Tag Archives: Freedom

6 Hacks For Keeping An Organised Home In The New Year

If you are like us, one of your new year’s resolutions is to have a more organised and structured home. In today’s post we are sharing our top hacks for not only implementing organisational solutions but staying on top of them long term. We have so many handy tips and tricks we’ve used time and time again and suggestions on the perfect storage solutions that will transform your home life. Read on to find out more!

1. Start The Year Fresh

The festive season is one of abundance, decadence and overflow, so it is no wonder we all feel like cleansing and minimising once the new year rolls around. For most people the start of January can be a calm time where work is quiet, and you can reset both yourself and your home. We suggest setting a day aside to have a thorough declutter of the highest traffic areas of your home such as the kitchen, pantry, wardrobe, kid’s bedrooms, playrooms and garage. Sort through all items and get rid of anything that has not been used recently, has been replaced with something new or that no longer brings you joy. By starting off the year with a declutter and organising day this allows you to head into the new year with a fresh perspective and a clear mind.

 

2. Create A Drop Zone

Creating designated drop zones in the home allows for clutter to be contained to one area and avoids it building up throughout various areas of the home. We recommend creating a ‘drop-zone’ that is separate from the kitchen or living area in a space such as the entryway, home office or towards the garage. Create a drop zone by using items such as baskets, in-trays, boxes or containers and label them with each family member’s name. You can pick up some beautiful baskets from Freedom or some great storage containers from Howard’s Storage World that would be perfect for this. The key to keeping drop zones under control is to dedicate a couple of minutes each week to sorting through and actioning any items that need to be actioned and putting things away that have a separate home.

 

3. Go Label Crazy

Labels are a lifesaver when it comes to organising your home. Not only do they look aesthetically pleasing, but they help each member of the family know where items belong. We recommend labelling key areas of the home that are constantly having items picked up, put back, used, and taken in and out. For example, categorise your pantry using wire baskets for different food types and use swing tags to label. The linen cupboard is another great area of the home to use beautiful baskets to categories like-minded items such as sheets, quilt cover sizes, towels and more.

 

4. Purchase Your Storage Solutions Now

December is the perfect time of year to pick up a bargain as the Christmas and Boxing Day events are in full swing! If you have the time, we suggest making a list of items such as baskets, containers, drawer dividers and turntables and heading in store to grab yourself a saving. We love Howard’s Storage World for all our kitchen, wardrobe and bathroom storage solutions and Provincial Home Living and Freedom for gorgeous baskets.

5. Set A Timer

When thinking about decluttering and organising your home it can often become overwhelming as you do not know where to begin. As the saying goes, the easiest way to achieve something is to ‘just start’. We love setting a timer to either 15 minutes or 30 minutes and having a ‘fire round’ of decluttering, picking up items that are lying around, sorting a drawer or deep cleaning an area that has been neglected. You will be surprised how much you can get done in a short amount of time if you set your timer, put your phone on silent and pop on some inspiring music to get motivated!

 

6. Lock In Maintenance Days In Your Calendar

Implementing organisational solutions in your home such as categorising, labelling and decluttering is the first step in creating an organised home. The second and arguably most important step is to ‘maintain’ the spaces long term. Having an organised home is not a matter of ‘setting and forgetting’, rather a system that is put in place and maintained regularly for optimum performance. Maintaining your organisation solutions simply means to set aside time in your calendar every quarter to check in on the systems put in place. This can include going through the pantry and throwing away expired foods, sorting through each family members in tray and ensuring all items are put back in their designated category baskets in the linen cupboard and playroom.

Our Top Kitchen Organisation Hacks

The kitchen is often described as the heart of the home and as such is required to be not only a welcoming and aesthetically pleasing space, but a functional one too. Whether you are cooking dinner, packing lunches, emptying the dishwasher, or doing homework with the kids, the kitchen functions for all types of activities. In order to keep the space functioning well and to avoid frustration, the kitchen needs to have systems and organisation tools in place. Today we are sharing with you our favourite tips, tools, and products to help you organise and create flow in your kitchen.

Create Zones

The working triangle is a common term used when designing kitchens as it refers to where the dishes are done, the food is stored, and the cooking is undertaken. Zones can also be created in other ways in the kitchen such as in your pantry, cupboards and drawers. To ensure breakfast time runs smoothly as a family and cooking dinner is a breeze, we recommend setting up zones within the pantry to enable this. Group like-minded items together such as cereals with spreads and pastas and rice with spices, sauces and oils. This saves you time in the long run as you know where everything is and can easily access the items you require. Zones can also be created within your cupboards and drawers by storing cooking items such as pots and pans near the stove and plates, bowls and glasses near the dishwasher for easy access when unloading. Create zones in your kitchen this weekend and thank us later!

