DECLUTTERING IS STYLE!

Regardless of how well designed your home… or how expensive your furniture and accessories you have, the ability for clutter to takeover keeps your home from being at its best.
The start of a new season is the perfect time to declutter. The effects are immediately apparent, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment. This is the perfect mindset for tackling more challenging goals throughout your home.

Stay motivated

Incorporating decluttering into your lifestyle is actually about forming a new habit, and you know how challenging that can be! The first three weeks will be difficult, but after the first month or so, you'll be over the hump. Keep decluttering in perspective: it shouldn't take over your life. It's a small, short activity that you do so your home works well and looks good, and so you have time to do what you like. Reward yourself for keeping up your organization, it will help keep you motivated.

Do one job at a time


It's easy to get pulled into another clutter zone and desert the job you started. Don't give in! Doing this will leave you with two partially decluttered areas, and it will look like you've accomplished nothing. Stick to one part of one room until it's complete.

Set a time limit
When organizing your home, don't say, “Today I'll organize the garage.” Instead, say, “I'll spend an hour on the gardening tools; next week I'll work on sports equipment.” This way, if you haven't finished in an hour, keep going, or return to the job another day. This will help you want to return to your decluttering project in the future, and complete it successfully.

            
Decluttering your wardrobe

Have you looked in your closet lately? Not just chucking out stuff you haven’t worn in a while but going through your closet and removing clothes that don’t flatter your coloring or body shape, personality or that doesn’t make you feel good. A thorough wardrobe decluttering should result in a wardrobe full of clothes which look AND feel great.

Bathroom baskets


Generally, bathrooms are small spaces that have to store a lot of stuff, from cleaning products and toiletries to towels and toilet paper ... and that's just the bare minimum! Take stock of the space you have and areas you aren't using. If you have small nooks by the tub or toilet, try using baskets for toilet paper or towels instead of storing everything under the sink. Get more ideas on organizing your bathroom.

 

A Clutter-free kitchen

Organize small appliances by determining how often they're used. Items used once a month or less frequently should be kept on higher shelves or in the back of cabinets, while items used daily or weekly should be kept within reach. Not only does this make the kitchen look less cluttered, but will make cooking much easier - no more digging around for what you need, when you need it!

Kid-friendly clean ups

If children are expected to learn how to clean up after themselves, it helps to give them easy ways to do it. Children areas are ideal for decluttering because they have multiple options that look great, and kids can learn at the same time. Use low shelving and labelled storage bins for all their toys and crafts. Also consider using colorful storage to keep kids excited to want to store and stay uncluttered!  Get more ideas for organizing your kids' rooms.

Home office organization

Some days we just don't feel like working or cleaning - we've all been there. Try motivating yourself by using beautiful storage and desk accessories. Whether it's bright colors, pretty patterns or elegant designs, sometimes having gorgeous office storage is enough encouragement to keep the space clean and organized at all times! Get more ideas on organizing your home office

Front entry hall


The front entry of your home can be the most trafficked areas of your home, and in turn needs helpful storage, and a clutter free area to walk through. If you don't have room in your front hall for a closet, hang a peg rail. It's a quick and easy solution for the coats and bags that pile up on the floor. Consider adding a bench or mudroom seating to enable area for putting on shoes, as well as storing coats, shoes, hats, and umbrellas.

Clear out the garage

Garages often become repositories for all your odds and ends. Everything from tools and camping equipment, to sporting goods and house supplies needs a home. As you pack and stack everything in the garage, use various sized, clear storage bins for efficient organization. As a bonus, you can actually see the contents of each bin so you can find what you're looking for, when you're looking for it! Get more ideas for organizing your garage 

Sorting out the laundry room


While laundry is not usually at the top of anyone’s favourite list, keeping the laundry room organized and functional is essential. When the laundry starts to pile up, the most arduous task is sorting out the lights, darks, delicates and dry clean-only items. To make life easier, set up a sorting station with containers or hampers for each type of wash. 

Organizing and decluttering your home should be looked at as a way to improve your lifestyle. You and your family will be able to locate items easier, in turn saving you valuable time and will help make your home look beautiful. Use these helpful tips for decluttering throughout your home and feel the improvements in your everyday life!

