You may have noticed we have a penchant for organised living here at The Box Room. Scroll through the blog and you’ll see we’re always going on about rejecting a stressful life full of the piles and piles of things that, despite our best efforts, we all accumulate, and ending your stuffocation. So while the sun’s high in the sky and the days are long, we’ve got some advice for those thinking of having a thorough summer declutter. Trust us: there’s no better time to do it.
Author Archive for Anna Byrne
5 tricks to make your London flat feel HUGE
Feature image credit: Home Designing For most of us living in London, space is an issue: you could probably do with a little more room between the dining table and the wall, for example, or you’ve stopped buying new clothes because you can’t shut your wardrobe doors. We’ve been told time and time again that light colours help to make a room feel bigger, but what else can you do to create a sense of space, light and calm?
A spring declutter in 6 easy steps
How do you know when it’s time to get the spring cleaning underway again? Is it when the daffs are out, the birds are doing their thing, and the big yellow ball in the sky seems to be producing a bit of warmth? Or is it – like us – when #springcleaning starts threatening to trend on Twitter?
Moving house in London: 5 life hack services that’ll sort you out
Feature image: The Guardian Gone are the days when searching for a new home in London meant scouring dodgy estate agent windows and booking a viewing with no idea what awaited inside. These days, we’ll have surveyed the area via Google Street View and enjoyed a 360-degree virtual tour from the comfort of our sofa before we send our first speculative email. In fact, despite its reputation as one of the most stressful things we go through in our lives – even more so in the chaos of London’s streets – moving house needn’t be a headache.
Moving in together: two people, one flat, no space
Feature image credit: Buzzmove Were you to stumble upon AskMen while scouring the internet for information about moving in with your partner, you’d be left with the impression that it’s only a good idea if you are: a middle-aged man still living at home eager to save some money on your rent and utility bills, or sick of your commute and your boy or girlfriend lives closer to your office.
Last-minute checklist for moving house
Feature image credit: Fine Art America Wouldn’t it be great if moving house involved six months of planning, a colour-coded spread sheet and a label-printing machine? Well, yes. But, like it or not, we live in the real world, which is full of last-minute changes, broken computers and stupidly packed schedules. You might be faced with an unexpected move from rented accommodation or perhaps you’ve been waiting for an age to complete a house purchase that’s suddenly going through – either way, we’ve all been faced with an eleventh-hour house move. And it’s no fun. To help you with your priorities over the next few days/hours/minutes, we’ve put together a handy checklist for moving house. We hope it helps – and good luck!
Tidy home, tidy mind: making your home a relaxing place to be
Feature image credit: Freshome Life in the city is stressful - fact. What with all those sharp elbows on the tube, unreasonable working hours and packed social schedules, there’s very little time for relaxing at home. So when it does come around, it’s precious. You don’t want to sit in a cramped, cluttered living room, worrying about the fact that you haven’t organised the cupboard under the sink for years, or painfully aware that you can’t put your feet up on the coffee table for all the plants.
Festive makeover tips: 8 Christmas decorating ideas for small space living
The festive markets are in full swing, twinkly lights have been switched on across the country, and soppy supermarket ads have flooded our TV screens. It’s official, people: Christmas is almost upon us, which means it’s time to get your tree up and the seasonal decorations hung for all to see – if you haven’t already. There’s no excuse not to get involved in spreading Christmas cheer, so even if your home is more compact than most, don’t let that put you off embracing the festive season. There are lots of ways you can decorate your London flat to make it all cosy and sparkly this Christmas – here are some of our favourites.
Having the family to stay: a Christmas checklist
Ah, Christmas: a time for food, films, merriment, and ‘quality time’ with the family. Indeed, the festive period wouldn’t be the same without our loved ones around us for the exchanging of gifts and cringe-worthy anecdotes. But it seems that whenever it’s your turn to have the family over, the Christmas preparations involve a lot more than just the odd bit of gift wrapping and sticking a tree up in your living room – there’s also the panic of where on earth to put everyone. Christmas may be a cosy time of year, but there is such a thing as too cosy. To keep your space organised, have a read of our handy Christmas checklist to work out which holiday essentials you may need to dig out of storage, the garage or the attic, and what you can stash away until the festive chaos is over.
Infographic: what not to buy people for Christmas
So here we are again, with just a few weeks until Christmas Day, social engagements booked in for most evenings and, let’s be honest, not many presents purchased. But don’t panic – there’s still time. There’s no need to get yourself into a panicky, sugar-fuelled shopping frenzy on Christmas Eve and end up with bags full of unwanted Christmas gifts. Nobody loves the idea of handing over a multipack of air freshener to their favourite aunt come Christmas Day’s present exchange, or a pair of XXS SpongeBob SquarePants Y-fronts to their brother.
Talking storage: the secret lives of collectors
Storage – or a lack thereof – is a common gripe among homeowners, but for collectors, this problem reaches a whole new level. We’re all guilty of having stuff around the house, but when it comes to collecting, how can you proudly display your valuables at the same time as keeping clutter to a minimum? We first explored this when we chatted with some Comic Con attendees, but, more recently, we caught up with a few avid collectors to find out a bit about their hoarding habits and storage solutions. Meet George, Chris, Jan and Lee, who together boast some very impressive and eclectic collections indeed.
Storage ideas for your London flat: amazing organisation
We Londoners have it pretty darn good: beautiful architecture, great food and drink, more history than you can shake a stick at and culture up to our eyeballs. One thing we are short of, though, is space. Cramped tube carriages, elbow-knocking supermarket aisles and crowded pavements are just some of the battles we must face when trying to get from A to B each day. With square footage at a premium outside, it makes sense that we’re a little squeezed at home, too – but there are things that can be done about this. As well as putting your extra bits and bobs in storage with Boxman for a little while, you can declutter the stuff you need day in, day out, with some nifty storage ideas.