Home Organiser & Stylist

Rework your Kitchen

Here’s another one of Eco Organisers-Rework

Rework what you have to give your kitchen a bit of spice

When it’s time to either sell your house or you just want to add some spice, have a look to see what you have stashed away in the cupboards before buying anything. So de clutter those cupboards.

Choose an accent colour to highlight your kitchen and don’t worry if you do not have bowls and platters in this colour. If your accent colour is green simply add green apples or limes to a white platter. This also looks very effective with vegetables, so check out your fridge.

Your future dinner veggies may help sell your house!

Another idea, look for a coloured pot such as a casserole dish for the cooktop and leave a recipe book open on a stand with a picture that has similar colours that you are introducing to the room.

Only ever use new tea towels, make sure the old ones are well away!!!!!!!!!!

A tip for anyone selling their house, never cook smelling foods just before inspections, this could turn people away before they step in the door.

Home Styling with Neutrals

Who said you only style your home when you are selling.

Think of the money and energy you save in restyling rather than moving house.

Living within our current footprint not only saves money & time but also reduces our carbon footprint. A good sort, de clutter and style will save $1000 and protect our environment.

Neutrals are a great base to start with if you want to change the look of your home on a regular basis, they adapt well to change and trends. Neutral carpets and window treatments combined with a simple palette are a blank canvas to create your master piece.

They do not have to be boring, layer your canvas with pieces will that stamp the space with your personality.

Utilise your treasures to decorate your space, rather than cluttering the cupboards bring them out and give them a position of importance to inject colour, warmth, texture and memories into your space. If they do not warrant pride of place in your home, ask yourself why you are holding onto it.

When purchasing expensive items invest in timeless quality pieces and don’t we swayed by the “in colour”.  Savings can be gained in inexpensive decorating items such as scatter cushions, vases and throws; they quickly change the look and feel of a room without breaking the bank account.

Happy Styling!

Presenting your home for sale

Our homes are sometimes our biggest investment, so when it comes the time to sell, it really needs to stand out and work hard to attract attention to as many prospective buyers as possible.

Here are some tips to make your property stand out from the others.

Create interest

In any room create a focal point, if the room does not have a feature or some centre of attention, think about choosing an eye catching accessory. You can enhance the ceiling with a beautiful light shade, add a rug to the floor or hang art that draws you into the space and sparks interest to look further

Furniture Placement

 Adjoining rooms need to seamlessly flow from one to the other. Use a similar colour palette to link the rooms with distinctive features and your accent colours

De Cluttered shelves

Simple de cluttering goes a long way to presenting a property for sale.

Cluttered over stuffed book shelves tell potential buyers there is not enough storage.

I recently inherited a lot of books and needed to have a good hard look of how I was going to house them.

First step  SORT through all books, records (yes those things from the past)  and magazines.

Sort into                              KEEP IT

                                          RETURN

                                          DONATE IT

                                          RECYCLE

                                          GIVE AWAY

                                          DISPERSE

Obviously KEEP IT are books that YOU love, use and refer to on a regular basis

RETURN all books and stuff to the rightful owners, and don’t store other peoples stuff.

DONATE find a local charity shop that specialising in books and donate them, that way you know they will certainly be reused.

GIVE AWAY to friends and family who want them, don’t just make your stuff someone else’s problem

RECYCLE really is the last resort, but if they are in poor condition and no one wants them it’s one option

This made a big difference but I still didn’t want to return all the books to the shelf.

DISPERSE around the house, placing like with like.

                Mechanical manuals to the shed

                Cookbooks to the kitchen

                Business and gardening books to the office.

                Novels to bedroom

This eases the load on the shelves, reduces visual clutter and give the room an instance makeover.

Another tip to reduce visual clutter is leave space between groups of books.

Plus store same colour spines together, group all red spines together, all black to together and continue with all books.

This makes it a little difficult to find a book but will reduce the cluttered look again, and emphasises the space not the STUFF

Creating Space in 2012

I am always pleased with the amount of calls I receive in January and February for people looking for help to create some order, makeover their home, or to regain control in there stuff.

We often start the New Year determined to “get fit” or finally “get organised”

Getting fit is something you cannot buy at the supermarket or order in on line, believe I have looked.

It anything it takes time and effort, but do't be put off , I congratulate you on your decision to “get organised” 

Here are some tips to make the proccess a little easier.

                Start with an end in mind

                Set realistic and achievable goals

                Draw up a plan and timeline

                Take a before photo

                Build the plan into your routine Routine “  regular course or procedure”

                Pace yourself

                Take an after photo

                Reward yourself

It takes about 28 days to create a new habit, so set small rewards along your timeline to motivate and inspire to soldier on.

GOOD LUCK

 Eco Home Styling

I love my job; I get to work with great people in stunning homes and locations.

