Guide to simplifying your home’s contents from Scandi lifestyle expert ahead of the Great British Spring Clean, 21 March – 6 April.
Each room in our home serves a unique purpose, but if there are too many items in a given space it can feel cluttered and chaotic whilst increasing feelings of anxiety. Ahead of The Great British Spring Clean (21 March – 6 April), Catharina Björkman, Scandi lifestyle expert at Contura, is sharing a room-by-room decluttering guide to help Brits looking to make their home an organised and peaceful haven in 2025 and beyond.
“In Sweden, we believe that an ordered home equals an ordered mind. After all, there is no feeling more uplifting than waking up to a clean and tidy space,” says Catharina.
“Each room in our home should be designed with a specific use in mind, whether to relax, work or socialise, and clutter only serves to take away from that whilst contributing to feelings of stress.”
Please see Catharina’s room by room guide to decluttering…
Declutter the…Kitchen
The kitchen is a room with multiple worktops and surfaces that ideally should be left as clear as possible for food prep and dining.
First thing’s first, clear out your cupboards, pantry and fridge. You’ll likely be surprised how many jars and bottles well past their expiration date have slipped your notice. This simple and easy task will clear up a fair bit of shelf space.
Next, go through the drawers in your kitchen. Best to tackle one drawer at a time and take everything out before you begin. If you don’t already have them, use dividers to keep the drawers organised and throw out or donate any excess items – you don’t need two BBQ tongs, five spatulas and three whisks…
Declutter the…Bathroom
Expiration dates can also guide you in decluttering your bathroom. Medicines, sunscreen, moisturiser, and even makeup all have a limited shelf life and should be discarded once exceeded. Some products will have dates and others will have symbols that indicate how long a product is best used for, i.e., 12M means a lipstick, for example, should be used within 12 months of opening.
Don’t forget to tackle any kids bath toys that have overstayed their welcome. Plastic bath toys are often hollow and are exposed to water for a long period of time which can lead to mould, so go through all the toys and throw out any that look worse for wear.
Finally make sure countertops are clear – safely storing electricals like shavers, electric toothbrushes and hair styling tools in cupboards.
Declutter the…Bedroom
The most common ‘problem area’ in our bedrooms is the wardrobe. Whether overfilled with clothes, shoes, accessories or whatever items we just don’t want to deal with, our cupboards hide it all.
The most useful tool here is a dose of realism. When looking at your wardrobe keep in mind your lifestyle and activities. If a sparkly shirt, bedazzled boots or heavy leather jacket don’t fit with your day-to-day, it may be time to head to the charity shop.
To make the task feel more like a curation and not a purge, create a Pinterest style mood board with your personal style to refer to when looking at your clothes. If an item fits, then keep it to wear and enjoy and if not add to the donation pile for a dose of do-good serotonin.
Other spaces that can clutter up your bedroom are overstuffed bookshelves. Only keep the books that you reread often or that hold a special sentimental value.
If you’re unsure which books to keep, similar to the well-known backwards hanger trick for clothes, place your books with the spines inwards – after a year, keep the ones you have taken off the shelf to read (whose spines you will have turned to face outwards) and collect the others to donate or resell.
Declutter the…Living room
A vision board is a great tool to use when decluttering a living room too. If you like the shabby chic look then there is no need to get rid of all your nick-nacks, just ensure you only keep the ones with real sentimental value. However, if you are drawn towards minimalist styles then a larger declutter will be needed to achieve the desired look.
Living rooms are often a multi-purpose space – whether it be a playroom for young children, a home cinema, or a seating area to entertain friends. Consider how you use your living room and create dedicated zones for each of those activities whilst aiming not to have too many items on display. Go through children’s toys and see which they have outgrown and can be donated and then place the rest in storage baskets, so items aren’t strewn across the floor.
A couch with hidden storage space is a great place to keep blankets and board games, however, don’t use extra storage space as an excuse to keep hold of lots of items. Instead, if you have four blankets think about which work with your living room aesthetic and donate the rest or relocate them to a different part of the home where they could be used. The goal is to be intentional with our space so that when we walk into a room, we only see items that are useful or that hold sentimental value.
For more information, please visit www.contura.eu.
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
- Rooster PR will coordinate comment, interview and profile opportunities for Contura UK Country Manager, Phil Wood.
- The Contura PR team will also arrange visits to the nearest Contura Design Centre dealerships or the Contura showroom in Doncaster to see the product range.
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About Contura:
Contura is Europe’s leading manufacturer of wood burning stoves, offering an extensive range of classic and contemporary wood burners; from traditional insert stoves suitable for existing fireplaces, to freestanding statement models made with innovative materials such as soapstone.
Starting at £1,295, Contura stoves are premium yet affordable. Award winning, timeless Swedish design means the products complement or enhance any style of home, whilst also offering outstanding performance, maximum efficiency, practicality and ease of use.
Designed and assembled at the factory located in Markaryd, Sweden, and manufactured to the highest standards, Contura stoves are highly energy efficient, offering powerful convection, superior combustion technology and clean burning systems. All Contura stoves are DEFRA Clean Air Act exempt and thus approved for use in Smoke Control Areas.
Contura stoves can be purchased through a network of 165 independent retailers nationwide.
Contura is part of the NIBE group, a Swedish manufacturing company producing world class solutions in sustainable energy across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
Contura is a founding member of the Stove Industry Association (SIA) in the UK.
Contura is a proud supporter of Eden: People+Planet’s efforts to restore and monitor over 241,150 hectares of land, creating jobs to support local communities and the environment in the long-term. Since 2018, Contura has funded the planting of over 170,000 trees.
For more information, please visit www.contura.eu
