Lifestyle

Clutter building up around you?

<br>If you don’t have Marie Kondo skills, we don’t blame you. Pepper fry presents a few quick tips to enable you to de-clutter your space:

Make your living room ‘livable’ again:

The living room is often the center of all activity and unfortunately, even the clutter. Prioritise by doing an inventory of the items in your living room and keeping the everyday items, close to their space of use. For example, all CDs should go near the entertainment center and magazines on the bookshelf by the reading chair. Consider getting a coffee-table with storage and keep your cards and board games inside, to whip out for family nights.

Don’t let your showcase resemble the overhead cabin of a plane. Start by restricting it to a few statement pieces only – an autograph, a travel memento and that bottle of fine whisky. Flaunt your family photographs on the wall instead of placing them on tables, to avoid knocking them over.

A closet in the bedroom or vice-versa?<br>Has your bedroom turned into another closet, but a way messier one? Start by making use of all that extra space under and over the bed! Instead of plastic bins or cardboard boxes, opt for aesthetic options, like woven baskets or wooden crates for under the bed storage. In fact, if you place the wooden crates vertically and arrange your items in it, the edge of your bed can also be a showcase! Instead of a bedside table, convert that headboard into a shelf to hold all your night-time ritual knick-knacks.

Waste a lot of time looking for jewelry and make-up? Then, instead of organizing your accessories in a regular dresser, opt for a storage mirror, with shelves behind that mirror frame. Host your everyday essentials here, while keeping your dressier items in another drawer and make that morning routine quicker!

Rethink your clothing stand with a DIY clothing ladder. For compact spaces, utilize that wooden ladder from the basement to display hand bags, caps and over coats!

Work Clean, Work Better:

Working with a cluttered desk is a gateway to stress and limited productivity. Get efficient by categorizing your workspace items into essentials and non-essentials. Restrict the top of your desk to your laptop, office stationary, a planner and a quirky table lamp if you burn the midnight oil. Sort the office stationary in a spare mason jar. Use that wall space, by adding a few open shelves for your files and books.

Too many wires may leave you no space to work. Start by organizing your chargers and extension cords with a cable zipper or some shoe-laces. Stow away the spare cables inside the drawer, allowing more free space on your table-top. For regular home workers, make sure you have some storage space below your desk for printers and scanners.

Cut the clutter on the kitchen:

Can’t find that cooker whistle or bottle-cap? The massive array of vessels and cutlery in the kitchen, makes it a black hole for all things small. Reduce those daily ‘search-and-rescue’ missions, by using color-coded jars for all your ingredients and small items.

Vessels of a feather, flock together! Keep related items together, close to their area of use. Pots, pans, stirring spoons should be stored near the stove; plates, serving dishes, cups and cutlery together near the dining table, while coffee mugs, tea-bags and the sugar-bowl should be placed near the coffee-maker or kettle.

One of the most ample spaces available in your kitchen, is the side of the fridge. Add hooks or magnetic racks and use them for light-weighted items like wooden spoons, kitchen towels, scissors, etc.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

–IANS<br>pg/tb/

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