by Natalie Morey | Jun 8, 2016 | Declutter tips, Home Office, Home Organisation, Office Organising, Tips
This month it’s all about gorgeous home office storage ideas and looks. Forget drab and go for some of these fab storage ideas and products for your home office. In no time you will have a super stylish and functional office space that will actually inspire you to want to spend time in there. Then, there will be no excuse to get all your paper work sorted for the tax man.
Home office organising and storage – Image credit: Officeworks
A light, bright and white home office
This white trestle desk is definitely the statement piece in this minimalist workspace. Achieve the look with this customisable trestle desktop and legs for less than $100. Love it all? All the furniture, the lamp, and the photo frame packs come in at $658 from Officeworks.
The perfectly organised home office -Image credit: Office Works
A bold home office space
A black workspace is a bold move, but it definitely sets a get-it-done attitude. The floor lamps will bring much needed brightness to this space and are a great affordable alternative to pendant lights, which require installation by a qualified electrician. Opting for wood-look furniture will not only add light and warmth, but will keep your budget in check.
Using these picks, you could create the look for $385 – which includes two each of the light oak magazine files and vintage document boxes.
Classic white home office – Image credit: Kikki-k
Go for the classic uncluttered look
As a professional organiser, I just love this look from Kikki-k. Its uncluttered and functional. You could also easily add a single draw filing cabinet under the desk to give you some more storage space if required. You could also add some pops of colour by changing the colour of the storage product that’s sitting on the desk.
Home office storage
Gorgeous home office storage ideas
Check out these storage ideas from Kikki-k. They will help keep your desk uncluttered and organised and they look great too.
Based in Melbourne and assisting clients in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, The Lifestylers Group is a professional organising service that helps people organise there homes, home offices and lives. With over 10 years experience, we have seen it all before. We have lots of practical tips and advise that we share with our clients to organise there office or home office.
by Natalie Morey | Jun 3, 2016 | Home Organisation
I have met Peter Walsh a number of times and have heard him speak on all things decluttering and organising. It’s great to see an Aussie be so successful in the USA especially on a topic that I am so passionate about also. He is a lovely, down to earth guy who has some very practical tips to help you declutter and get organised. Decluttering the Peter Walsh way is fun and an easy process. After watching him on the Living Room, it got me inspired so I have included a couple of my favourite Peter Walsh declutter tips below. I hope you find them useful too.
Peter Walsh with Natalie Morey, Professional Organiser, The Lifestylers Group
He once said that “the secret to successful decluttering is this: you’ll never get organized if you don’t have a vision for the life you want”. This is so true. People have got to want to change the way they do things. They need to have a goal in mind about how they want that space to work. When I start working with a client, I get them to stand in the room and tell me how they would like to see it. It helps them develop a vision and get them motivated for the declutter process.
Another point that I think is really important to mention is that a large portion of why people need help to declutter and get organised is that they have developed bad habits. The kitchen table becomes the dumping ground for your bag, the mail and anything else you bring into the house. That pile of newspapers sits on the bench because you plan to read them at some point. When we do a declutter session with our clients we spend some time talking about this, because it’s important that people start to identify how and why the clutter is building up in their home.
Decluttering the Peter Walsh Way – The Linen Press
I love Peter Walsh’s brilliantly simple linen system. To store his white sheets, he the folds fitted sheet, top sheet, and extra pillowcases inside a pillowcase of the same set. Needless to say, he never has to ransack his linen press for an elusive match.
Decluttering a Linen Press
Decluttering the Kitchen
Image Credit: Photo: David Tsay
Decluttering the Peter Walsh Way – Plastic Food Storage Containers
To avoid accumulating a draw full of mismatched plastic containers in ten colours, Peter Walsh uses just one brand of food storage container so lids will always fit. He stacks just a few sizes in a cabinet for easy access.
