Tidy As You Go : Simplify Your Life Series 2016

Source: studiostationery.nl

Tidy space = tidy mind.  That's certainly the case with me.  If my space is cluttered and messy I can feel anxious and stressed out.  Not to the point where I am rocking in the corner dribbling, but it certainly makes me grumpy (my boyfriend will attest to that).  So this year I am more determined than ever to deal with it rather than moan!

My history:

I was always a bit of an odd, neat child.  Whenever I'd had toys out I would willingly put them away at the end (and make my friends help me).  However when I became an adult I got kind of lazy.  I'd still blitz my space every now and then when it got unbearable, but generally I began to get used to living in my own squaller and clutter.  Although I never felt truly happy in my space as a result.

A change was needed:

I think finally buying my own property has led to me wanting to take greater pride in my home environment more than when I rented and nothing felt very permanent.   I also took inspiration from friends and social media to form ideas about the type of home I wanted create for myself.

Source:  Sadly my own guest bedroom!

I have tried a few different techniques, some have worked and others not so much.  As you can see from the picture above there are still areas of the house that need more work!

Source:  My Living Room

A starter for ten:

One of my earlier discoveries was a quote (most likely on Pintrest) that just resonated with me so much:  Don't put it down, put it away.  So simple but honestly when I looked at my space and what was bugging me about it I could see that one of the main issues was just stuff left out.

Tidying as I go is now what I try to do.  I do not always achieve it in the moment - sometimes feeding the dog takes priority over hanging my coat and putting my boots away.  I am ok with this as when the chaos subsides I can then take a minute to deal with those items.  The trick is to do it that day and not leave things out.  Clutter breeds more clutter that's for sure.

Word of caution:  I do not aim for show home perfection - that's just not realistic and failure to achieve that would be demotivating and counter productive.  My aim is just to be a bit better every day.

Benefits:

I love having a home that is visitor ready and when the doorbell goes I do not fly into a mad panic about the state of my space.  That in itself is calming and reduces stress in my life.  My mind is clearer when my space is clearer, which has allowed me to perform better at work as well.  Bonus!

I'd love to hear how you keep on top of the home-life clutter - what are your top tips?