5 Ways to Make Your Living Room Minimalistic

The living room is a place for entertaining guests, relaxing after a long day, and spending time with family. But it can also be a cluttered mess. If you're looking to declutter and simplify your life, making your living room more minimalistic is a great place to start. Here are 5 easy ways to do just that.

Get Rid of Excess Furniture

Take a look around your living room. Is there any furniture that you don't use or need? Any pieces that are taking up valuable space? If so, get rid of them! The fewer pieces of furniture you have, the more spacious and open your living room will feel. If you’re not sure, try removing a few pieces of furniture and storing them elsewhere. This way you can see if you actually need them before getting rid of them. 

Donate or Sell Unwanted Items 

If you want to declutter your home and create a more minimal living room, consider donating or selling unwanted items. Not only will this give you more space, but it will also make you feel good knowing that your unwanted items are going to someone who can use them. You can start by going through each item in your living room and deciding whether you really need it. If not, set it aside to donate or sell. You may be surprised at how much stuff you can get rid of this way. And once you've decluttered your living room, you'll be able to enjoy your space more and live a simpler life.

Keep Only Essential Items in Storage

When it comes to storage, less is definitely more. Only keep items in your living room that you absolutely need and use on a regular basis. Everything else can be stored out of sight in another room or in a storage unit. 

Use Multipurpose Furniture 

Invest in furniture that serves more than one purpose. For example, instead of a coffee table and an end table, get a coffee table with built-in storage. That way you can declutter surfaces and have a place to store things like blankets and pillows. 

Let in Natural Light 

Choose shades that are neutral in tone and allow you to let in as much natural light as possible. Even something as simple as window shades can make a huge difference. Not only will this make your living room feel brighter and more inviting, but it will also make it appear more spacious. 

Making your living room more minimalistic doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. By following these simple tips, you can declutter your space and simplify your life in no time at all!

Guest Post - 6 Benefits to Downsizing Your Home

There’s no singular reason why downsizing your home is the right choice.There is the obvious financial benefit but this is not always the motivation. Times change and life moves quickly. Houses can suit you down to the ground for a few years but then may become more of a burden than a home. Take a look at some of the benefits to downsizing: 

1. More liquid capital 

2. An opportunity to relocate

3. Trade old for new 

4. Reduce the number of rooms

5. Decrease maintenance jobs

6. Find the quiet life 

1. More liquid capital

Let’s get the first and most obvious benefit of downsizing your home out of the way. When you decrease the size of your home, with all other factors staying the same such as location, house age and local faculties, your new house that you’ve downsized into should cost less than your old home. 

Housing prices in the UK have been on a fairly steady rise. London has had the biggest boom but overall, it is safe to say that if you’ve lived in your house for a number of years, it will be worth more than when you bought it. 

Freeing up this capital (money) increase means you’ll be able to spend it on some of the finer things in life. Whatever your motivations for downsizing your home, having some more cash available to you is certainly a sweetener of the deal. 

2. An Opportunity To Relocate

Downsizing doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to stick to where your current home is. You can view it as an opportunity to up sticks and change your base and likely lifestyle. 

Your location change can be as simple as moving closer to public transport links. Or perhaps, you wish to settle into a city where everything is a short walk away. Conversely, you might want the quieter country life where life is mosey and ticks along at your pace. 

With relocation also comes the opportunity to change your lifestyle. If you’ve been a city dweller you’ll likely have had little experience of the natural beauty the world has to offer. If you seized the opportunity to move near a beach or sea front you could pick up any number of watersports. Similarly, the countryside comes with countryside walks. Relocation really does open up new opportunities. 

3. Trade Old For New

A family home becomes very sentimental. Unless you’re a serial renovator, you might not have kept up all the rooms and exterior of your house up to date. It’s natural to want to make your home exactly how you want it and once you feel it's there, why change it?

But times do change and that playroom you made for your children who are now parents doesn’t seem as useful as it once was. Renovations also cost money. Something we all know is not easy to come by. 

When you downsize your home, you can choose your new home to be a new build or at least slightly more up to date than your current home. You get the ease of walking into a house that has all the modern conveniences that you didn’t think was worth the investment in your old home. Potential buyers of the home you’re downsizing from get a nice passion project. It’s a win win. 

4. Reduce The Number Of Rooms

This is a close second to the most obvious benefit to downsizing your home. Less rooms means less upkeep. 

