As you probably know, I go into a lot of homes every week and meet wonderful people. More often than not I see homes which are over stuffed and worn out which is just a part of life. I think that people often don’t see their own lives until it is through the eyes of another. Sometimes when my estimator takes photos of someone’s home for installation purposes they exclaim “I didn’t realize how messy my house was!”
Most people experience this, some more often than others – and it varies with the existence of children and pets. Even me, myself and I leave a trail of clutter around the house and I come home wondering who has been messing up my kitchen while I have been at work! I have written about clutter before and the benefits of simplifying one’s lifestyle and I have received a great deal of positive response from that article. Many people WANT to simplify and refresh their homes but seem to not know where to start the process.
My best advice is to start – so simple it’s shocking right? Clean what is dirty, fix what is broken, put away what is cluttering and get rid of what isn’t being used. It’s a simple formula that you should apply to every room of your house. I find that most people use their cupboards and closets to hide shameful amounts of products, food and just junk that are never used. Let’s start a revolution and clean it out!
Clean out the corners that hide dirt and allergens that make our indoor air quality poor. Wipe and wash hard surfaces to rid them of germs and dirt and thoroughly clean and disinfect linens, carpets and mattresses on a regular basis.
I sound like the queen of clean….believe me I am not but I do realize the benefits of clean corners and freshly sanitized rooms, it is an advantage to our health to keep our homes clean and clutter free. Recently I had my house professionally cleaned by reddeergreenclean.com and I was thrilled with the result! The girls moved some of my decor around when they dusted and scrubbed and it made me realize that there are some parts that I never think to dust! I get so used to looking at those items everyday that I don’t see them after awhile – ergo I don’t dust said items!
To see these items moved from their familiar spot reminded me that there are corners in my house that do not get touched. Green Clean Red Deer’s motto is ‘We don’t cut corners, we clean them.’ I think that is absolutely wonderful!
The bottom line is, get deep into the corners of your home and move a few things around. This will enable you to clean out corners and reduce clutter which will give you much more satisfaction in your home. The environment is far more important than the design in the long run for your comfort and health and you will reap the benefits of a thorough work out in your home through de-cluttering and cleaning.
Kim Lewis is an interior designer in Red Deer with Carpet Colour Centre. Contact her at 403-343-7711 ext 227 or email her at klewis@carpetcolourcentre.com.