A big thank you goes out to Kim from Hibernate Interiors who stepped in and helped me present

another stunning home in for sale; our deadline was 5 hours and we had a job ahead of us.

It is made a lot easier when you have a receptive client and great furniture and space to work with.

Rather than going to the expense of hiring furniture and the inconvenience of moving all your furniture out, then bringing in the hire furniture, worrying about your walls and doorways.

 Then   worry about the hire furniture with the kids, cats and dogs until your house is sold.

Using your own furniture will literally save you $1000’s of dollars and a lot less stress.

Sure your furniture needs to be in good condition but sometimes it more about placement of the furniture or de cluttering. Investing in good slip covers can disguise the hideous or stained sofa, but a small investment can have huge returns for you.

On my recommendation the client of this house in Hampton had slip covers made to cover the stains made by her young family. We worked in a colour that could be easily blended with any colour scheme in her new home. They are made from hemp so can be easily removed and washed.

Perfect for this family

My Move Manager with a little Eco Styling

It is always wonderful to meet people who share the same passion for TIME and Organising as I do.

It was my lucky day when Sharon from My Move Manager www.mymovemanager.com.au

decided to call and inquire about my De Cluttering and Home Styling services for a client.

She explained they take care of all aspect of your move. Not only do they investigate the best removalist, the most competitive insurance for your job but when you require a specialised service, they go out looking for you.

Thinking of putting your house on the market or have you just moved in?

Professionally styled and presented homes can create maximum appeal, space, and atmosphere and sell your property quickly by making it stand out against the competition.

Home styling helps you to attract the best price possible by:

Creating a positive, strong first impression in your home’s market debut

                  Ensuring you get the best auction result - in fact, a professionally presented home can earn

                  you thousands more on the sale of your most important asset.

                  Saving you time and effort because someone else does the hard work for you!

                  Speeds up the process for a quick sale.

We look at your house with ‘fresh eyes’ – the way a potential buyer would.

Presentation for Sale

Adding flowers to your home when presenting for sale not only adds colour and fragrance. It will draw the eye to a feature or room. Your house is devoid of all clutter so flowers will soften hard surface and add that stylish look.

Don’t be put off by the expense, head down to your local market and choose flowers in season. Classic long stemmed lilies do not require any arranging and when in season are very reasonably priced. Budget on about $20.00 for 2 bunches. Choose a tall glass vase long enough for the stems or trim to fit. Fill the vase with fresh water, to extend the life of your flowers remove the leaves from base of the stem to water line. Place lilies in water and change water every couple of days.

Or if you are lucky enough to have flowers in your garden, bring them into the house it is a great way to connect the house and garden.

Backyard Blitz

You have sorted, scrubbed and pruned from the front fence to the back door, now it’s time to tackle the back yard and shed.

A lot of the stuff you have relocated has probably ended up “out the back” well now its crunch time, no more putting it off. It must be very important to either go into storage move with it. So think carefully.

You may not have the energy to do the full backyard blitz but hiring a skip bin and getting rid of the rubbish, mowing the grass and trimming some trees will make a huge difference to it appeal.

Remember some people want to put their own stamp on things, but by clearing the rubbish, buyers can see the size of the yard, the great trees and its potential.

Outdoor entertaining areas are just as important and indoor areas, so are worth equal amount of time and energy.

Tips: Clean up BBQ and outdoor table, if it looks a little sad either pressure wash or paint it.

Clean all the surfaces such as decks, pavers, built in BBQ, add some fresh pot plants.

A cheap hammock shows this a great place to laze away the morning with the paper.

Don’t forget behind the shed, get rid all bits of broken bricks, kid’s projects, repairs that you were going to do.

Put aside any good tiles, bricks, pavers and paint for the new owners in case needed for repairs

Cut back any invasive vines and shrubs such as ivy to let the light and sun in.

If you have pets make sure you clean up after them, and do not forget to freshen up their home.

Give it the dog house a lick of paint and add a new mat.

De clutter the shed, so many people have boxes in the shed that have not been opened since the last move.

Return everything that doesn’t belong to you.

Why are you storing other peoples STUFF?

Laundry for sale

The laundry, kitchen and bathrooms are the work horses of the home.

So a laundry that is uncluttered with work stations clearly defined tells the story.

“Great, it will be a breeze keeping up with all the laundry.” 

But how do you get it looking like that?

       Clear the room of all washing, drying and ironing.

       Keep all bench space clear of clutter

       Air the room, there is nothing worse than a musty room.

       Clean all exhaust fans of fluff, otherwise it says,

       no one has bothered to clean it and working the  motor twice hard.

       Not only is it unsightly it is a fire hazard.

       Get rid of old shabby laundry baskets and hampers.

       They are cheap to replace and you can take them with you.

       Add a new mat to the floor and ironing board cover if it cannot be stored in a cupboard.