Sure, when you had a large family that needed space to grow and entertain themselves, having a room for everyone in the family was very practical. However, now the young ones are getting on with their own lives. It is time you had less rooms to clean. Less cleaning means more time to do what you actually enjoy. 

5. Decrease Maintenance Jobs 

When you have a large family home, it requires a lot of upkeep to prevent it losing value or from becoming unkempt. It is a commitment maintaining a large home and while the time is right this can feel like a very naturally enjoyable part of life. 

However, it can become a repetitive task when you don’t have that same desire to be moving upwards. Downsizing your home and removing all the maintenance jobs you committed many years to will certainly free up some time. 

6. Find The Quiet Life

It’s been touched on previously in this article that downsizing your home gives you the opportunity to change lifestyle, and why not choose the quiet life?

Finding your less sizable home in a rural location means that you can live a simple and fulfilled life. You can choose to have a small plot of land to do all that gardening you wish you had time for before. With some spare cash you can spend it on things that would’ve been considered excessive, such as a new set of golf clubs or some chickens. 

To conclude, downsizing your home comes with many benefits and can enable you to change the way you're living by changing your location, local amenities and giving you a bit of extra spending money. 

Author Bio

This article was written by Zac for Harris & Birt - Residential, Rural and Commercial Estate Agents. 

5 Ways to Get Your Family Onboard with Organizing Your Home

We all strive to have a neat and well-organized home. However, if your family doesn't share your desires and is unwilling to cooperate, achieving this feat can be a pipe dream. Needless to say, finding ways to get your family on board with your organizing plans is vital.

And while it may seem far-fetched, it actually isn't. Regardless of what the personality of your family members is, with a bit of patience and the right approach, they will be onboard in no time.

Tips for Getting Your Family Onboard with Organizing Your Home

There are several benefits to living in an organized home, including:

• Better physical and mental health

• Simplicity in finding various items

• Simplicity in cleaning your home

• Income generation - the process of organizing your home, you and your family come across items that you no longer need that you can sell to earn extra cash.

Despite these benefits, convincing your family members to get on board with organizing your home can be a tall order. Below are a few tips that can help you convince them:

1.     Lead By Example

Let's face it: It can be difficult to deviate from your habits just because someone told you to do so. For instance, if someone told you to stop eating a given snack, the chances are that you wouldn't instantly stop doing so. However, if they led by example and stopped indulging in that given snack, the chances are that you would be more receptive to follow suit.

The same goes for organizing your home. If you pressure your family members into being more organized, they will likely resist. Instead, you should try leading by example. Picture your space and work towards decluttering it. Once your family members notice your efforts in making your home tidy and more organized, they will most likely feel inspired to do the same. 

That said, organizing communal areas will make it much easier for you to onboard your family into organizing your home. If you are not making any effort to organize your home, it will be challenging to convince your family to do so.

2.     Set Organization Goals Together

We all like to see progress. The best way of determining how much progress we've made is by comparing our efforts with our set goals. Setting goals and achieving them gives us a feeling of fulfillment.

Engage your family in finding decluttering goals that benefit everyone. For instance, if your goal is to earn extra money, you could convince your family to gather the items they aren't using so you can put them up for sale in a yard sale or a garage sale. You may also convince them to donate the items they aren't using to charity.

Another goal you could set is to sell some of your belongings and move to a smaller place. Inconvenient as it may seem, downsizing is a great way to get organized. With less stuff, you and your family will have an easier time organizing your home.

3.     Be Respectful of Everyone's Belongings

When organizing your home, ensure that you respect everyone's belongings lest you encounter resistance. Don't be pushy—be patient with your family member's spaces and belongings. You will find it challenging to get them on board if you insist on abruptly getting rid of the things they hold dear. 

Create dedicated spaces for every member of your family where they can keep things that are valuable to them.

Never forget this. Just because you think a given item is of no importance and should be tossed away, doesn't mean that your loved ones feel the same way. Give them time to get rid of their belongings that they may not need rather than forcing them to do so

4.     Involve All Your Family Members By Giving Everyone a Responsibility

You reside in your home as a team, so everyone should put some weight on the organization process. This means you should assign everyone a specific task and let them undertake it to the best of their abilities without meddling too much.

Doing this will make everyone feel useful and included, making the organization process smoother.

That said, you should exercise patience for everyone to get accustomed to the new arrangement, especially your kids. Show them that you appreciate their effort in helping make your home more organized rather than pointing out their mistakes every now and then. Such an approach will make them develop a positive attitude towards the new order instead of repulsing it.