 

Use Baskets And Containers To Categorise

Baskets and containers are one of our favourite tools to use when organising a kitchen and pantry. In the pantry we suggest grouping likeminded items together and dedicating a basket for each category. The most common categories to use and are snacks, cooking, meal kits, baking, rice and noodles and of course backstock. Freedom and Howard’s Storage World have some gorgeous baskets that would up level any pantry and create a beautiful look in your home. Clear or white containers are great for areas such as under the sink where you can group items together such as cleaning, dishwashing, paper towels, sponges, and bin bags. Our biggest tip is to ensure you measure each space before purchasing to make sure you are buying baskets that fit correctly and utilise the space properly.

 

Label

To create the ultimate Pinterest and Instagram-worthy organised kitchen and pantry you cannot forget to use labels. Labels not only look pretty but allow for each member of the family to know where to put things, helps with maintaining systems and makes it easy to know what items you require when creating your shopping list. We suggest adding labels to items such as decanted pantry staples in containers or jars, the categories of each basket of food products and the containers for your under-sink storage. Swing tags, acrylic tags or clips are best for baskets with handles whereas printed vinyl labels are perfect for containers.

 

Drawer Dividers

Drawer dividers are the saviour for any kitchen drawer, and we love using them to up level our kitchen organisation. The utensils drawer is the perfect place to use drawer dividers as you can sort by likeminded item and this in turn allows you to avoid rummaging around for the utensil you are looking for. They are also great for drawers that house your zip lock bags and food wraps to ensure these are stored in a neat and organised way. Other areas you can use drawer dividers in the kitchen are if you store your Tupperware, plates, bowls and pots and pans in drawers. Howard’s Storage World have some great options, so be sure to head in store to check out their range soon.

 

Maintaining Systems

Once you have implemented your organisational systems in your kitchen and pantry it is essential to spend a little bit of time every few months to maintain them. Like everything in life, maintenance is the key to ensuring things run smoothly and avoids any build up. We recommend that at the beginning of each season you complete a once over of your kitchen drawers and cupboards to ensure all items are in their correct zones and nothing has been moved or shuffled around. We also suggest checking your fridge and pantry for expired foods and throwing out any items that are out of date or donating items that will not be used.

 

We look forward to seeing you soon at Aspley Homemaker City and helping you with all your home organisation needs. If you would like any advice on ways to organise and what storage items would suit your needs, simply click here book in for your free styling session with our Resident Stylist, Eliza.

Creating The Perfect Christmas Tablescape

Here at Aspley Homemaker City, we are well and truly in the Christmas spirit! Our beautiful retailers have their amazing new Christmas décor on display and the carols and festive tunes are right around the corner. We love the festive season as it incorporates all the things we love most; spending time with loved ones, eating delicious food and decorating our homes in a beautifully themed way. One of the many aspects we love about decorating our home for Christmas is styling our dining table for the big day. There are a few key elements that go into creating the perfect Christmas tablescape and today we are sharing all of our secrets with you. We hope this leaves you inspired, joyful and ready to host Christmas day this year for all your loved ones!

Pick Your Theme

The best place to start when thinking about designing your tablescape for Christmas is to narrow down a theme. There are so many different themes you can choose for Christmas decorating and some of our favourites include traditional, bright and colourful, native and natural or glamorous and metallic. Our beautiful retailers have some amazing pieces that will work perfectly with your chosen theme. Provincial Home Living have some beautiful, themed ranges including their navy, gold and silver collection that would be perfect for a glamourous and metallic theme. Or why not go bold and try their mixture of pink, orange and green for a fun and bright take on Christmas decorating! If you can’t go past a traditional look, then a colour palette of green, red, and gold is always a crowd favourite. Your theme should be intertwined within every aspect of the tablescape decorating from the linen tablecloths and napkins to the name tags, flowers, and dinnerware. If you are struggling to pinpoint an exact style you love, we recommend jumping online to Pinterest to curate your theme and find an abundance of inspiration.

The Essentials

To create the perfect Christmas tablescape you need to ensure that all the essential items are catered for. This includes dinner plates, side plates, dessert bowls, cutlery, water glasses and wine glasses. Other important aspects that we believe are non-negotiables are beautiful linen napkins, placemats, name tags and bonbons. When setting your table for Christmas lunch, start by laying your placemats, followed by your dinner plate in the centre, with the side plate and dessert bowl on top. Continue by placing the fork to the left of the plate, the knife to the right and the spoon to the right of the knife. Traditionally, a water glass is placed at 1pm on the top right, followed by the wine glasses to the right again. If you follow these simple steps, you will have the perfect tablescape layout and your guests are sure to be impressed by your thoughtfulness! You can pick up some gorgeous dinnerware, glassware and serving ware from a variety of our retailers such as Freedom, Provincial Home Living and Pillow Talk.

