When I told you about our sexy new office chair, I was asked by a reader whether it was easy to clean. I couldn’t answer that at the time having only just bought it, so here I am reporting back.

It did get quite grubby but thankfully it was quite easy to clean. Even easier for me because The Man kindly volunteered got so annoyed by my slackness that he did it for me. His method was to wipe over with a wet cloth, wipe off excess water with a dry cloth and allow to air dry, before applying a leather conditioner (according to packet instructions).

The good news is that it didn’t just clean it, it’s actually prevented it from getting quite so easily dirty.

Shelf Genie via Organizing Made Fun

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve come home from the shopping with another bottle of soy sauce or packet of cashews because I forgot about the spare one I already had in the depths of the pantry. Sadly I can’t fit this kind of setup in my pantry in an awkward corner base cabinet, but if you have a full-length pantry I reckon you’ll love these retrofitted drawers to solve all your forgotten food woes.

Do you come back from the hardware store with fistfuls of colour chips every time you embark on a new painting project, even though you know you’ve probably got half of them at home already? By any chance does it have something to do with the fact that they’re all in a big jumbled mess like mine were?

I grabbed some hinged rings and a hole punch and ten minutes later, voila! Paint chips all sorted into their colours and brands so next time it will be easier to flip through to select. Bonus points

All the Luck in the World

If you have limited space at home – or are just after a really unique Christmas tree – have you thought about a flat tree?

I Need Nice Things | Jennyshus

BHG

As we gear up to Christmas – and summer here too – chances are you’re doing more entertaining at home.

If you’re like me, you have your platters piled up precariously in a kitchen cupboard, your spare glasses in your office closet, your tablecloths in the upstairs linen closet and your table decorations in the living room cabinet. Having party supplies scattered all over the house is unsurprisingly not the most efficient or relaxing way to set up for a party. Unfortunately, however, we don’t really have any other options due to lack of space.

If you have the room though, consider setting up a party supplies closet so you have everything on hand to set up in record time with minimum stress. Don’t have room to dedicate a whole armoire or sideboard to the task? Even repurposing a spare laundry shelf or underutilised kitchen cupboard would do the trick.

I’d love to know: how do you store your entertaining accessories?

There’s nothing I hate more than being half-way through a project and running out of materials and having to run to the shops (or worse, order again online and wait for weeks). So instead I’ll buy way more materials than I need, which leaves me with craft boxes full of leftovers and a lighter wallet.

Thanks to this handy chart from Little Green Notebook, you can instantly calculate your fabric yardage required for your next upholstery project. (Use this tool to convert to metres.)

If you love the look of gallery walls but are worried that it will look like a dog’s breakfast rather than a considered arrangement, try one of these foolproof layouts.

Update: I do my best to credit sources but unfortunately I got this one wrong and the original creator has asked me to remove their image. For other inspiration, you might like to search for ‘Gallery walls’ on Pinterest.

Martha Stewart

Grab a business card holder from your local office supplies store and use it to organise your spare buttons and thread. Is that clever or what?

Domino via Apartment Therapy

Have you ever come home from shopping with a new item only to realise you have something almost identical already in your wardrobe?

You probably already keep your pants separate from your tops, but go one step further and organise them by sub-categories of length, occasion and colour. A quick scan before your shopping expedition will show you that, no, you really don’t need yet another purple sweater. You’ll probably find you’ll save not only wardrobe space but money too.

Design*Sponge

Ever come to the end of a day of uncluttering and still find that the room looks messy?

Well, there’s physical clutter and then there’s visual clutter. You know what to do with the former, but the latter is a little more subtle. Here are some tricks:

Stack or pile objects
If you’re like me, there always seems to be a growing colony of paper on certain surfaces (the kitchen table and my desk are the most susceptible). If you want to tidy up but don’t have time to deal with all the paperwork, simply gather it into a neat pile for an instant improvement.

Have catch-all containers
It’s often the little things that add the most visual clutter to a room. Have a small bowl or tray located in places where small objects seem to end up. For example, I happen to be very lazy when it comes to putting my jewellery and hairties away at the end of the day, but tossing them in a pretty crystal bowl on my bedside table prevents it looking messy.

…especially ones with lids
To combat the dreaded keys-wallet-phone-sunnies pile we’ve always had a bamboo bowl on our sideboard; I recently switched it for one with a lid and it made such a difference. Similarly, a fun vintage tin on The Man’s chest of drawers is perfect to throw in the loose change and anything that gets in the way when I’m dusting.

Bring books to the front of the bookcase
Seriously, try it. I promise it will make your shelves look so much neater.

Group similar objects
Having a shelf with evenly dispersed items is a surefire way for it to look cluttered. Instead of spreading everything out, create object ‘clusters’ and make sure you leave breathing space in between.Group items by type (e.g. your vintage candlestick collection), style (your fave art deco items), theme (souvenirs from your Japanese holiday) or colour (which I think you can figure out yourself).

Avoid too much pattern and colour
I adore pattern and colour, so I hate to say you can have too much of a good thing. It doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice an eyecatching, layered style though. Create interest with self-patterned fabrics and textures instead.

Kick the cords
Sadly this is one area where I don’t lead by example (beneath my feet here at my computer is a tangled spaghetti pile of cables). But if you can, try to hide cords by attaching them to the back or underside of furniture, painting them the same colour as the wall, or even eliminate them altogether by going wireless where possible.