Store and restore for the new season

The last throw of summer is the prime time to de-clutter your home. For many, the end of the long summer holidays and the beginning of September marks the start of a new era and the perfect opportunity to restore your home to a calmer state. Not only is a clutter free environment less hazardous, it’s so much nicer to live in and will create a positive mind-set for every inhabitant. So when it comes to the shared spaces in your home, where should you begin?

HAZARD-FREE HALLWAYS

A clutter-free hallway makes life easier. Imagine walking in and out of your home without tripping over a pile of shoes and seeing coats thrown over the stair banister or a chair. How about having a designated place to put your mail, a spot to empty the contents of your pockets into, and a nominated place to drop your keys?

Say goodbye to an unruly mess of shoes at the front door and keep them stowed away neatly in a specialist shoe storage cupboard. You’ll have less dirt and dust trampled through your home, plus the top of the shoe cupboard can also be used to store keys, letters and loose change. If you have the space for a console table then invest now. Those small drawers will hold a bucket load of small objects you don’t want to be on view. Lastly invest in a coat rack, be it a freestanding one or a wall mounted one, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without one.

9 Drawer Wooden Chest £10 and Decorative Wooden Box £5 from The Works; Laura Ashley Grace Gold Floral Print Multi Drawer Unit £13.99 from WHSmith; Wicker Letter Holder £6.00 from Wilko; Hygena Lydiard Gloss Shoe Cabinet £134.99 from Argos

LIVING ROOM LOVE

Dual-purpose furniture is the way to optimise storage of your belongings and keep your living room tidy and clutter free. Make your coffee table work harder for you and invest in one with shelves or secret compartments.

Alternatively a wooden chest or dresser with drawers where you can store bits and bobs, and ottomans and footstools used to store away your winter blankets, cushions, board games and magazines, are all great investments towards reclaiming your sanctuary. Also think about optimising your walls for storage. Floating shelves, cubes and hanging racks will help create more space and work brilliantly for books, plants, ornaments and photo albums.

Clovelly Coffee Table Grey £150 from Wilko; Multi Compartment Shelf £9.99 from B&M Stores; Habitat Bumble Coffee Table £119 from Argos; Ladder Bookcase £70 from Wilko

A STRESS FREE WORKSPACE

The big challenge when de-cluttering your workspace or home office, whether you are working from home, or your kids are using it for homework, is managing all of your paper clutter. Paper clutter is a beast, so whether you decide to keep it or trash it, you’ll need to file it or shred it.

To make your work area work for you, create filing storage either with drawer inserts, collapsible boxes or a separate filing cabinet, utilise drawers for stationary and equipment, desk tidies, cable ties and invest in a shredder to sit nicely underneath the desk on a specialist under desk storage stand.

New York Collapsible Storage Box from The Works £6.99 or 2 for £10; London Underground Collapsible Storage Box from The Works £7.00 or 2 for £10; Safco Wire Under Desk Printer Stand Black £75 from WHSmith; Rexel Style Plus Shredder £69.99 from Argos; Bisley Cabinet 5 Drawer £51.99 from Ryman; Totally Tropical Pineapple Pen Pot £7.99 Ryman

CRAFTY KITCHEN TIPS

The most used and the most sociable room in the home can be a huge challenge to keep clutter free. Because the kitchen has so many different types of items stored in it from food to appliances to Ziploc bags and utensils, everything needs to be stored logically and in its correct zone. Begin the de-cluttering process by choosing either a zone or a type of item and then work on the list from there.

Why not organise your countertop with specialist racks for spices, mug trees, storage bottles and containers and free up your cupboards for food, crockery and pots and pans?

Large Glass Storage Jar £1 from Poundland; Retro Tea, Coffee & Sugar £8.99 from B&M Stores; Vertex Copper Finish Fruit Basket and Mug Tree £28.99 from Argos; Hygena Tea, Coffee and Sugar Stacker £17.99 from Argos; 6-piece glass spice rack £6.00 from Wilko

Seek out clever solutions for creating tiers within your cupboards and products that can utilise the inside of doors, under the sink and the top of the fridge.

Corner Plate Rack & Hanging Shelf Storage each £3.00, Telescopic Stand & Overdoor Pan Lid Rack each £2.50, 3-tier Kitchen Organiser £4.00, Overdoor 2-tier basket £5.00 and 2-tier Storage Rack £8.00 all from Wilko

KEEP A LID ON THE KIDS ZONE

Whilst we know it’s hard to get your little one to keep their play area tidy, you can always arrange toys and books into brightly coloured cubes and fun, colourful storage units. Look for ones with plenty of drawers for toys and arts and crafts so you’ll be able to keep clutter to a minimum.

HOME 3 Tier Childrens Basket Storage Unit £29.99 and HOME Beech Effect Sling Bookcase £19.99 both from Argos

Stackable storage boxes are perfect for storing toys and games and will also save on floor space. Pop-up tidies are a great invention as they can hide a multitude of toys and they can be folded away as a flat pack when you’re not using them.

The Hungry Caterpillar Storage Suitcases – Set Of 3 from The Works £6.99; Plastic Clippy Boxes £1 each from Poundland; 3-Pack Stackable Dinosaur Boxes £10.00 from Wilko