Leading home organisers Hayley Harrison and Gemma Abraham have shared their top tips when it comes to tackling the dreaded spring clean – and they’ll leave you feeling “amazing” too
After what feels like a lifetime of rain and cold weather, spring is officially here. With brighter days and sunnier skies on the horizon, for many the new season signals new beginnings and fresh starts – and along with that comes the annual spring clean.
From giving your home a complete deep clean from top to toe to decluttering your overflowing wardrobe, spring can be a great time to breathe new life into your surroundings. However, getting stuck into such tasks can often be easier said than done, especially if you’ve spent the past 12 months letting the clutter build up.
Luckily, leading home organisers Hayley Harrison and Gemma Abraham, from Organise-d (organise-d.com) have plenty of tips and tricks to make the spring clean that bit easier. Having spent the past five years helping to create functional spaces within people’s homes, Hayley and Gemma share some of their hacks for the dreaded spring clean…
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Start small
When you’ve got a whole house to clean it can be tempting to want to tackle everything in one day. However, if you set out with unrealistic goals, it can leave you feeling deflated or overwhelmed if you’re not able to get everything done.
“We always say to start small, no matter which area of the home it is. Whether it’s a wardrobe, a garage, a shed, a playroom – just start small, make it very manageable and make your wins really achievable. The last thing you want to do is start to feel overwhelmed or start to feel that you can’t complete the task and then you feel like you’ve failed,” says Gemma.
“Don’t empty your whole room. If doing the kitchen, just start with something like a cutlery drawer or a snack drawer, just one thing. Maybe give yourself an hour and then you will feel amazing after that, and it will feel really achievable.”
As well as being achievable, the sense of accomplishment could spur you to clean other areas too. “It will naturally lead on to you doing the next area. If you could just manage 30 to 60 minutes a day, tackle a really small achievable area and sort it into piles of what’s staying, what will go to charity and what might have to go to the recycling bin or to friends and family,” she adds.
“Then make yourself really clear goals with it and you’ll feel so good. After it you’ll want to carry on and do the whole house, but do not make the mistake of thinking you can achieve an entire area. It’s very hard.”
Group things
When you’re confronted with a lot of clutter it can be hard to know where to start. For Hayley, beginning a clean by categorising items is a great way to see what you’re dealing with, allowing you to figure out your next move.
“When we go into a lot of spaces, lots of our clients have got a mix of everything everywhere. Grouping things really helps. The way that we work is we would always do a detox and then we get things into categories so we know the volume that we’ve got in each category.
“Then that makes seeing what you have much easier and it makes it much easier to put things into a system because you can then work out what you use most, what you don’t use and they can occupy different spaces,” she explains.
Whether it’s grouping kitchen utensils or bathroom products, this works in every aspect of your house. As the springtime temperatures warm up, it’s a great method when tackling wardrobe space too.
“At this time of year, we’re going in and doing loads of wardrobe swaps. We get out all the winter stuff, all the heavy knits and we either put them in a place in the wardrobe that is not as accessible or we pack them away in dustproof bags and we put it away. That then leaves everything that you love and want to use for spring summer in one place and you’re not having to rifle through heavy knits or heavy coats to get to it,” Hayley explains.
“If you divided the year up into like six month sections in the UK, you literally can put half of your wardrobe away, get half out and sort it around. Not every wardrobe we work with is huge, we work in really basic family homes and it is making sure everything is accessible and visible.”
Follow Gemma and Hayley on Instagram @organise_d
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