Easy ways to create a clutter free home

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Whether it’s a pile of clothes on your bedroom floor, or a stack of dirty dishes in your sink, keeping top of cleaning at home can be hard and clutter can soon take over.

If you feel you’re living in a state of constant mess, we have some ideas to help you take back control and get a home that is clean, clear and clutter-free which means you can sit back and relax.

A place for everything
If you get home and put your phone, keys and purse straight on the kitchen table, this needs to stop. Have a designated space or bowl for essential items and this clutter free game-changer will keep things tidy and save you constantly looking for lost belongings.

Have hooks by the front door
Having a simple set of hooks by the front door means you’ll always know where they are – simple but true. Get in the door, shut the door, put the keys on a hook and you’ll never look back.

Keep shoes out of the house
Leaving dirty shoes at the front door won’t only keep dirt out but it will save them being left all over the house, making a mess, tripping you over and generally cluttering things up.

Have a clear out
We aren’t saying you need to declutter your house in a day because you’ll be exhausted, instead clear the clutter in bite-size chunks of time – think 30 minutes to a couple of hours. Go room by room, drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard or shelf by shelf – whatever works for you. Ensure you have rubbish, recycling and donation bags as well as a duster and cloths so you can clean as you go.

Buy less
We know that those BOGOF offers are tempting, but if you bulk buy toilet rolls, washing powder and dishwasher tablets or having too many pairs of jeans, where are you going to put them? Each time you are about to buy something, ask yourself, do I really need it, is there somewhere for it to go in my home and am I buying it for the right reason? If you answer no to even one of these, put your card away and keep clutter at bay.

Check out the garden
It’s not just our houses that can get full of clutter, but outside spaces too. From lawn mowers and plastic slides, to old wooden benches and hoses, it is amazing how much ‘stuff’ gets slung in the garden which leaves it looking cluttered and messy. Set aside an afternoon and get to work clearing out, tidying up and straightening out your outside spaces so they are places you want to spend time, rather than somewhere all the junk is stored.

Recycle
Not only does recycling help keep the environment safe, it keeps clutter out of your house too. Cardboard boxes, cans, old clothes, broken toys, unused phones, comics and books are often found in corners, cupboards and under tables where they gather dust and clutter things up, so sort them out, recycle them and free up your space.

Keep it up
Once you have made steps to sort out the clutter, do your best to keep it that way. Not only will having less clutter mean you won’t have to tidy up as much, but you’ll also be able to find things because they won’t be under a pile of dusty papers, they’ll be where you left them.

Team Pure Beauty

Spring clean your finances

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You think nothing of spring cleaning your home, garden or garage, but how often do you take stock of your finances?

Make April the month to clear away those cash cobwebs and let the pennies take care of the pounds.

Sort out the admin
It is well worth spending an hour or two getting your paperwork together so you can see what your financial position is at this current moment. If you don’t know where you are, it’s hard to get a plan in place for the future. Sit down with a cuppa and your bank statements, insurance policies, energy costs, mobile phone and internet bills and anything else you pay out on. Make a list of how much things are costing each month and this will give you a good starting point.

Chuck out what you don’t use
This might sound silly but check your bank statement carefully as it could be you are paying for gym memberships, online services and magazine subscriptions you no longer use and if that’s the case, look at stopping these so money can be better spent elsewhere.

Swap things around
We know that changing suppliers can be a pain but it is worth shopping around and seeing where savings can be made.

Look for balance transfers on credit cards
If you’re paying full interest rates on your credit cards, see if you can move to another provider so you can clear your balance quickly and for less.

Make the most of your savings
If you do have savings accounts or an ISA, pop into your bank or building society and make sure you are getting the best return on your investments. Also, make sure you use your IAS allowance because you either “use it or lose it”.

Ask for a pay rise
If you work hard and give 100% to your employer, at your next review why not ask for a pay rise? Write a list of all your achievements over the past year and when you sit down with your manager highlight these and your ambition to move up the career ladder. Put your best points forward and you never know, you might get a rise and a promotion! If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

PPI
You have seen the adverts but if you think you have something to claim when it comes to PPI, or are just interested, the window closes on 29 August 2019. Try to steer away from the claims guys and instead look at www.which.co.uk to find out how to do it yourself.

Collect points
Using loyalty schemes might feel uncomfortable for some, but they can really make a difference. Points can equal cash, vouchers and free coffee, so read the small print to make sure you aren’t signing your life away, but if it’s going to help, take advantage of what’s on offer.

Recycle
If you want to make some cash, as you spring clean the house look at what you can sell on local sites or at carboot sales and give away anything else to charity to keep the clutter at bay.

Once you have got your affairs in order, create a budget, including saving for a rainy day, and stick to it. You will find that if you are in control of your cash, it will not longer control you and you won’t feel sick each time a bill lands in your inbox.

Team Pure Beauty

Add value to your house before you sell it

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With the summer coming to and end and autumn on the horizon, what better time to consider selling your home.

