Hello again,
and thank you reading Article No. 2 in the series "Home and garden with class".
The fact that you are here means that you are looking for advice on how to make the place where you live the fulfillment of your dreams.
Many people do not, in fact, feel good about their homes, and if you are one of them, you probably feel an impulse to move to a "higher level". This is completely natural. Some want to move to a safer neighborhood, others to the countryside, and others to the city center. Whatever the case, we should not give up on our dreams, but we should also do something to improve our situation as it is today.
More important than anything else is to make ourselves feel that we are truly at home in our houses or apartments. I know that having two or three children can make this task all the more difficult, but does it really need to be? We all love to moan and complain. We feel cramped in narrow spaces, and we see endless clutter and toys scattered here and there, the double stroller, and soaring stairs to overcome when we’re laden with heavy grocery shopping bags.
Courtesy: http://pre00.deviantart.net
Take a deep breath and realize that things only look worse than they really are.
Remember why you bought this home or signed the lease for it and why you were so enchanted with it. If you live in the city center, you are already in a good situation. Many things will be much easier.
Yes, it would be nice to have a country estate, but in the center, nearly everything you need is close by. You do not have to spend so much of your life commuting and running errands. You do not have to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning and run, run, run to get ready for work, commute, and send the children to daycare, school, or extracurricular activities. The doctor is only a few blocks away. There are many shops to choose from, and the swimming pool, cinema, theater, bike paths, and other attractions are also nearby. You will probably also be surprised at the variety and affordability of the restaurants. I understand the problem. Maybe you have a small apartment, but what about all the rest? I think it's time for you to make the best of what you have.
It really does not take so much to change your environment to the point that you would swear you are living in a new dimension. This is partly a matter of taking some simple actions, but also a matter of looking at things from a different perspective.
So, try to change your thinking; focus on solving problems, not feeling sad; and list the pros and cons of your situation.
1)
I do not have a garden, but I can have plants on the balcony and window sills and herbs in hanging pots that give the kitchen a fresh aroma and make it look even nicer. Starting a garden is an especially good project if you have children. Get them involved and let each of them have a plant to take care of. You do not need to have a large garden to have beautiful flowers and herbs in your apartment.
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2)
We're cramped - are you sure?
Many of my friends travel around the world. They have gone to places like in India or Tunisia, and always when visiting us tell us about how many peaceful, quiet, special places they have seen and experienced.
Most families in India live in one-room apartments and dream of a two-room "apartment" with a kitchen and hallway. How is your housing situation.
Do you just have one room?
Well, the secret is in your attitude: you have more and you want more. You should be grateful that you already have so much. You are now likely in the same or better situation as the vast majority of people in, for example, the city of Seoul in South Korea, where the people do little more at home than sleep because their living spaces are so small. Many people in Seoul could go home earlier, but they crave the spaces outside of their homes be they the park, the street, or restaurants. That's how it is in Seoul and in many other over-crowded cities. The feeling of claustrophobia in such small apartments is very common.
Of course, I am not writing about those who earn well-above average incomes and own big houses or huge apartments. They are not our primary concern.
3)
Clutter, you stumble over everything - but you do not have to. I know that ordering your home feel like quite a challenge. However, as Aunt Alicia in the musical “Gigi” said, "If I can do it too ..." And I'm working on it all the time. So we'll work together.
Gigi 1958
We will start with hard and fast rules.
We have to learn organization and planning because we cannot move without them. At the beginning, think about whether you are able to accept unannounced guests?
Would you feel comfortable if the same guests would like to stay the night? I will try to show you how you can always be prepared for such a surprise. The details of the cleaning will be discussed next time. Now, we will focus on what will help you clean up, that is, the organization of visible and invisible points.
The first hard and fast rule:
You have to get rid of the cluttered nooks and crannies where you throw everything that you don’t know what to do with, or tell yourself, “I will deal with it later.” We rarely look in these places but we think about them all the time and procrastinate on setting them in order. Such thinking causes us to become accustomed to collecting useless things. We have little hiding places everywhere - somewhere on the last shelf of the bookcase, where we put things "for later" or in drawers because we think that the things thrown in them are invisible but also in the cupboard or in the attic.
http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2011/02/entryway-mudroom-inspiration-ideas-coat-closets-diy-built-ins-benches-shelves-and-storage-solutions.html
So, try to organize even just one drawer every month or one such cluttered spot.
You do not have to change your furniture or rearrange your apartment to get rid of dead spots.
Just sort out things in a drawer using boxes of different sizes, boxes of the kind that you often throw away after your weekly shopping.
After each laundry load, you can see more or less the state of clothing and know which pieces are still good, which you can no longer use, and those that your children have outgrown. Put all of these into a carton. When it is full, take it to the good will recycling container or give it directly to those in need. Do not wait until you have an entire dresser, cabinet, or 10 bags of it. Let moving things along this way become your new routine.
The pan you use for making pancakes is becoming more and more worn. Do not just leave it in the cupboard, on the cupboard, or in the basement. Just throw it away, and when you go shopping at the supermarket next time, look at all the great pans that are available and their reasonable prices. You will be surprised that the choice is so big and the prices are so affordable.
Children's toys - I suggest you discuss this matter with your children:
a)selling things online and accounting of expenses are real lessons for your children about economics and can be fun,
b) or charitable donation and giving toys to other children, e.g. to a younger family or to an orphanage or hospital, or any other place where there is always a lack of toys.
And so, step by step, think about what to do with all the kinds of things that you have accumulated in spaces here and there before you put still more things there. This will actually take you less time than later cleaning the "garret", which could take hours or even a few days, and you will certainly feel better about yourself.
The second hard and fast rule:
Assign one item to each compartment in your home. This will greatly simplify your general house cleaning. We often end the day or come back from shopping putting a lot of different things on the table in the kitchen, on the table in the hall, or on the table in the dining room, or in other such places. This is how we begin to accumulate things. Bills, other letters, holiday cards, mobile chargers, used batteries, keys, change, pieces of broken toys….all kinds of little things.
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What is the solution?
If you set a good example to the rest of your family and always put or throw things away, such as used batteries in the electronic waste container, bills in a binder with separate sections for different utilities, or letters to be answered on the desk, keys into the cabinet in the hall, and dirty clothing into the laundry basket, your quality of life will vastly improve.
If you are alone, then your effort will be a 100% success; if you live with others, then your effort will be at least a 50% success. The other 50% is up to your husband and children, and they will learn from you and begin to put everything in its proper place. Then, all the little cluttered places will be cleared and your home will become much more comfortable in every way. If you master these two things, then you can go to the cleaning plan, and you will no longer groan at the thought of having to clean.
I realize that many people hate cleaning. This is no surprise if you just clean your dream home, apartment, apartment once or at most two times a year and move useless things from one place to another. Cleaning in this case takes "centuries". If, however, you make a habit of certain activities that I mention on my blog, then the annual general clean-up will not be such a big deal anymore.
So, try to take care of all the little cluttered spots in your home. The next steps are in the next installment.
Bibliography: Scott, Jennifer L. At Madame Chic's.