CREATING AN IDEAL HOME OFFICE

Ideas by Vanessa Hayes

in Around the House,Office Tech,Productivity

More and more people establish their home, or business at home.

With the help of the Internet, people can take their work everywhere. So why not at home where it is convenient and economic too?

It is a usual problem not to have an extra room to establish your home office.

In your home you can find many places to put it. Do you have an attic that right now is full with things you have gathered over the years but haven’t been used for many years? Well its time to go through the ones you don’t need and create your home office under the attic window. Don’t have an attic? How about the end of the upper stairs? How about a small place in your sunroom?

You still didn’t find a place? How about build an office in your closet, for a hidden office area? 

On the surface, working in a traditional job and working from home can seem totally different. In actuality, there are several similarities, especially when it comes to organization and productivity. If you have a home-based business or are thinking of starting one, check out these tips on how to organize it and be more productive:

Design your home-based office with efficiency in mind. Have a clean office desk with enough space to hold a computer, work phone, in/out box or action file and room to write or work. Additionally, keep items you use on a daily basis within arms reach of your work area such as client files or reference binders.  Less frequently used items can be stored in other file cabinets or closets that are further away from you desk or office. If you are constantly getting up to get an item then you are wasting time and potentially running the risk of getting distracted.  Click here for more information on how to organize your office desk.

Have you lost important contact information? Can’t find your contracts? Overwhelmed with all the incoming paper?

Running a small business or working from home can be very frustrating. You be constantly meeting new people and receiving information about different services and products. Do you have a system for your paperwork?

Here are a few organizing tips on keeping your office running smoothly:

1. Everything needs a home!
2. Create a “mail station”: a place for Read, Pay, Take Action and close to File, Shred & Trash. Also stock address labels, stamps and letter opener. This is the only place you should open the mail daily.
3. Keep overstock office supplies in a separate location.
4. Keep desk clear except for the ONE task you are currently working on.
5. If more than one person used the office it is important to label everything.
6. When you meet someone write on the back of their business card; where and when. Contact them within 48 hours.

After all, that’s one of the perks about having a home-based business.  But at least make the effort to get showered and cleaned up to allow you a fresh start to the working day.

Keep business and personal records separated. A lot of home-based businesses are also used as regular home offices where family information, calendars and schedules are maintained.  If that’s the case, I highly recommend you keep files separated in either different drawers or filing cabinets.  You don’t want to run the risk of losing or mixing client and other business documents with your personal ones.

Consider having separate home and business phone numbers with separate voicemail messages. You can do this in a number of different ways by getting multiple landlines, cell phones or a combination of each.  Or you could do like I did and have both business and personal calls directed to the same phone.  I have a Google Voice number set up as my business number that directs calls and messages to my personal phone. What’s nice about this is that I can record a separate business voicemail for my clients and colleagues if I can’t answer and it will send a notification to my email account of any missed calls or messages.

Establish rules with your family members. If your family members are at home while you are working, be sure to lay down the law for them not to bother you unless it’s for an emergency.  You may have to spell out exactly what that means but try this…”If it’s something you wouldn’t call me about if I were at another office, then it’s probably not something you need to bother me about at home.”  Or, “Pretend you are in school. Would you be able to talk to me while you are in class?”  Of course this only works for older, more self-sufficient children (and spouses) but what about younger children? Daycare…preschool…or beg for your family to help!  Believe me…it is near impossible to concentrate with little toddlers running around asking for a toy, snack or drink every 10 minutes!

Ok. So you are still drowning in work…consider hiring a virtual assistant if you’re having trouble keeping up with the day-to-day administrative tasks. Virtual assistants (VAs) are becoming increasingly popular and are reasonably affordable.  Do an Internet search to find one that can suit your needs.

Set a quitting time. I still find this hard to do, but the point here is to get into a normal work routine with a regular start and finish time everyday so that you can spend quality time with your family and friends or focus on other priorities in your life.  Yes there will be times where you’ll have to get back on the computer after the kids have gone to bed but try not to make it a habit.

Organizing is a skill that can be learned. Most of all you have to be willing to change your habits. If you get organized but don’t change how you do things then you will soon find yourself in the same place. If you have a leaky faucet you call a plumber and if you can’t find your “stuff” then you call a Professional Organizer to create custom systems for your needs

OUR LATEST WORK

OUR LATEST WORK - Marina's House in Halkidiki.