5.     Take Small Steps First and Offer Help When Need Be

Don't expect miracles. Start small. Your family may need time to detach themselves from various items. And so, you need to respect their process. This means explaining the benefits of decluttering and organization and giving them time to do it independently.

Also, ensure that you look for any signs that your family needs help with the organization. Your kids, spouse, or other family members may be unwilling to admit it when they need assistance. So be on the lookout for any signs of struggle and help them whenever necessary.

Hire a Professional Organizer to Help 

Most people think that organizing a home is as simple as throwing away the things they don't need and then cleaning up. Well, that's not the case. Organizing a home not only involves decluttering and cleaning but also requires that you strategically place every item such that it can be easily located.

A professional home organizer can help you toward this end. A good home organizer will consider what matters to you and your family, the size of your space, the amount of clutter you have, how your home is currently organized, and so much more.

Their job is to organize your home in a way that suits you and your family members in the shortest time possible to help you avoid the burnout and fatigue that comes with this task.

If you are looking to get your home organized by professional organizers, they’re are many options out there that can handle all different types of organizational projects. Some of our favorites include:

• H2H Organizing

• Professional Organizers BR - Olivia Parks

• KonMari - Marie Kondo

Professional Organizers can make your home a clutter-free sanctuary where you are in control and help keep it that way. Whether you are looking to get your home’s organization project started or looking to have it fully completed, professional organizers can help you and your family reach your home organization goals. 

How to Unpack Efficiently After Moving

The move is done, the truck has left, and all your belongings have been moved into your new home. The hard part has ended, but now begins the long process of unpacking. This can be tedious and tiring, but if you follow some helpful tips, you’ll get through it faster and with less stress! Here are some suggestions from the best long distance moving companies that guide you on how to unpack efficiently after moving.

Use Clearly Labeled Boxes

One of the best ways to save time and energy after moving is by using clearly labeled boxes. The clearer you are with labeling, the more likely you are going to find what you need quickly. Labeling boxes can be as easy as writing the room that the box will go in on one side and then labeling each box with a list of items it contains on the other side.

Separate Large Items from Smaller Items

Large items are typically big furniture, appliances, or other large items that are expensive and difficult to transport. These should be placed in the room of your choice and left there for now. This will allow you to make the space around them workable for small items.

Smaller items such as clothes, linens, dishes, books, etc. can be unpacked easily from boxes and put away without much thought or effort since they're not as cumbersome.

Sort By Room

- Living Room: Place furniture where you want it. Fill bookshelves, and arrange electronics.

- Bedroom: Put sheets on the bed and add anything from your dresser that you need for the night and a comfortable ambiance in the bedroom. Hang clothing in your closet and put shoes in the closet or under the bed. Throw away anything that doesn't belong in this room (including trash). If something doesn't belong here but you are not sure where it goes, set it aside so you can find a place for everything later.

- Bathroom: Put toiletries on the bathroom counter. Add towels to the towel rack. Hang shirts and pants inside the wardrobe. Hang jackets on hangers inside of the wardrobe if there is enough space. Sort through makeup, hair products, bath products, etc., and put them into their respective places inside the cabinet or drawers.

Sort Items into Piles (Toss, Donate, Keep, Repair)

Some things need to be shifted to their specific places. You can choose among the below.

Toss - Anything that no longer has use or is broken.

Donate - Items you want to give away, but are not necessarily in good condition. 

Keep - Items you plan on using and need for the home (e.g., clothes, pots and pans, dinnerware). 

Repair - Items that can be fixed so they can be used again (e.g., a dresser with a broken leg).

Label Boxes and Piles with Date of Move-In

Label your boxes with the date of when you moved in. This will help you know which boxes are more recent and which ones may have been there for a while. 

You can also use color coding so that you only open the most recent boxes first. Red is for items you want to deal with right away, orange is for items that need some attention, green is for items to store away later and blue is for things that need to be packed away.

Ask for Help When Necessary

To unpack efficiently, you should enlist the help of friends and family. Even if they can't help for a full day, ask them for an hour or two. If you're lucky enough to have someone helping for the entire day, you'll be able to take care of household tasks like cooking or cleaning while they get your things unpacked and put away.

Enjoy a Clean Home!

It may be tempting to leave your items in their boxes, but unpacking your belongings quickly will make the move more tolerable. It also saves you time and energy for the next phase of moving. First, set aside a few hours for unpacking. To make this process easier, start from one side of the room and work your way around it so that you are not constantly going back and forth between two areas.