Simple tips for organising your home

Part of my resolution to simplify my life for 2016 includes simple tips for organising your home. In a small home with limited storage – space is at a premium. So getting rid of anything you don’t regularly use is so important. Organising the stuff you do use is also important so you know where everything is! My Mum always used to say, ‘everything has its place’ and she’s so right! Clearing out the crap and organising your cupboards and shelves allows you to know exactly where everything is. So when it comes to putting things away or needing something, you’ll know exactly where it’s place is.

Luckily for us, the Canadian-based home organisation company Neatfreak have arrived in the UK! Available at both John Lewis and Homebase, Neatfreak have a whole host of clever storage and organisation products. They sent me two items to test-drive and as soon as Christmas was out of the way, I got started on sorting my stuff out! As many of you will know, BritishStyleUK has recently moved HQ from Surrey to Hertfordshire. Combining two houses into one is always a challenge as you end up with two of everything! Luckily my future sister-in-law had just moved into a flat and so she got properly kitted out! Several boxes of stuff also went to a charity shop, but we still have too much stuff and not enough storage.

This is my (yet to be decorated) bathroom. Last year this room was a bedroom before we built an extension and did a loft conversion. It’s a decent sized family bathroom with a shower and bath – but there’s no built-in storage. So we have to be really careful not to have too much clutter in here as we only had a couple of free-standing storage unit – which doesn’t help when organising your home!

This can prove tricky when you have a toddler – as unless you have things locked away, or out of reach they’ll get into Everything. I moved my makeup box to the top of the shelving unit after my 3-year-old used my makeup brushes to clean the toilet… cleaning products are out of reach for obvious reasons too. I also once caught him making a ‘potion’ out of my expensive perfumes and face creams – so they were swiftly put out of reach too. But there are real dangers to children in any bathroom such as medicines, scissors, razors which need to be out of reach.

neatfreak closetMAX Greystone Over the Door Basket Organiser

Neatfreak sent me a couple of items from their extensive range designed to help in organising your home. The over the door basket organiser above simply hooks over the door and elasticated hooks stretch to fit underneath the door too. This keeps the basket flush to the door and stops it from swinging around like many others do. The baskets are made from a durable material which won’t discolour over time.

I’ve had this up now for a couple of weeks and already had several guests over Christmas ask me where they’re from! The netting at the top allows you to keep sharp objects out of the way of little hands and the top two shelves are high enough to be out of reach of my little one. So great for storing bathroom cleaning products and all the other stuff you need in the bathroom!

By decluttering the stainless steel and glass corner unit above (which was designed as two separate bedside tables), it’s so much easier to find stuff when I’m rushing to get ready for work in the mornings. It also looks much better and is easier to clean too! I’m not entirely happy with the position of the radiator though and hoping to change it for a traditional towel rail that would replace the hand towel holder too and allow the corner unit to sit flush against the wall.

When we (well my fiancé – he’s the architect!) re-designed the house we put in this cupboard next the bathroom. The aim is to put the washing machine in here – the plumbing is there, but we need to do a bit more work to make it spin-cycle proof! It’s also a bit of a dumping ground at the moment for linen, the ironing basket and towels.

Neatfreak closetMAX Greystone Collection Lidded Storage Box

The Neatfreak lidded storage box is genius – I don’t know why no one has never thought to add a see-through front to these flat-pack storage boxes! The small leather tongue at the front allows you to pull the box out and it’s a great size for storing household linens in. I managed to fit in my son’s summer cot bed duvet, a spare bath mat and two large bath towels in there.

I found this vintage style first aid box on Notonthehighstreet.com which is ideal for organising all of my family’s medicines, plasters etc. and keep out of reach too! It’s really sturdy and I love the simple retro design.

So I’m making great strides towards organising my home – there’s still lots to do, but at least I can find things now! I hope this has given you some ideas on organising your home : )

Natalia xo