       De clutter all the cupboards, group like with like- clothes washing, shoe cleaning and pegs.

       Leave space between your groups, this show there is heaps of storage space.

       Cleaning is important in every room and you have to clean until it sparkles.

       For laundries that have direct access to outside add some fragrant pots it either side of the doors.         

       Lavender is easy to look after and you can take it with when you go.

       Clean inside & out of all appliances, do not forget the filters.

       Scrub the laundry tub until it sparkles

       Replace your sad old plugs and add some cheap white soap and nice hand towel.

      To add freshness to the room display a basket of folded towels with fresh lemons folded inside.

      Wash  your linen in lavender water, it really lifts the spirit of the room.

Styling your Kitchen for Sale

Kitchens have become the focal point in many homes. Whether you use yours to wipe up that gourmet feast or zap it in the microwave, kitchens are scrutinised by buyers.

Generally speaking kitchens are expensive to renovate so people want to see a kitchen that does not require any work or $ spent on it.

Your job is paint the picture that it’s a kitchen where you want to cook for your family and friends.

Does your kitchen have?

Plenty of bench space for food preparation or a chat with a cuppa.

Appliances in good condition?

(Do not worry too much if they are not the latest European stainless steel, but they must be spotless without odours)

Cluttered cupboards and bench tops?

Tips:

De clutter and clean all cupboards as you go

Throw or compost all open packets of food.

Donate any unopened packets that you will not use to a food bank

Wipe all storage containers, shelves and arrange like with like

Boxes with boxes and jars with jars, it may seem anal but straight rows with space in between give the impression there is heaps of storage space.

Clean everything in sight and not in sight

Wash any curtains and blinds as they will hold cooking odours.

Ovens and exhaust fans should be cleaned and do not forget to pull the fridge out and clean behind.

Remove all the magnets and paper from the fridge as this adds to a cluttered look.

Carry out all repairs and maintenance such as door knobs which have fallen off, the pantry door that won’t close.

Air the room and do not cook foods such as fish prior to open days.

Styling

Adding a stylish cookbook opened on a page with a recipes which suits the season.

The aroma of coffee has been used a lot, but anything that says welcome to my kitchen will work.

Style the kitchen with flowers from the garden, this brings the outside in and sends the message that not only can you prepare beautiful home cooked meals in this kitchen; you can also pick the home grown flowers.

Add some fresh tea towels with bowls of fruits or vegetables from the season really finish the scene off.

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Style The Living Spaces and Family Rooms

Whether your living area is a formal or real chill out space these rooms need to be brought up to scratch. Take a photo of the room and take a good long look at it.

How does the lounge look?

The coffee table is cluttered with remote controls, old magazines, and mail

The rug looks a bit sad.

The family portrait really dates this room.

Gee the drum kit really does clutter up the corner

Don’t despair these are an easily fix

First remove any excess furniture such as the drum kit and the family portraits, no one really wants to see your high school formal photos from the 1970’s or Great Aunty Ruby’s wedding photos.

Tips:       Gather up all the spaghetti of electrical cords and hide them away.

Highlight the benefits & features such as great views or the open plan layout

If you have good storage for books and CD’s, de clutter them. LESS IS MORE      

Have the lounge suite and floor coverings cleaned.

De clutter the room of furniture and memorabilia

TV’S have become so important and tend to dominate a room. Remember you are selling your property not your STUFF. Do not make the TV the focal point of the room, remember look at that photo again. You may have great French doors leading onto an outdoor patio which could be easily styled as an alternative entertaining area adding to properties features. Or a stunning fireplace which is covered up by the TV or CD racks.

Like any other room in the house it is imperative that the room is cleaned from top to bottom and all maintenance is done.

Style your bedrooms for Sale

Well it is the 3rd week since you decided to sell your house, you have sorted the front yard, front porch and hallway. Time to get stuck into the bedrooms.  The wardrobe  Open the doors and take a good look, you will immediately see the things you wear all the time...great. But how about the things that no longer fit, or are in need of repair.  If they have been on your "to do list" for more the 6 weeks nothing is going to happen with them. It's time to get rid of them. Arrange the remaining clothes like with like as you would see in a store and arrange loose items in attractive baskets, which you can take with you.

Storage is something people look at when buying a house.  You still need to function in your home while it is on the market, but sorting and de cluttering adds to your space and gives the impression there is plenty of storage.

Invest in some vacuum storage bags for the ski gear, spare pillows, anything that is bulky.  Time to get rid of the smelly old shoes lying at the back of the wardrobe or under the bed, not a pleasant discovery for any prospective buyer. Return anything that does not belong in a bedroom to its proper place, example dishes to kitchen.

