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We all have things we need to hide away, and those that we like to leave out. It's all about
striking just the right balance between the two. If we find clever ways of doing it, they not only make our homes more organised, more welcoming and even more comfortable, they also add real personality. With all our winter woollies and cosy layers to pack away, spring is the perfect time to get started.
Open shelving is wonderful for getting really organised – if you haven't got any, create some. An old wardrobe, shelved; a set of bookshelves; an alcove or empty wall and some simple planks of wood and brackets – these things can all work just as well.
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When preparing a room for house guests, it's lovely to put everything they could possibly need together at the end of their bed – rather like a wonderful hamper.
A wicker basket or an old suitcase re-lined with pretty paper both work beautifully. Fill with fresh towels, a cosy robe, a scented candle and matches, a handful of bath and body treats, two bottles of water, and something to nibble on like little
biscuits or a bunch of grapes.
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If you have more hanging space than you need, this is a great way
to organise bed linens,and keep them beautifully aired too. Simply hang each set of matching items on their own coat hanger and label it with a written tag, pretty ribbon, or a colour-coded, painted key. Place the plain items (fitted sheet and housewife pillowcases) for the same bed on another hanger with the same colour code. Then when it comes time to remake a bed, you just have to grab one each of the two coat hangers. Easy.
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– by size if you have lots of different-sized beds or by person if everyone has their own specific designs and colours. Then help yourself keep it all perfectly in place by labelling the sides of the shelves with stickers, pretty paper strips or even traditional brass label holders.
There is nothing more satisfying than a perfectly ordered linen cupboard (and if you haven't got one, try using
divan drawers, roller-drawers under a bed base, lined drawers of a dresser or even the top shelf of a wardrobe).
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Get creative with storage by using anything that does
the job beautifully...old cake tins, old bottle crates, metal lanterns, vintage pressed glass cake plates and bowls, wooden fruit and vegetable trays; any and every wicker basket.
Try using a lovely china mug or vintage French jam jar as a holder for pens and toothpaste and toothbrush; a vintage chamber pot for spare loo rolls or a house plant; lidded bon bon jars for cotton wool balls, pretty soaps,or even seashells and sand as reminders of your last beach holiday; old teapots that are missing their lids are very cheap to buy and are as useful as jugs – use them as pen pots, utensil pots, plant holders and vases.
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Just as effective as moth balls but so much nicer,
simply place a beautiful bar of soap in the drawer with your clothes. It will keep the moths at bay, and also very softly scent everything inside.