Kill the Clutter

Are you a compulsive collector? The mental trauma of the last few years has made us all the more emotional about our objects!

The irony is that the more possessions we have the less useful or decorative they will be – and ultimately we feel the emotional weight of all that baggage!.

Step 1 – Act like you are about to move house. Take everything out of the room. (Do this one room at a time or the clutterbug in you just won’t cope.)

Step 2 – Bring back the most important things for the room. For example a living room, the sofa, couch, chairs, TV, stereo, side tables, or the bedroom, bed side tables.

Step 3 – Work out where all the important things sit in the space. Move them so the space flows and that you can move freely around the room. Then sit down and have a look around, breathe in, how do you feel? You should feel liberated.

You will find that your chest feels lighter, the air seems to flow better, (could be something to do with Feng Shui), or just that you are not having to fight with multiple colours and textures around the room.

Step 4 – Start layering. Select a few things at a time to bring back into the room to decorate with. Paintings, pictures, a vase, a rug, lamps. Do it slowly and feel how the space is changing. Pick out the best items that you want to show, don’t use all of them. I have just heard lately of an expression called editing, it means select the best things you have and enjoy them, change them around seasonly or as the fashion you follow dictates, it is important that the room expresses the personality of the owner, but we don’t need their wholelife story in one room.

Step 5 – Stop! Yes, don’t keep going. Less is better in a room. Put all the remaining items in storage until you are happy with the new space. Then after a few weeks, sort through it all, keep what is reusable, and donate the rest to a good charity or sell it on ebay. You can kill the clutter and enjoy simple streamlined living once again.

Make Your Bathroom SlipProof

Wet floors can be treacherous for anyone but they are especially dangerous for those who might rely heavily on walking aids.

Getting in and out of the shower is a constant worry for those who might have lost some of their balance, but we have some simple ways of making your bathroom slip-free.

If you are willing to spend some money on renovating your bathroom, then it might be worth investing in antislip flooring. This is designed with optimum grip in mind and limits the likelihood of the surface becoming dangerous. Pebble tiles are one of the most effective and safest surfaces available. A cheaper alternative of this is of course to put down floor mats with will absorb any water and prevent the surface from becoming slippery underfoot. Rugs and mats also add a touch of style to the space and do not have to be purely functional. Rubber suction mats are the best for use in bathrooms as they will not slip from their place and offer optimum grip. It is best of avoid plastic mats as these can become very slippery.

Ensuring that your bathroom has proper drainage will limit the amount of surface water that lies on the floor, allowing it to dry faster and increasing safety. Similarly, making sure that you have adequate lighting will increase safety in the bathroom by increasing visibility at all times.