Interiors: The mess is plain to see but no-one wants to face up to it

Published on Sunday 29 January 2012 17:44

WITH spring cleaning not too far in the future it’s worth remembering that too much clutter causes CHAOS – that’s Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome. 

So if your front room is overflowing or there’s a floordrobe – a pile of clothes you can’t get round to putting away – in your bedroom, it’s time to consider what you need and what you don’t.

Going digital can help.  CDs that you rarely listen to can be saved onto a computer and played through your existing hi-fi system.  Same goes for books, if you haven’t joined the e-book revolution yet, think about the space you’ll save by not having groaning shelves of hardbacks and paperbacks.  Charity shops always welcome books, and second-hand bookshops may even pay for them.

Think about storage and what needs to be kept out of sight.  When space is at a premium, dual-purpose furniture – a storage chest that doubles as a side table are a good option.  When it comes to display units or shelving, think tall and narrow rather than short and squat, using the full height of the room.  Floating shelving looks less cluttered than the traditional bracketed style, and again, go as high as you need to.

In the bedroom, storage boxes under the bed are great for hiding things that are not in regular use.

Hallways can easily become cluttered, with coats and boots being some of the main culprits.  If they have to stay in the hall, keep them together, with a bench for shoes and boots and pegs for coats.  Nobody needs to keep more than a couple of coats by the front door, and if you have a large family, try a one-coat rule in the hall and put the others away.

Decluttering takes time, but pays dividends so take your time and do it right – as Janet Luhrs, author of The Simple Living Guide (£14.28, Amazon.co.uk) says: “If you look at your entire house as one unit of junk, you’ll never do anything as the job is too overwhelming.  Take it one drawer at a time.”

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