This is a beach house in Halkidiki North Greece, we recently finished.

It is located on a small hill 300 feet away from the sea and the view is amazing from all views!

The whole building consists of two, two story houses built one next to the other and on top of the third floor there is an apartment covering the entire area of both houses.

The entire building is owned by one family, they comprise of two married sisters with their families and their parents.

The Layout of the Home

When you enter the garden there is an indoor 6 car garage area which is built under the swimming pool. The house is situated on a hillside which lent the perfect opportunity to use the space under the pool and area under the two houses.The entrance of the garage is well placed and is not noticed because of the structure of the garden and plants.

Under the two houses of the sisters there is a basement which covers and hosts the heating station for the 3 houses, and it contains a wine storage area with perfect temperature for the wines as it is built literally into the ground so it cannot be seen.

Above the basement there’s the two story houses and over this  whole area is the parents apartment which is connected with the ground floor. Here is where the pool and barbecue are located along with elevator and stairs.

When our client trusted us with this job, the only work that was done was the cement skeleton. So we were free to make changes to the plans after we studied the three families needs.

In this photo you can see the one house and on top one view of the parents apartment at the top. The parents can use a private elevator that brings them to the pool level and to the basement level and garage. 

Lying by the pool you can enjoy the view of the sea too.

This is the side entrance to the barbecue kiosk which is placed in front of the pool.

This is a 12 person dining table inside the barbecue kiosk. In the kiosk there is a complete open kitchen with refrigerator, gas and electric kitchen, and a very big barbecue.

These interiors are only from the parents apartment.

The most impressive thing in this apartment is the excellent wooden ceiling that can be seen in the whole living and dinning area as well as the kitchen.

Since the apartment is located at the top of the building we created many windows to take advantage of the spectacular views from every angle.

This is one small bedroom with all custom made furniture.

The outer doors of the closet have break proof glass and inside the glass we used the same material as the curtains.

A nice view of the back garden.

Thanks for taking a look at our beach house project in Halkidiki. I look forward to the next post in sharing images from the sisters’ houses.

My Daughter's Wedding: THE BACHELORETTE PARTY!

THE Bachelorette Party!

Today’s post doesn’t have to do with interior design.

It has to do with my daughter’s bachelorette party and 18 beautiful girls (her best friends) who arranged everything so it can be the best surprise party ever for their friend.

And It really was!

As I mentioned in “my daughter’s wedding” post I was preparing my daughter’s wedding. Where you all helped me decide on beautiful floral centerpieces for the reception tables.

Now the time has come and the ideas became reality. The wedding date is very close and the party atmosphere is an everyday occurrence.

All this celebrating and waiting for the BIG DAY is really something!  I wish all moms can  experience this type of celebration with their daughter’s or son’s weddings.

First comes the Bachelorette Party

The party for my daughter was completely organized by the bride’s  sister and best friends.

They organized everything. They picked the place of the party (a well known beach bar in Halkidiki –Greece), the decorations, the bride’s accessories, the dresses, the music, and who would bring the bride to the party and more! They thought of everything!

It was a surprise to the bride who didn’t even know where the party was going to take place.

Here are pictures highlighting the entire event, Enjoy!

So here they are taking the bride by boat,  from her house to the beach bar where the party already has started. She doesn’t know where they are taking her yet!

My daughter and friends have just  arrived! Her friends are already there waiting for her with a welcome drink by the sea!

Moments of real friendship (one of the best mates)and sister’s love! 18 beautiful  friends arranged everything for her Bachelorette Party. What a wonderful surprise event! 

 

They all wore white dresses  with the words “who is the bride?” written in the front and at the back it was written “not me” to all the dresses except the bride’s dress said “it’s me”

The Party started at noon ……….and went on and on for many many hours…

Cheers!

Together with the best mates!

Feelings that only sisters share

The party finished in the early morning hours leaving the girls exhausted but full of joy of the happy hours they spent together, and fulfilled after arranging such a wonderful event that they planned together!

So now the clock is ticking… Next stop… the wedding party!

Come back soon, and I’ll share pictures of the glorious event!

Cheers!