A family of 4 with a dog
The very first impression of walking into Mrs RN's house was that it didn't seem she needed my services. Everything looked so neat and tidy.
Indeed a lovely house, and I can see that Mrs RN is always working hard to keep it that way. So as soon as she showed me the utility room, I was relieved that there was a job to do!
Step 1: Face the reality
This utility room has things for baking, cleaning, camping, ironing, sports equipment and stuff for her dog, you name it. It is always the first step, to get everything out of this area. It is important to see how much you have.
Step 2: Sorting
As I was getting things out, Mrs RN was separating things roughly into:
- to keep
- to bin
- to the charity shop
- not sure yet...
I guess starting with 'Bin' and 'Charity shop' would be a gentle way to set your mind to tidy up.
Step 3: Subdividing
There were lots of things to keep, which was fine. Throwing things away is not necessarily the best solution. Once you know what to keep, subdivide them according to their purposes such as 'cleaning' or 'baking'.
In this house, there were quite a lot of things that belonged to the dog. We put the doggy items into a big red basket.
Step 4: Prioritising
This is when you need to ask yourself how often you use the items. The golden rule is that everyday items should not be difficult to reach.
Everyday washing power should be on the worktop. If you don't want to keep it on the worktop because it doesn't look good, it is the time for you to get some fancy containers to brighten up your laundry time.
The rest of the cleaning products could go into the cupboard but try to keep your favourite ones closer to you (meaning easier for you to get them out and put them back)
Before
After
There was a bit of gap between the walls and the washing machine, and the position could not be moved due to the piping work, we managed to put things presentable for the area, but later on, I made a suggestion of getting some storage solution from IKEA.
It wasn't mentioned in discussion with Mrs RN, but Mr RN happened to mention some drawers he hated using, so we decided to tackle these specific drawers. This kind of annoying feeling tells you the best/first place to tackle, once it's tidied you will be surprised how much this tiny little action could bring you joy which can last at least about 6 months!
It didn't look too bad, but there were lots of miscellaneous objects hiding underneath some tablecloths, such as pens, pencils, some batteries, tapes, and hair bands, you get the idea.
When organising a small area like cupboards or drawers, it is always handy to have some dividers. I sometimes make them out of cardboard boxes or shoe boxes. This time, we found a cutlery tray from the 'Charity shop' pile in the utility room.
Now it is much easier to see what is happening, and Mr RN does not feel annoyed when opening the drawer!
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