Nottingham pro organiser Lisa Coe on how to declutter your home — and keep it tidy for good
Tips and tricks that will make spaces big and small sparkle...
Even though it’s not spring cleaning season just yet, you might already be thinking about the items piled up in your home and wondering how to get on top of them.
It’s always a good idea to plan out your decluttering game, so you can make the best use of your time. We’ve asked professional organiser Lisa Coe for her top tips for decluttering, so you can make your space aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.
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A place for everything — decluttering tips and tricks from a Nottingham pro organiser
By Gemma Faulkner
Photos by Lisa Coe
When it comes to decluttering your home, it can be a little hard to know where to start. Maybe you’re dealing with a chaotic bits and bobs drawer. Maybe you have a kitchen cupboard with way too many ingredients. Maybe you have a spare room that’s overcrowded. Or perhaps you’re dealing with all of these and more.
So, it’s easy for clutter to build up. What’s less simple is facing it. However, by putting a little bit of time in a day to spruce things up, not only will you make your home sparkle, but you’ll feel more relaxed.
“Life can be very overwhelming and busy,” says Lisa Coe, professional organiser at Happy Space Organised by Lisa. “My advice is to start small. Don’t try to tackle the whole house at once — it sets you up for failure.”
Trained and accredited by Dilly Carter, one of the UK’s leading professional organisers and star of the BAFTA-nominated show Sort Your Life Out, Lisa understands the profound impact of decluttering. She has worked alongside Dilly as part of her renowned Declutter Dollies team and has even contributed behind the scenes of the BBC One programme.
Lisa combined her training and her background in psychology to create an ethos that’s built around not only revamping your space for aesthetics but for reducing stress and creating a calmer mind.
One of her favourite pieces of advice is focusing on one area at a time. When it comes to tackling the dreaded ‘junk drawer’ (and we all have one) is to give everything a home. “Seventy-five per cent will end up in the bin anyway, so focus on what you need and give it a home,” she advises. To avoid confusion and clutter, drawer organisers can be a game changer.
Moving from closing the drawers to opening the wardrobe, you may be faced with a whole stack of clothes. “In today’s consumption culture, you’ll probably find you have more than one of something. Do you really need that many black vest tops?” she asks. If you find duplicates of items in your wardrobe, you can ask friends and friends if they’d like them, donate them to charity shops, or even make a bit of cash selling them on eBay or Vinted.
The same goes for items in your kitchen. Check for items that can be pulled into one bag or box (like baking ingredients, grains, and nuts) and put them together. Have a look through your canned items and see if there’s anything you definitely won’t use. For anything unopened, you can always give these away. Make sure to check the expiry date of items while you’re sorting and before donating anything. Fingers crossed you don’t find any cans from too many years ago.
The key is finding a home for everything, as this will help reduce stress and help locate what you need faster in future. No more hunting down batteries, searching for pens or panicking when you can’t find the remote.
Once you’ve sorted through your items and decluttered your space, it’s important to shift your shopping mindset, so you don’t end up with clutter in future. We live in a world where we often purchase more than we need, so starting with this is certainly a good call. The key, Lisa says, is establishing achievable routines. “Set a routine and stick to it,” she advises. A tidy space, she believes, truly leads to a tidy mind.
Lisa says that after she’s finished reducing visual clutter, so many of her clients tell her how relieved they feel after transforming their homes, finding tranquillity in newly organised spaces. She loves seeing that weight being lifted from their shoulders.
Beyond just giving them a hand with cleaning up, Lisa aims to help her clients shift their mindset. “Once you find time to fit organising into your routine, you develop a critical eye for your belongings,” she explains. This then makes maintaining your hard work easy to fold into everyday life. Lisa believes that staying on top of a soothing space not only creates a happy environment, but also gives you more time to do the things you love.
Whether you’re looking to neaten up a small space or give your home a full refresh, giving your place a declutter is a brilliant way to help you thrive. After all, it’s not just about organising — it’s about creating room for a more peaceful, intentional life.
happyspaceorganisedbylisa.co.uk
@happyspaceorganisedbylisa
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