorically on 1 January. Even boyfriends used to get the heave ho on 31 December if things weren’t right.

So this seemed like the perfect time of year to have a look at the new book by Remodelista (their second) called The Organised Home: simple stylish storage ideas for all over the house. And there are two things about this book that I immediately like (not for nothing was it included in my Christmas Gifts Kitchen guide – remember to read the captions on those images as there’s lots more in there that isn’t necessarily pulled out into the copy) and one is alternatives to plastic for all over the house. The second is, as the blurb on the back says: “The goal here is not showroom perfection; it’s unencumbered living in a house that makes you happy.”

The book includes 12 Universal Tactics, which is a great way to get started. These include: Hang it, Label it, Tray it, Door it, Stack it, Sort it and Wrangle it – this last is about sorting out electrical cables and fixing them together with a clip or, in extremis, fitting more sockets and hiding them at the back of drawers and so on.

One idea is to buy an A4 magazine holder and fix it to the inside of a cupboard door (one without shelves obviously) and use that to store kitchen roll and foil and those sorts of useful things that seem to run amok when left to their own devices in a drawer.

Once you’ve got the hang of the universal tactics, and those alone will probably make everything better immediately, the book turns to each room in turn. Now for various publishing reasons, I wasn’t allowed to include all the pictures I wanted but for the hallway think of a long Shaker peg rail running the length of the wall. On this you can hang coats, baskets full of hats and gloves, a chalkboard of reminders, schoolbags and handbags etc.

Each chapter has a page of expert advice so a top chef gives tips on organising the kitchen – keep everything visible and within arm’s reach and keep only what you need and use. In the hall – think like the kindergarten teacher – keep things visible and accessible – “when it’s obvious where things go they’re more likely to end up in the right place” and establish storage zones – places for shoes, places for coats and places for books.

The book also advocates the creation of a good etiquette drawer, which sounds old fashioned but is rather lovely. Basically a place where you keep stamps, a working pen, envelopes and a selection of thank you cards. The theory being that if you make it easy you are more likely to do it. And who doesn’t love getting something in the post that isn’t a bill? I think I might do this one. I have so often written the card, even found the stamp and then the whole thing has fallen apart for want of an envelope.

Finally: Think Like A Stylist: assess your room as if looking at it through a camera lens. Is there too much? Is it too bare? A monochromatic palette will have an instant cleansing effect, and grouping items on trays keeps things together and tidy. This chapter’s expert advisor, Ayesha Patel, formerly of Martha Stewart Living, keeps her home office on a large tray on the dining table: “It holds receipts (under a pretty rock) and smaller trays containing scissors, a letter opener, a stapler and paper clips. It looks good and when company is coming, I just pick it up and move it.”

Some clever ideas there aren’t there? Tomorrow we’re going to have a look at the 10 best storage items – large and small so we can put some of this into practice. Right, I’m off to make an etiquette drawer.