De cluttering the walls gives the appearance of a larger space.  We want to emphasize space not your sons Marilyn Mason posters.  Once you have de cluttered the walls give the whole space a good clean, walls, windows, floors and ceiling. Carry out any repairs such as chipped paintwork, ensure lights work and doors and windows open freely. If you need to repaint choose neutral colours that reflect peace and tranquility, not raging reds. Give the room a good airing to remove any musty or animal smells.

Make up the bed with neutral coloured linen and plump pillows but go easy on the cushions. Store  away bedside clocks and lamps and add fresh flowers

Adding a comfortable chair, cushion and quality magazines or books gives is a cosy retreat feel.

Declutter for a Grand Entrance

The front garden is sorted, looks all snappy, but how about the front door, porch and entrance?

Front Porch

Tip: Remove all rubbish, sports shoes, bikes, prams and tired old plants.

      Replace the front door mat

      Check the front door bell works, if not repair it or remove it

      Check the condition of the paint work, if scratched or patchy, paint it.

      Clean walls, glass panels and screen door.

      Remove wind chimes as they are not everyones cup of tea

      Revitilse this area with fresh potted plants or a chair.

      Polish the house number or name

 Entrance Area & Hallway

 Tip:Once inside the front door declutter any hallstands or hooks.

      Leave only clothing in good condition and relavent to the season.

       example: Summer hats for summer, umbrellas for winter.

      Make sure the space is thoughly clean, don't forget behind the door.

      The addition of fresh flowers and soft music will make a sensation first impression.

Next week we start on the bedrooms. 

Do you have Street Appeal?

It’s officially SPRING and it’s TIME when the real estate market goes into overdrive.

Over the next few weeks I will work from the front gate to the backyard fence with tips how you can present your property for sale.

I was recently asked:

I like my home so why should I present it for sale?

I am glad you like your home and generally they are our largest asset.

Do you want the best possible return and do you think it will stand out?

Investing a small amount of time and energy you will achieve amazing results.

I will pack up my collection of gnomes once we have sold.

Sometimes your collections and tastes may not fit with the current fashions. What was fashionable may not appeal to the masses.

Once you have decided to sell, your home becomes a product. Your product must have buyer appeal and not everyone will be able to see past the Gnomes.

Tip: De clutter your garden as you would inside.

Do I really need to fix the broken path and front gate it sounds like a lot of work?

Lack of repairs and maintenance are a direct reflection on the property. Simple repairs and de cluttering ensures safe access to your property and it’s been cared for. The last thing you want is a potential buyer injury themselves due to your broken path. Certainly not a good First Impression.

Tip: Remove all rubbish, paint your front fence and oil the front gate.

My front garden provides so much privacy.

If people cannot easily find your property why should they spend their TIME searching for you?

Tip: Sharpen your tools or hire a gardener to start trimming plants.

Replace any dead or sick plants.

Make sure your street number can be easily seen.

Next week we start in your front entrance area

Two in One- Winter Pick Me Up

It's only the very beginning of winter but why not start with a pick me up?

Bring in some winter cheer by refresh your cushions around the house.

I was tried of my kitchen chair cushions, so using some great fabric I recovered the four in a matter of hours.

For a new look without too much effort I covered top and bottom in two different fabrics.

Now all I have to do is turn them over and I have a new look.

The Grand Entrance.

With so much competition in the property market the entrance to your property can either invite people in or turn them away.

It's an oldie but a goodie. "First Impressions do count."

Imagine walking up to a property and you trip over the rubbish at the front door and the wire door is hanging on one hinge.

What would you think?

"Gee what is the rest of the house like?"

Here's a couple of simple and inexpensive ways to spruce up your Front Entrance.

• Remove cobwebs
• Repair or remove any broken screen doors, door bells and stairs etc.
• Wash the walls and door
• Remove all trip hazards
• Replace any tired plants and pots for some new ones.
• Buy a new door mat
• Remove rubbish and old boots etc.
• Remove wind chimes- remember not everyone likes them.
• Polish any brass work,
• Make it looked LOVED and welcoming.

**If you do not paint anywhere else in your property, take a look at the front door.

Preparing your property for Sale

Increasing the sale value of your property can be as easy as de-cluttering and reorganising. Right through to the complete makeover with specially selected furniture, artwork and styling brought in to make the property its most appealing to buyers.

Simply making a considerable plan to de-clutter can improve your properties appeal. A bit of creative reorganising can breath new life in rooms. With fresh eyes looking at the possibilities, the whole usability of your property can be enhanced.

Changing the no longer used 3rd bedroom into a well laid out office or work area can inspire a whole new range of buyers.

Making sure your property is organised, clean and tidy can be one of the simplest and most profitable, per hour work investments you can make. Buyers simply want to get that feeling "Wow I could live in or make something out of this" And you have a real bidder on the line.

We can draw up a DYI plan of action to make your sale more profitable, or for those who's time commitments are already stretched. We can take on making your property all it can be in time for your sale