As well as speaking to estate agents, searching online for new properties and looking at your finances, you may also want to make some adjustments to your house to make it as marketable as possible and to help secure the best price.

We aren’t talking about designer makeovers or expensive extensions, but small changes that can have a big impact.

Make it clean
While potential buyers need to be able to visual your home as theirs, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to do so, which means offering a clean slate. Wash the walls, have the windows cleaned, gutters tidied, carpets cleaned and if needed, get a gardener to tidy up outside. Yes, it is an investment but one you will reap back.

Take the clutter away
Decluttering has become quite ‘a thing’ and that’s because it works. Go through your house room by room and well as ensuring you have dust free doors, lights and skirting boards, clear the house of old newspapers, stacks of books, piles of plastic toys and half empty shampoo bottles. Be ruthless and throw away, give away and recycle anything you just don’t want or need. For anything left and remaining in the house, either box up and put in the loft or tidy away neatly in cupboards or pretty baskets.

A coat of paint
If you have lived in a property for many years, the walls can take a battering and buyers will notice this. A fresh coat of paint instantly brightens any room and if you go for a soft shade you will add a sense of warmth and luxury to your house. Off whites and pale greys are not only on trend but also work well with most furnishings, making it appealing to people looking round.

Make space
Once you have a clean, clear canvas you can look at how you are using space. Yes, right now you love having a massive sofa, armchair and bean bags in the living room – but this will make the room look cramped and small – not what you are trying to convey. We aren’t saying go minimal, but clearing away large pieces of furniture, opening the curtains and having the right lighting can make a massive difference.

Look at the front door
If you have taken the time to fix the windows, power clean the drive and trim the hedges, you don’t want to fall down with a dodgy front door. If it’s really bad consider fitting a new one, otherwise clean it down, paint it and add a new doorknob, brass letterbox or smart house number and the difference can be well worth the effort.

Small touches
When you have viewings, first of all make sure the house is spotlessly clean and if possible, go out and let the agent show buyers around – this is especially true for a first viewing. Having flowers, or house plants, can have a real impact on the look and the feel of your property, and rod diffusers placed strategically in rooms like the kitchen, bathroom and utility room can be a good idea. Mirrors will reflect light and make the place look bigger and brighter, rugs and cushions offer a homely feel and those stories of freshly baked bread….they are true!

If you do sell, we wish you lots of luck!

Team Pure-Beauty

De-clutter your home this January

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The new year is upon us and what better time to take stock of your home and create the space you have always dreamt of?

If you’re one of those people who dread the big spring clean, listen up as we have some easy to implement tips for de-cluttering your home. Whether you want to keep hold of every birthday card, all your school reports or every pair of jeans you have ever owned, having endless possessions can be more suffocating than liberating.

Rather than focusing on hiding all the stuff you have in your home, the best way to deal with de-cluttering is by concentrating on the life you want to live and organising the space you have.

So, let’s go:

Set aside a couple of hours and go around your house collecting the rubbish cluttering things up. Old magazines and newspapers, discarded food containers and general litter can go in the bags and taken to the rubbish tip. Reusable items like random toys, old books and clothes can go in bags and taken to the charity shop.

After this top level ‘stuff’ has been cleared away you can then de-clutter your home, one room at a time:

Kitchen
Many kitchens are the hub of a home so this is the perfect place to start your real de-cluttering. Set aside a morning and go thought every drawer and cupboard one by one. You will be amazed at how many pennies, biros and old cans of sardines you will find. Once each one is empty, give it a good clean so it is fresh again and only put back in the items you really need and are in date. If you have endless utensils and appliances that you don’t use, think about packing them away and seeing how long it is before you need to use them. If you haven’t unpacked them in three months, give them away or donate to charity.

The living room
You will be amazed at the number of redundant books, puzzles and films you will find in your living room. Be ruthless, if you don’t use or watch it, get rid of it.

Hoover under all sofas, chairs and tables, dust, wash covers and cushions and open the windows to really give the room a fresh, new feel and a room where you want to spend time.

Bathroom
Bathrooms might be small but they are often home to a tonne of items you just don’t need any more, and have probably forgotten you own. Half empty bottles of bubble bath, a soggy bag of cotton wool and endless cosmetics past their expiry date will probably be found lurking in cupboards. Once again, be ruthless, throw out the old products and towels that have seen better days and give the bath, sink and toilet a really good clean so the room feels really clean once again.

Bedroom
Take out all your clothes and only keep the ones that fit you now, that you love and ones that make you feel great. If you do this you will be surprised at the space that suddenly becomes free in your drawers and wardrobes. All of a sudden it will be easy to decide what to wear in the morning because everything feels and looks great. Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method is a great way to sort out your clothes for good.

When you buy anything new make sure you really need it and love it.

Ensure your bedding is clean and matching, dust photos and pictures and give the whole room a thorough going over so it is sanctuary for rest and relaxation.

Once you have cleared out and cleaned you will feel fresher and lighter and your home will look so much better for 2016.