Tired of clutter and never ending clean-ups? Do over filled drawers and shelves ruin your Feng Shui? Here are five ways to simplify your living space...
If you spend more time dusting more than reading, take an hour to pare down your books and create some calm in those overburdened book cases. Keep anything you will read this year and books with sentimental value. Donate the rest to your local library or sell them at a second hand book store. Unearth that library card and start borrowing instead of buying.
Keep what matches and donate the rest. Worried about plates for large parties? Rent them for one off events or, for more casual get togethers, ask friends to bring their own. The goal: when the dishwasher is empty everything should fit in your cupboards with room to spare.
Can you do a cartwheel in your living room? Remove those end tables and free up some space. Take a page from design magazines and get that show home feeling with less furniture.
Ditch the junk mail/keys/rubber bands basket and get some sanity. Having piles of things that you need to sort or organize on display makes it hard to relax. Try storing things in an office or den so you can enjoy some peace in the rooms you use most often.
Keep your moisturizers and make-up off the counter and under the sink. For a guest bathroom, just have hand soap at the ready and for family use bathrooms keep it simple with the basics. A clean sink space is easier to wipe down and makes a small space appear larger.
Finally, don't keep reading material in bathroom—it just encourages people to linger!
Rachel Jonat writes about life simplifying at theminimalistmom.com. Shes been published in the Globe and Mail and has discussed minimalist life on radio and television. Rachel lives in Vancouver with her son, Henry and husband, Chris.
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