Curb Your Clutter

It’s time to declutter, and a young mother’s fancy turns to stomping wildly through the house, yanking up 90 percent of all the toys and random articles underfoot, tossing them into big black garbage bags and selling the works to a consignment shop?

Yes, we all have these daydreams, but the solution is not to run amok through your children’s precious things. All you really need is patience and a few professional tips on de-cluttering, reorganizing and decorating.

Tanya Collins, an Ottawa designer and owner of Tanya Collins Interior Design, gets calls at this time of year from families eager to start the new season on the right note—by clearing some space, reducing the mess and reorganizing what’s left.

Mudrooms, family rooms, and rec rooms are all fair game this time of year. There’s nothing like a change of season to make you want to review how well organized and functional your home is. As Tanya puts it, “When there’s a place for everything, your home not only looks more appealing, but runs more smoothly and efficiently.”

Here are five tips from Tanya to help you kick the clutter to the curb and reclaim your Zen.

1. Eliminate items that are not essential. Ditch the toys the kids rarely use, clothes they’ve outgrown or stacks of old magazines that are just taking up space.
2. Find better ways to store the things that really are essential. For example, consider repurposing an old dresser. If you don’t need it in a bedroom anymore, what about using it in your foyer or mudroom to store hats, mitts, scarves and shoes for the coming season? It provides a place to put your keys and mail, and by hanging a mirror above it, not only do you have a great way to check your appearance on the way out, but you add a greater feeling of lightness to the space.
3. Use hooks. Supplementing storage areas with hooks on the wall can help with extra coats and backpacks. If you’re short on storage space, try using baskets, filing boxes or lacquered boxes in bookcases to store items that are not so aesthetically pleasing.
4. Look for multi-purpose furniture. Think about bringing in pieces of furniture like an ottoman or bench that also stores items inside. These can be useful in family rooms, basement rec rooms, front halls or at the foot of a bed.
5. If you simply cannot find a way to make your limited storage work even after thinning things down, you may want to consider adding built-in storage or retrofitting your existing closets to suit your needs.

If only designers had a tip for picking up your kids’ socks, too…maybe we’ll settle for making sure those socks have a home instead.

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