However, if you don’t want to have the cost of replacing all of your plastic containers at once start with this declutter tip. It’s one of the first things I do when I am decluttering plastic containers in a client’s kitchen. Match up all the containers and get rid of any that don’t have any lids. I cannot tell you how many times I find tones of missing lids in client’s homes. They clutter up the cupboard and just get moved from one spot to another, because you can never find the matching lid. Once you have done this, stack them neatly inside each other to save space.
Decluttering your wardrobe
Decluttering the Peter Walsh Way – Wardrobe Decluttering: Reverse Coat Hanger Trick
Turn all the clothes hanging in your wardrobe so that the hangers face back-to-front. For the next six months, if you wear an item of clothing, return it to the wardrobe with the hanger facing the correct way. If you try it on but decide not to wear it, make sure you put it back with the hanger turned backward. No cheating. Be prepared for a shock; you are going to find you own lots of clothes you never wear. You should seriously consider decluttering and getting rid of anything you don’t wear regularly.
I love this quote by Peter Walsh: “Set limits for the amount of space you’re prepared to dedicate to items i.e. clothes, toys etc. – and stick to those limits. Three bins for toys, four shelves for baby cloths. Kids only need you, not all the stuff you feel attracted to”.
Keeping toys organised is a big problem many of our clients face. I am a big believer of the principal “one in” “one out” when it comes to containing the amount of “stuff” you have . So next time your child is given a toy, select an existing toy that you can donate to charity and know that you will be giving it to a child less fortunate than yours.
If you need help with your decluttering and home organising, then contact The Lifestylers Group. Based in Melbourne, we are experts at helping people to declutter and organise their homes, lives and houses.
by Natalie Morey | Oct 25, 2012 | Declutter tips, Home Organisation, Tips
Get Organised For Christmas
As a professional organiser, I love nothing more than planning for my Christmas. I started my Christmas shopping several months ago. I am always thinking about gifts that I can buy family and friends and great recipes that I can try. Now, I understand that not all people are that way inclined, so I have listed below some tips to help you start planning for the big day.
With only nine weeks to go before the big day, it’s time to start getting organised for Christmas. You can avoid the traffic mayhem, the parking challenges, the frustration of finding out that the perfect gift you wanted to buy is sold out by a little forward planning.
Christmas Organising
So with only 9 weeks to go until Christmas, the first thing I wanted to focus on is getting the house in order for all those extra guests or parties that you will be having.
First, review what maintenance needs to be done around the house like painting, repairs, pictures to be hung and those small annoying little maintenance issues etc. As it gets closer to Christmas it gets harder to get a good handyman or builder as they are all booked out, so book your handyman now.
Christmas Spring Cleaning
Secondly, if you have not finished your spring cleaning, now is the perfect time to finish it off. Now is the time to:
- Wash the windows inside and outside
- Get the carpet, blinds, sofa’s and upholstery cleaned
- Tidy up the garden
Decluttering The Spare Room
Thirdly, now is the perfect time to get the spare room organised. You can purchase some really nifty storage solutions that will look great in the spare room, whilst providing the perfect storage solution to contain all the clutter.
Image: from http://www.plush.com.au
Whether it is a computer cupboard that contains all the papers and mess, a storage bench, a fold-up bed that comes out from the wall or an ottoman that doubles as a pull out bed, you can find some versatile storage solutions.
Image: from http://www.plush.com.au
Perhaps you might need to purchase new linen, doona covers, pillows or matching towels. Plan to purchase these items soon, rather than the week before Christmas, when stock levels are low.
Now, look at what items are cluttering up the room. Think about the things and decide what should be thrown out, what can be donated to charity and what can be sold on eBay. If you plan your declutter well, find out when your next hard rubbish waste collection is and get rid of any unwanted furniture and avoid having to pay for rubbish removal or skip fees.
With a bit of forward planning and professional organising you can avoid many of those last minute stresses like trying to get your home ready for Christmas.
Happy Christmas Planning!
Natalie Morey
Professional Organiser.
