In honour of mental health awareness week I wanted to touch on something thats so important to me!

Mental health isn’t something to be afraid of it’s just something we can work on together and with that being said I wanted to share how your home plays one of the biggest impacts to your health.

Have you ever heard of the phrases '“ A cluttered home is a cluttered mind? " or “your space reflects your state of mind” or even “clear space clear mind”. These are just some statements that we say day to day when were struggling with motivation or when you feel like you’re spiralling out of control!

It’s actually one of the reasons I started my journey into interior design. My parents are incredible and have always done everything they could - and still do - to provide for me and my FOUR brothers… yes, four! With both of them working full time whilst raising us all, the house understandably didn’t always stay in the best condition. And having a dad who’s a builder meant there were always projects being started… but somehow never quite finished!

Although we are still working on getting things to a calmer setting it takes time to help someone understand that how you live can really affect your day to day and the people around you. So here are a few things i’ve learnt and put into action in my family home.

Clutter

A cluttered space often mirrors a cluttered mind - Piles of washing, chaotic kitchen can signal stress or being overwhelmed. A Tidy space doesn’t necessarily mean someone is always ok, but having an organised space can help to reduce anxiety and improve your focus.

So how can you improve your clutter?

Do the big clear out - This task for some can feel very overwhelming so take it section by section. Yes this means it can take longer but the bigger picture is what we are aiming for. Remember if you’re helping a loved one with this task go at their pace we want them to feel calm and looking forward to the next section. It is also important to keep in mind that other section of the house can then start to build up and feel worse than before. This is fine just remember that once you’ve cleared one section don’t go back to bad habits of dumping in that corner make sure you find the right space for every item!

In one of our Radlett project we did just that, all our project start with a big clear out.

Storage

Now that we’ve gone through each section and each item in the house - yes that means anything from clothes to pieces of paper we now need to identify where each item belongs. For example clothes - bedroom, cleaning products - is it in the bathroom? kitchen? or maybe you have a utility cupboard? maybe you have no space and need to figure out where to put them?

Storage is your saver! 3 Main things you need to consider in storage is 1. how much do you need. 2. is there enough room. 3. how are you going to use this storage.

The last point to consider is the most important part! this is whats going to help you keep your space uncluttered and organised.

This storage we designed for our harpenden project, covers shoe’s and clothes storage whilst having space for the iron and ironing board and top boxes for bedding towels and any similar other items. We also designed a door that half opened making sure we still have access even with a bedside table pushed up against it.

Now it’s time to put everything in its place and enjoy the freedom of living in a clutter-free, organised home. Give yourself permission to truly relax in the evenings - without thinking about the hundred things still left to do. Rest, recharge, and reboot for tomorrow.