The Interior DIYer

This time of year inevitably comes with an urge to scrub and get rid of all of the things. Or at least it does for me. I’ve written about decluttering and downsizing a good few times, so this is a roundup of my favourite blogposts that [for me] have worked until this day to keep me organised and less hoardery. I figured I’d share it ahead of this month’s bank holiday weekend in case you need something to do to burn off a few chocolate calories or just want a valid excuse to hide in a storage cupboard for a few hours …

THE BASICS – my original spring decluttering blog post from 2014 is the best place to start. I write about my top 5 tips for staying motivated while decluttering and following through with your plans.

THE BASICS 2.0 – the following year in 2015 I wrote 5 more tips on decluttering to give you an extra boost if you’re feeling overwhelmed, as well as touching on the mental health benefits of decluttering.

THE EARLY BIRD – since writing about it in 2014, I’ve done my 10 minute morning tidy routine every day since. You may prefer to do it at night before you go to sleep [that’s what she said], but either way, 10 minutes of tidying a day will keep you on top of things and in the long run with save you time and energy. Admittedly, now that Cora is here and keeping me on my toes, our apartment isn’t as tidy as I’d like. But I’m learning to try to be less hard on myself but I still do manage to keep most of our apartment tidy, otherwise it will get out of control.

DAY-TO-DAY – my two tips for staying organised on a day-to-day basis and it’s something I strongly think everyone should practice; using an agenda and organising your email inbox. To this day I religiously use both every day and find them a huge help.

EXTRA READING – a few years ago I interviewed Sarah Reynolds of Organised Chaos for Image Interiors & Living and we got way too excited about organising and how being tidy and organised can help improve your mental health. You can check out the full article here – Cut the Clutter: six steps to a calmer, cleaner, happier home.

When I was putting together ideas for the nursery, one of the main pieces we needed was a crib. Cora’s room is quite small and whatever crib we picked would be a big deal, so I wanted to make sure it was something we really loved before getting one. We went to a lot of stores and looked at a lot of cribs, but my gut feeling was to see if we could find a secondhand crib. I wrote about it more in my Nearly New Wood Challenge a couple of years ago; how for the most part I’m not too keen on buying brand new furniture, especially wood.

I spent a few days looking through the cribs available on Adverts.ie and that’s when I spotted a secondhand Stokke Sleepi crib in walnut. It was so different to any other crib we had seen that it immediately gave me heart-eye emojis. Before I replied to the ad I looked up more information on the Stokke Sleepi crib and my doubts were drowned out pretty much by how incredible it is.

A couple of text messages later and a thorough cleaning, Cora’s new [to us] crib was home. We didn’t use the mini crib as it didn’t fit in our equally small bedroom. I don’t know if we’ll end up using the bed until Cora is 10 [though it’s a nice idea to not have to buy her a bed for 10 years], but being able to use the end pieces of the cot as chairs? Game changer. “Look how much use we can get out of it!” Robert didn’t need too much convincing TBH.

We paid €200 for our secondhand Stokke Sleepi crib which was €20 over our budget. I didn’t have a problem going over budget as I thought it was just too good to pass on. It came with newborn and toddler conversion kits which if bought new, including kits it would altogether cost us over €1,000. That’s not why we bought it though. It’s a gorgeous solid walnut bed [and it looks like Stokke no longer sell it in walnut] with simple lines and a killer shape. And even better, for my conscious at least; it didn’t cost the earth.

To find out more, you can check out my Nearly New Challenge and Nearly New Wood Challenge.

I’ve
noticed since having Cora that I’ve changed. A lot. Chemically. Not
that I was emotionally devoid BC (before Cora), but I’m now much more
emotional whenever something child-related pops up in my news feed.
The little girl who loves
a broken water heater? I cried. The sassy kids who interrupt
their dad’s BBC interview? Cried. Different types of tears, but I
think they prove I’m doomed to look like crying Dawson Leery
at anything involving children going forward.

Last
week when TK
Maxx
approached me to help promote their new homeware range with a
difference, they hit a chord with my new-found parental emotions.
From today, an incredible range of hand woven and hand crafted pieces
will be available that are not only perfect to brighten your home for
spring, but they also support a strong cause.
Each piece that’s sold supports the disadvantaged Ugandan parents who
crafted them by increasing their income so they can afford to keep
their children in school.

1.
Multi-coloured hand woven platter, €16.99, TK Maxx

2.
Hand woven patterned vase, €16.99, TK Maxx

3.
Rice spoons, €8.99, TK Maxx

4. Horn
bowls, €22.99 each, TK
Maxx

5. Lidded hand woven basket, €19.99, TK Maxx

Since
TK Maxx began working with parents in Uganda in 2008, school
attendance has risen from 53% to 94%. This isn’t something that in
the past would have hit home so hard, but since having Cora I can’t
begin to imagine how difficult
that struggle is and I’m only starting to realise how much we take
for granted.

The
sale of these bespoke pieces helps to achieve long-term improvement
in the everyday lives of the people who make them; an excuse to go
shopping if I ever needed one. Let’s also not forget the durability
factor. Now that Cora has reached pre-toddler mode, these woven bowls
and vases won’t shatter should your adorable bundle of grabby-hands
hone in on them. They’re uniquely crafted statement pieces that are
doing good for those less fortunate.

Please
note that the new Ugandan stock is limited and will vary per TK Maxx
store nationwide.

DISCLOSURE
– this is a sponsored blog post by TK Maxx to help promote their new
range of Ugandan handmade products. As always, all words and opinions
are my own. I only work with companies I like and of course, think
that you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that
support The Interior DIYer.

Spring cleaning and decluttering roundup

Our secondhand Stokke crib

Trends that do good – TK Maxx Uganda