Decorate

Remember that when decorating your table for Christmas lunch it is always important to leave space for the food if you are following a grazing style. We love leaving space down the centre of the table where family can pick and choose their sides or dessert and help themselves with some gorgeous serving ware. To elevate your table and take it to the next level in style, we recommend adding a few key pieces to finish off the design. When selecting placemats and napkins, opt for a fun print in a beautiful linen fabric to tie in with your theme as mentioned above. We love adding candlesticks and a number of small vases with foliage or blooms to create a styled look without blocking the view of your guests. To finish off the tablescape we suggest adding some fun name tags or a Christmas bauble to the centre of each place setting. If you are after some beautiful tablescape inspiration, we recommend heading into Provincial Home Living where you will find some gorgeous displays and product you can pick up for your big day!

If you would like some help with curating the perfect Christmas tablescape, then click here to book in for your complimentary styling session with our Resident Stylist. We look forward to seeing you soon here at Aspley Homemaker City where we can help you find inspiration and shop for all your decorating needs this Christmas.

Bring Life Into Your Home – Decorating With Faux Plants And Flowers

Plants are a huge trend in interiors right now and have been growing in popularity over the past few years. As you scroll through Instagram or Pinterest you are flooded with images of beautiful interiors with gorgeous, vibrant plants and vases overflowing with foliage. Although we all love the look, some of us aren’t blessed with a green thumb or have pets or children that make owning indoor plants rather challenging. We are here today to show you how you can achieve the same beautiful, styled look through the use of faux plants and flowers. Faux plants and flowers have come a very long way since the powdery, plastic versions of the ’80s and ’90s. A number of our retailers here at Aspley Homemaker City offer an amazing array of faux items that are such good quality, you’ll fool even the keenest of eyes! Read on for our top tips and where to purchase our favourite faux plants and flowers.

Decorating With Faux Plants

Plants are a key aspect when designing any room, be it the living room, bedroom, dining room or kitchen. Plants not only add a beautiful pop of colour and vibrancy to a space, but they allow for a calming atmosphere by creating the illusion of being surrounded by nature. We believe you can achieve a very similar look by using faux plants that you can with real plants through a few simple tips. The key to choosing the perfect faux plant is to see it in person and feel the texture of the leaves, the colour consistency and how the plant falls. The plant should have a natural-looking texture, no shiny plastic and the leaves should fall nicely and appear light in weight. We also recommend investing a little bit more into your faux plants as the price point usually reflects the quality with these items.

Now that you have chosen the perfect faux plant it is time to add them to areas of your home that will make a statement and create a beautiful decorative accent. We love adding large floor plants such as a fiddle leaf fig or a bird of paradise to the corners of the living room, dining room or bedroom. Adding trailing plants to floating shelves or open shelving units can create a beautifully styled look. To give a natural effect, we recommend placing your plants in filtered light, near a window to give the illusion of a real plant. Make sure you wipe your plant/s leaves down every few weeks to avoid any dust collection as a dusty faux plant will give away the secret in no time!

Decorating With Faux Flowers And Foliage

Faux flowers, dried flowers and foliage are a huge trend in interior decorating at the moment. They are the perfect alternative to real flowers as they not only last longer but work out to be a more affordable option in the long run as well. Faux flowers and foliage are great if you are selling a home or staging a home as you don’t have to worry about changing the water in the vase or the flowers looking limp as time goes on. When choosing your faux flowers, stems or foliage make sure to touch and feel the product to ensure it has a natural look and avoid any pieces that look too perfect or plastic.

There are a number of places in the home that a beautiful vase of faux flowers looks amazing, but today we are sharing with you our absolute must-haves. We love the look of a large vase in the centre of the dining table with long stems to create a beautiful wow factor and centrepiece in the space. You can also add a vase of dried or faux flowers to your coffee table or bedside table for a styled look. To create a beautiful vignette on your kitchen bench we recommend grabbing a tray or chopping board and placing a beautiful bunch of faux flowers in a vase paired with a bowl of fruit and a beautiful smelling candle.

Where To Find Them

Here at Aspley Homemaker City, we have several retailers that offer an amazing range of faux plants, flowers, stems and foliage. Head into Freedom to check out their huge range of indoor plants that look so real, we’ll swear you’ll want to water them! We also love Pillow Talk’s trailing vine plants to add to open shelving or their beautiful faux flower stems in a variety of heights and varieties. Provincial Home Living have a gorgeous range of long stems that look amazing paired with a large vase for a statement centrepiece on your dining room table. Why not try adding a fresh, floral scent to your home to finish off the look? You can pick up some beautiful scents from The Sheridan Outlet or Provincial Home Living today!